The new D.R. Moon Memorial Library Addition and Renovation is open to the public off Fourth Avenue.
Named for lumber baron Delos Rensselaer Moon Sr. and gifted by widow Sallie F. Moon to the city in 1901, the original library was designed by architect William Channing Whitney. The library soon became a community fixture, with 913 borrowers from a population of just 2,387, including books in Norwegian to serve the large Norwegian population.
Over the years and into the 21st century a campaign arose to provide even better library service to residents, with plans ultimately coming to fruition in the last few years under Library Director Elizabeth Miniatt and others.
Now complete, and open to the public off Fourth Avenue, the new addition was designed by River Architects after a $22,500 design contract signed in 2022. Prospective plans were presented to the public in a June 2023 event, with the library contract awarded in 2025 to Hoeft Builders Inc. after the library secured a state grant in 2024. Hoeft also built the recent new library on Highway 27 at Cadott, which was also a recipient of funds from the same state grant.

As for Stanley, the new D.R. Moon Memorial Library expansion opened to the public Monday, Oct. 5 at 8 a.m. New library hours at Stanley are as follows:
Monday: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Tuesday: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Wednesday: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Thursday: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Friday: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Saturday: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The new expansion with lower level increases the total library area from 3,234 square feet to approximately 11,650 square feet and brings library service into the 21st century, with new complementing the old and joining the eras together with an inside walkway.

Construction on the two-story library addition more than doubling library space started with a groundbreaking on June 25 of last year, on a site just west of the current library.
Not just for books anymore, among the needs the new library addition is designed to provide alongside restoration of the 1901 library building are the following:
• ADA accessibility throughout the library
• a large flexible community room
• two classrooms
• dedicated children’s, teen and family areas
• two computer labs with 7 desktop computers and 5 laptops
• meeting and study rooms
• expanded library collections
• additional reading and seating areas
• improved staff workspace , and
• upgraded electrical and building systems

Now just weeks shy of 125 years old, the library has a brand new expansion, part of a long effort and donations by several organizations, community minded companies and private foundations as well as community members, and a $4.137 million state grant. The library site was donated through purchase and demolition of a nearby home by Walter and Marie Wartolec in 2015, while the state grant was made by Governor Tony Ever’s administration through the Flexibile Facilities Act, as part of the Capital Projects Fund of the American Rescue Plan Act. Other contributors helping make the library possible include but are not limited to the following:
• Kolbe Windows & Doors, which donated the historic windows for the original library as well as all the windows and exterior doors for the addition. In November 2023, the library announced that Kolbe had pledged to provide the windows needed for the renovation and expansion, including historically appropriate windows for the original building, which is a specialty of the company. Mike Tomsyck, Kolbe’s vice president of finance and the husband of a Stanley native, initiated the gift.
• Royal Credit Union Foundation, who donated $110,000. RCU Foundation representatives John Sackett, Doug Olson and Melanie Baumgart presented the library with the donation in Sept. 2024, designated for the children’s area.
• The Szatalowicz family, including Dr. Victoria, Sharon, Phillip, Karen, Michael, Hellen, and M.T. who donated $200,000 to help cover additional construction costs incurred over the course of the project.
• The D.R. Moon Library Board and the many Building Connections Campaign volunteers who generously gave both time and funding to bring the vision for this new library to reality.
• The Mayor and the Stanley City Council who were supportive towards the library project from the beginning design phase, and pledged $500,000 towards the project, enabling it to move forward.
• Baker Street Consulting Group of Stevens Point, Wisconsin, who provided fundraising consultation services for the project.
• Friends of D.R. Moon Public Library, who have been involved in supporting the Building Connections capital campaign, and
• Numerous private donors of both time and money.
First dedicated in Dec. 1901 as to the original library building, a future dedication and grand opening is planned for the new and improved D.R. Moon Memorial Library.