Ruthven Public Library

Welcome to the Ruthven Public Library. The library is your one stop source for all of your informational needs. We have a large selection of books, magazines, newspapers, and electronic resources available to be checked out by our library card holders. Here you will also find electronic resources, news, announcements, and a calendar of upcoming library events!

Our hours have been updated!

Mon: 3:00 PM - 6:00 PM

Tue: CLOSED

Wed: 9:00 AM - 12:30 PM

1:30 PM - 4:30 PM

Thu: 9:00 AM - 12:30 PM

1:30 PM - 4:30 PM

Fri: 9:00 AM - 12:30 PM

1:30 PM - 4:30 PM

Sat: 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM

Sun: CLOSED

Featured Events

Apr 12

Garden Seed Giveaway

Apr 12, 2021

Come to the library and select 10 packages of FREE garden seeds! Plant them in starter pots so you are ready for garden season! A huge variety of fun seeds including flowers and vegetables.

Apr 19

Letters to the Lorax

Apr 19, 2021

As Earth Day is April 22, we invite you to write “letters to the Lorax”. We all want to be a part of saving our great planet! Remember the Lorax in Dr. Seuss’ book?

"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”

Your letters will be published in the Zipcode as inspiration for others!

Apr 26

Horseshoe Dreamcatcher Kits Available

Apr 26, 2021

Pick up your HORSESHOE DREAMCATCHER KIT this week! You can use all kinds of creativity to create a wonderful dreamcatcher. All supplies are included in your bag.

Apr 29

Meet NW IA author Mary McSwain Steele, reflecting on "Betty: A Memoir"

Apr 29, 2021, 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM

Letters written to mother after her death evolve into a memoir

People experience the death of a loved one differently. Experts say there’s no perfect formula for dealing with grief. For a Spencer woman, writing was instrumental in finding her way through a difficult period in her life.

Mary McSwain Steele says she began to realize she wasn’t coping well after the death of her mother, Betty McSwain, in 2009.

“I started writing letters to Mom after she died,” says Steele. “Writing was therapy for me – a way to get through the sadness and anxiety that continued far longer than I thought was ‘normal.’”

Her letters, written over the last several years, along with memories of growing up in southwest Wisconsin, evolved into a memoir, Betty: A Memoir, published in September.

“My mom was an unconventional single working mother who raised three children in a conventional small town in 1950s Wisconsin, Steele says. “She struggled to secure a future for her children without losing herself. When her kids were grown, she worked as a nurse in Saudi Arabia for nine years and traveled the world.”

After retiring, Betty could have lived anywhere, but she chose to move to Spencer in Northwest Iowa to be near her children and grandchildren.

“Mom led a healthy lifestyle and was very active – golfing, walking, and volunteering after retiring,” Steele says. “A nature and animal lover, she especially enjoyed her volunteer job at an animal shelter in Spencer. She also worked part time for several years at Iowa Lakes Community College.”

Betty lost her youngest child, her only son, Michael, to AIDS at the age of 47. His story is part of the memoir. Seven years later, Betty started having concerning symptoms.

“When my mom’s doctor told her that she had endometrial cancer and that it wasn’t treatable, she asked only that she be kept comfortable,” Steele remembers. “We didn’t know it at the time, but Mom had only 32 days left on this earth.”

Steele and Betty’s other daughter, Susan McSwain Garvin of Storm Lake, granted her last request by caring for her at home during her final days.

“We expected that time to be awful, seeing Mom very sick and then dying,” Steele said. “But what we didn’t expect was that it would be beautiful as well. We laughed, we cried, we reminisced about the past and talked about the future, and we grew closer than the three of us had ever been.”

“My intention wasn’t for the memoir to be a playbook for others providing end-of-life care for a loved one, but I hope it’s helpful to readers who are caregivers,” Steele says. “Looking back, there are things my sister and I wish we’d done differently, but there are many things we feel we’d done well.” Steele dedicated the book to her sister, Susan, whom she describes as a "natural caregiver."

Steele says that although the topics of grief, death and anxiety are a part of the book, they’re not the main theme of the memoir.

“The book is about adventure, humor, strength, dignity, and resiliency; but more importantly, it’s about finding joy, hope and, finally, grace,” Steele says. “It’s about family secrets revealed in my mom’s last days that led me to startling discoveries. It’s about looking for information about a father who was only in my life for four years. The book is also about the need to know where we came from and what from our past has made us who we are today.”

Steele says she has been gratified by the positive response to Betty. “People seem to relate to the book, especially those who have lost a parent or who grew up in living in a small Midwest town."

May 03

Spring Flower Pot - Take and Make

May 3, 2021

Pick up your clay pot and paints so you can make a beautiful handpainted
flower pot for mom (Mother’s Day is May 9) or your favorite teacher (teacher
appreciation day is May 4).

FREE seeds and even DIRT included. Includes a “tea” craft
perfect for Mother’s Day.

May 04

Book Club

May 4, 2021, 9:30 AM – 10:30 AM

Join us for Book Club, the first Tuesday of the month at 9:30 a.m. April's book is Boys in the Bunkhouse. Even if you haven’t read the book, the discussions are stimulating. Looking ahead to May, the book is The Wright Sister.

Jun 01

Book Club

Jun 1, 2021, 9:30 AM – 10:30 AM

Jun 09

Summer Reading Program

Jun 9, 2021, 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM

Jun 16

Summer Reading Program

Jun 16, 2021, 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM

Our Services

We are excited to offer curbside service!
Monday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday, call the library between 10 and noon (837-4820) to request the books you want to check out. Have your name or library card number ready. We will find them for you and meet you at the south (side) door.

You can also check out ebooks and audiobooks! If you have never done this, simply click on the "Ebook & Audio" tab near the top, then click on "Bridges Downloadable Ebook/Audiobook Consortium". In the upper right hand corner of the Bridges site, sign in with your library card number and your phone number. You will then be offered an array of books and magazines for downloading to your mobile device or computer, all of which are FREE! You can check out up to five items at a time!

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Ruthven Public Library

Our hours have been updated!