Though some may think of a library as a quiet backwater where not much is happening, that wasn’t the case at the Alva Public Library Tuesday afternoon. In addition to the library board meeting at 3:30 p.m. the facility was hosting a meeting of the robotics group and the youth activity program.
To find out what’s happening at the library, check online at alvalibrary.okpls.org. Library Director Sandra Otte-Hamilton says the former Mommy and Me program has been renamed Little Explorers. It is held Tuesdays from 10 to 10:30 a.m. in the library auditorium downstairs. It’s intended for toddlers up to Pre-K age accompanied by an adult parent, grandparent or guardian. The group focuses on interaction between adult and child and pre-reading skills.
New part-time employee Amy Ryerson is developing the Little Explorers program. The library is doing a Facebook survey to get more information on interest in the program and best times to schedule it.
An older children’s group meets for Activity Time on Tuesday from 3:30 to 4: 30 p.m. This group is geared to Pre-K through grades 4 or 5. Children younger than kindergarten may attend if accompanied by a parent.
The library is also hosting the “Let’s Talk About It” book series. The theme is The Gilded Age, and the first talk was held Sept. 18 on Mark Twain’s book “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.” Professor Dawn Allen from NWOSU led the discussion. The library is provided with several copies of the books for people to check out and read before the talk.
The next in the series will be “The Red Badge of Courage” by Stephen Crane. Dr. Aaron Mason will lead the discussion at 7 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 2, at the library. Snacks are being offered in conjunction with the book talks. A bean soup is planned for Oct. 2. Otte-Hamilton said the soup would be available about 6:15 p.m. The Friends of the Library meeting with election of officers will be held at 6:30 p.m. followed by the book talk.
For these and upcoming events, check out the calendar on the library’s website.
The library board meeting was chaired by Lynn Wilt. Members present were Linda Joseph, Marilyn Clyne, Dr. David Kovarovic, Len Reed and Chris Eckhardt. Absent was Bryant Gingrich.
Library Heavily Used
Director Otte-Hamilton presented the statistical report. The library had 30 new patrons in August and hosted 12 meetings. They handled 645 research requests. She said checkouts were a little down in August but were already picking back up in September. The checkouts included 1173 by adults, 1505 by juveniles, 40 audiobooks, 310 movies and 703 ebooks. The library logged 285 internet users and 795 wireless users in August. She noted the lost, destroyed and deleted materials number was high at 1156 because the staff recently went through the youth section, removing older damaged materials.
The library added 53 new DVD’s and enhanced CD’s in July and 56 in August. Otte-Hamilton said many of these are donated. The library is happy to receive not only books but also movie DVD’s and audiobook CD’s donated by individuals after they’re viewed or listened to them. She said the movies are quite popular with people on a fixed income who may have eliminated their monthly TV services due to budget issues.
The library also offers a fax service which is seeing more use. People can send faxes for a fee and also receive faxes there for a fee. The library also make copies.
The family of Patty Nusser is making a memorial donation to the library. Otte-Hamilton said they will check to see if the family wants to request they purchase a specific category of books.
Maintenance Projects
A couple of window blinds at the front of the building need to be replaced. They were damaged by water leaks before the roof was repaired. Otte-Hamilton has been trying to find blinds that match the others but ran into a problem. The place where they ordered the blinds no longer offers them in that length. She’s checking to see if it’s possible to make a special order. Another possibility would be to move blinds over from the sides so the front blinds would all match and then order different blinds for two side windows.
The library floors were recently burnished. Board members admired the glossy finish. Otte-Hamlton said this needs to be done every four months to maintain the floors, but it had been put off since spring.
The library had Northwest Electric change out the lighting to LED’s for part of the first floor. She said they’re noticing the lights emit less heat which helps with the air conditioning. There is also less reflection on computer monitors and the new books are not yellowing under the new lights. The library is looking at installing the LED lights in the youth area next.
A water fountain needs to be replaced. Otte-Hamilton said they’re waiting for the plumber to order it.
Two new computers were ordered in the fall and have arrived. However, it was discovered the two being replaced had older style cords that don’t connect with the new computers so that has to be resolved. The two new computers will be used as patron internet search computers.
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