Ark Valley News - From the library

From the library
By Janice Sharp, director
Last Updated: March 12, 2015

Movies, games for spring break

Next week is Spring Break. We'll have movies each morning at 10:30 for children and families. We'll have gaming set up daily from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m. and again on Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Popcorn will be available daily for those attending.

We request that an adult or responsible person over 12 years of age accompany children eight years and younger for the movies. Please do not bring food; drinks with lids may be kept at the tables – not around the computers. Gaming is for fifth- through 12th- graders.

Would you like to participate in March Book Madness? There are 32 books in the face off — one 16-book bracket for adult fiction and one 16-book bracket for young adults. Voting in Round One is underway until March 14 on Survey Monkey with the link to voting on our Facebook page, our weekly email newsletter and our website. The final voting ends April 4 and champions announced April 6.

The architectural firm charged with a design and cost estimate of the combined facility will meet with the committee at 7 p.m. March 12 at City Hall. Architects will present a rough design and a budget for the facility, incorporating suggestions made at the public meetings.

We have sign-up forms for the citywide garage sales to be held April 10 and 11. The event is sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce; registration is $10. The registration costs pay for the advertising and portable restrooms available at several locations.

Join library staff every Friday in March for UFO time. We have set aside an hour in the morning (10:30 to 11:30) and another hour in the afternoon (1:30 to 2:30) for patrons to come in with their UFO (UnFinished Objects) to visit and share their stories of their UFO's. Refreshments will be provided.

Last week I shared that staff is contacting patrons who have long-overdue materials. We have had a few materials returned but not as many as we would hope. The funds we receive for our budget comes through 4.5 mills collected from the property taxes of property owners within the city limits. Those funds are dispersed five times each year from Sedgwick County to the city, which are then dispersed to us. We will receive $232,000 from the city this year to pay for payroll and payroll taxes, materials purchased for the collection (books, audio books, e-books, DVDs, magazines), maintenance within the building (the City maintains the outside), utilities, the movie license allowing us to show movies, utilities and other miscellaneous items. We make every effort to stretch our budget and have some funds at the end of the year to carry us over. We do receive state aid (which has been reduced yearly over the last 10 years), grants from our library system and from a trust for our summer reading program. We have had the opportunity to get free shelving from three different libraries in the last six months that will nearly supply all the shelving needed for an expanded facility. Although I haven't checked catalogs, I estimate the shelving has been worth $60,000 to $70,000. The only cost has been for mileage.

The library will present a program about bird watching and attracting birds at 2 p.m. March 21 at Sunflower Gardens. The free program is open to anyone wanting to learn more about birds in our area. Refreshments will be served. The presenter is a representative of the Audubon Society.

The library is promoting an adult reading challenge that encompasses all of 2015. The challenge is for adults to read a minimum of 26 books in different categories. There are 50 categories to choose from, allowing patrons to select from many possibilities. Once patrons have completed the required reading and returned the form, they will have their name entered for a drawing to be held Dec. 28. This will be a fun endeavor, encouraging us to read materials we may not normally choose. There are forms and selections of titles on our display at the circulation desk. Materials may be chosen from any source, not just our library.

The library will host the annual Easter Egg Hunt from 1 to 3 p.m. April 4. We'll have the Easter bunny here for pictures as well as crafts and games for the kids prior to hunting for eggs at 2 p.m.

Upcoming Events

March — National Craft Month

March 9-13 — Teen Tech Week

March 12 — Combined Facility Committee meeting

March 13 — Teen St. Patrick's Day party

March 16-20 — Spring Break

March 17 — City Council

March 26 — Teen book discussion