Our beautiful, dynamic library on Woodmere Avenue and the other vibrant member and branch libraries of the Traverse District Library System are taken for granted now, but there is an interesting history of how they became that way. Beyond Books: Stories of Traverse Area Library History 1860 – 2020 tells that story. It was written by noted local author Heather Shumaker, who also did much of the research. The story of the development of libraries in the Grand Traverse area begins with the very early Traverse Township Library and the 1869 formation of the Ladies Library Association. Eventually the Carnegie Library on 6th Street was built to house a growing public library. We discovered that the story of library development, at least in our area, was political, sometimes controversial, and even in some cases very dramatic — with fights over where libraries should be located. Presenters Anne Magoun and Ann Swaney are Co-Coordinators of CRSTAL (Committee to Record the Story of Traverse Area Libraries), who worked together fund-raising, researching, proofing, and now marketing this book. Presented by the Traverse Area Historical Society. Attend live at the library in the McGuire room, or tune in remotely via Zoom: https://www.tadl.org/event/traverse-area-historical-society-5/