HURON — Whatever your image of libraries and the people who brought them to the wild west of the Dakotas, your bullseye may be off a bit!
The “book slingers” of the Black Hills impact far outlived one-shot loads from all those Deadwood six-guns.
Laura Hovey Neubert, a South Dakota Humanities touring scholar, will share tidbits of this history at the Huron Public Library at 6 p.m. Thursday, July 27, with davits of drama from those who fought for community through the establishment of West River libraries, during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

“BookSlingers: Libraries in the Wild, Wild West” will tell the tale of interesting old west personalities like Rapid City pioneers John Brennan, newspaper editors Joseph and Alice Gossage, Carrie Ingalls of “Little House” fame, and national philanthropists Andrew Carnegie and Phoebe Apperson Hearst.
These mavericks behind the birth of West River libraries brought credibility to fledging Hills communities.
Their impact and vision of the worth of literacy, community education and cultural exchange is still felt today. Books in hand, the ‘slingers launched a lasting civic permanence.
Neubert’s presentation is supported through the Touring Scholars program of the South Dakota Humanities Council. For more information about this and other programs stop by the Huron Public Library, phone 353-8530.