Preservationists to honor 2 Havre librarians

Two Havre librarians will receive the annual Preservation Awards from the Havre-Hill County Preservation Commission.

Valerie Hickman, who oversees the archives at Van de Bogart Library at Montana State University-Northern, and Bonnie Williamson, director of the Havre-Hill County Library, will be given the awards at the Havre City Council meeting, 7 p. m. today, at City Hall.

Hickman has been in charge of the archives at the Northern library since the late 1980s, and has been a resource for countless numbers of people looking into local history.

She has been identifying items and helped preserve photos, negatives and papers, said Becki Miller of the preservation commission.

One future project Hickman is working on is digitizing the photo collections so that users will be able to search and view the photos online, Miller said.

Hickman is also working with others on campus to preserve and promote other historical collections on the Northern campus.

The library is the home for many collections that document history from Fort Assinniboine through the present era.

She has served as a member of the H. Earl Clack Museum board for many years.

Williamson is retiring this year after more than 30 years service. She was initially hired as the director of the Hill County Library, and oversaw the merger with the Havre Library.

Williamson plans to retire later this year.

Earlier this year, Williamson was honored by Humanities Montana for her work during her career. She has received several grants through Humanities Montana for various programs at the library.

The preservation commission annually gives awards to people who have contributed to the effort to preserve Havre and its rich history.

The commission has been involved in providing walking tours of historic downtown Havre, and is working to maintain and preserve historic buildings in the area.

Also at tonight's City Council meeting, Doug Kaercher will be sworn in as city clerk/finance director. He replaces Lowell Swenson, who has retired.

A new police lieutenant will be sworn in.

And Mayor Tim Solomon will make appointments to the city's planning board and board of adjustments.