Converse County Library hosts traveling Smithsonian exhibit on rural America May 14

    Some people view rural America in a negative light, envisioning run-down buildings, low economic status, and mass exodus. While that may be true in some places, many others experience robust growth, economic development and investment, good schools, and low crime. A traveling exhibit, curated by the Smithsonian Institute, looks at the advantages and disadvantages of rural areas across the United States; the exhibit opens at the Converse County Library in Douglas on Saturday, May 14.

Crossroads: Change in Rural America “poses a lot of questions” and “is very interactive,” said Cindy Moore, director of the Converse County library system.

“The exhibit highlights the changes in rural America and the contributions of rural America,” said Moore. “I don’t think we think about that very often. There’s a lot going on between (New York and California) … and there are a lot of changes going on. This exhibit highlights those sorts of things.”

“We’re the last site in Wyoming to get the exhibit,” said CCL Adult Programming Director Tamara Lehner, who wrote a letter of interest to bring Crossroads to Converse County. “The Smithsonian does this every few years. They choose a region in the United States, and they offer an exhibit to museums and libraries in small towns and rural areas.”

Other Wyoming communities that have hosted the exhibition include Powell, Green River, Casper, Torrington, and Cheyenne.

“We’re very excited! There are a lot of ways to spark conversation,” Lehner said.

A grand opening reception, hosted by the library foundation board, is planned for May 21 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Douglas library.

Refreshments will be served, and she hopes to have a bus available to take people from Glenrock to Douglas for the reception.

She described the exhibit as “a historical perspective.”

“It’s all about the pros and cons, the advantages and disadvantages of living in rural America, how life has changed in rural America during the past 100 years, what are the challenges, and what are the things people love about small towns,” she said. 

According to organizers, America’s populous and areas of residence changed immensely within a century. In 1900, about 40% of Americans lived in rural areas, By 2010, less than 18% of the U.S. population lived in rural areas.

Some of the photos used in the exhibit showcase Wyoming, including a picture of the Douglas marching band in a parade, Lehner said. “There’s a lot to celebrate about life here.”

Moore and Lehner went to Green River when the exhibit was there and helped put the display together to “see the process,” Lehner said. “The exhibit is huge. It comes in about 13 or 14 (large) cases.”

Many libraries in Wyoming are older and smaller. Having the exhibit in Douglas made sense to Lehner because of the space required for set-up plus the storage room needed for the cases.

Both the Douglas and Glenrock libraries will close on May 13 so staff can set up the display.

Lehner plans special programming in both communities during the exhibit. These added “companion events” include a documentary film called A Noble Pursuit created by a Jackson, Wyoming filmmaker, a readers’ theater version of the play Our Town, a Converse County history presentation, and a program about modern homesteading conducted by the Gypsy Cowbelle, who is also a singer. Many of these events will take place during evening hours.

The exhibit cost nothing for either library. Many organizations partnered to bring the exhibition to the state, including the Wyoming Cultural Trust Fund, the Wyoming State Library and the Wyoming Humanities Council, which also provided a stipend for each location hosting Crossroads.

“Every site that hosted the exhibit received a $2,500 grant from the Humanities Council to provide (extra) programming,” Lehner said. 

“I love having things like this because you get people who may have not set foot in a library before,” she added. “I love doing programming because then we can reach a whole new audience. Libraries are changing and growing with the times – there are so many things happening in libraries that people don’t know about.”

The exhibit runs until June 25.

Additional traveling exhibits are planned at the Douglas library, Moore said.

“The Crossroads exhibit will be the beginning of that,” she said.