The bronze casting of a skull from an Acrocanthosaurus greets visitors to the Blue Earth Community Library.

As you can see from a story by our reporter Fiona Green about the Blue Earth City Council meeting last Monday, elsewhere in this issue of the Faribault County Register, there are some pretty interesting things going on at the Blue Earth Community Library. Interesting, to say the least.

These things are not only interesting, but are downright exciting.

Perhaps you are a library patron and visit the library frequently. If you are, you must have noticed a growing collection of dinosaur fossils. One of them is so large and positioned right when you enter the library, that it can’t be missed, unless of course, you are on a mission to find that newest thriller by your favorite mystery author. Or even the latest issue of the Register, which is always available at the library.

Why are there dinosaur bones in the library and where did they come from, you may ask.

Well, the fossils are from Blue Earth resident Jim Pollard and most of them are ones he has dug up on his many trips to the fossil digs in states west of here. Jim wanted a public place where the fossils could be put on display and the library board agreed the library would be a great place for that to happen.

The board, and Pollard, agree that a library is not just a place for books; it is a place for learning. A place where folks can study, do research on the Internet on the computers there, and where there have been programs for kids and adults alike to learn about things in the world.

Now Jim is donating some of the fossils and the display cases to the library. Five of them are already in the library. One of them contains some fossils that were dug up by Blue Earth librarian Eva Gaydon and her two children on a fossil dig with Jim Pollard last summer. Jim wants to take a Blue Earth child and their parent with him on a fossil dig every summer.

And, there is more. Pollard is out doing fundraising to purchase more dinosaur fossilized bones – and professional castings of dinosaur fossils – to add to the collection at the library. He also plans to hold some periodic sessions with kids, to help them learn about the fossils which are on display there.

There is room in the library to do this without disruption of the book shelves, computers or bound copies of old Faribault County Register and Blue Earth Post newspapers from the last 150 years. The plan is to have the fossil displays in various locations around the library, not all grouped together in one place, at least for the time being.

The library board is so excited about this project that they have now officially renamed the library as the Blue Earth Community Library and Fossil Discovery Center. If you have not been in the library lately, I invite you to stop in and discover some facts about fossils for yourself.

The library board feels that this addition to the library is going to draw people to stop in and visit our wonderful library. In fact, we think this could be another reason for folks to visit downtown Blue Earth. It could be another nice addition to attract folks to stop off I-90 besides just seeing the Jolly Big Guy.

After all, some of those dinosaurs were pretty ‘giant’ themselves.

And green.