Tomorrow, April 9th, wraps up National Library Week and we at Floyd County Library just want to take a moment and acknowledge how grateful we are to serve this community. Libraries serve a different function in the lives of different people. While to you it may be a quiet place to study, to another it could be a place to come and play, to learn, to meet to new friends, safe place to escape a less than ideal home situation, or even a way to get food when in need. Our library prides itself on providing warm and welcoming service to all who walk through our doors. If you have never thought much about how the library operates, here are a few things to note!
How to Support Your Local Library
You may be familiar with the phrase “thank you for supporting your local library” but have you considered what it truly means to “support your library”? As a government entity, the public library operates on government funding plus any grants we may receive. One way that we obtain a larger budget is by proving we have served as many people as possible, and we do that through keeping track of our statistics. We measure how many people come in the door everyday, how many books or other materials are checked out, how many questions you ask, and how many people attend our events. By increasing our numbers we can prove we deserve more money to put towards serving the community even better next year. So how do you support your local library? By using all our amenities! Check out as many books as you can (as long as you can keep track of everything you borrowed please!), come to our events, and ask librarians for help. You may feel like you are being a burden, but quite the opposite!
What We Have to Offer
Hopefully you know by now that the library is more than just books, but do you know all that we offer? Because it is quite a lot! For children we of course have storytimes, but we also have a Kindness Club, a monthly STEAM activity, and various other programs that can all be found here on our calendar. Then of course don’t forget our reading challenges! Right now kids can participate in Recbar Readers and be on the look out for the Summer reading challenge in June. Plus every month we have a children’s concert with music the whole family can enjoy.
Adults now have their own reading challenge they can participate in called Reads & Roasts where they can earn their own fun prizes. There are of course several book clubs to join and make-and-take crafts for adults as well.
Teens meet in the Teen Scene every Wednesday from 4-6 PM to relax and socialize. There is also a teen writing group, a Dungeons & Dragons group, and many other events so keep an eye on the calendar!
Don’t forget we also have two other locations to enjoy services – the Carnegie Center for Art and History, and the Galena Digital Branch. The Carnegie is known for fun interactive art programs and the Galena branch is home to our renowned maker space. There you can explore our 3D printer, laser cutter, cricut, and sewing machines – just to name a few options! Don’t forget to ask about the Library of Things so you can check out and bring home a telescope, ukulele, family game night kit, Ozobots, a video projector, and much more!
Lastly, remember we have a whole host of online services to offer as well. Recently, we joined the Indiana Digital Library consortium which provides access to many many more ebooks than we have ever had before. We also subscribe to many online resources to provide our community free access to tutoring through Khan Academy and Rose Hulman math help. Adults can take advantage of Mango languages, Lynda/LinkedIn Learning, Gale Courses, and Niche Academy to gain new professional skills. If you don’t have the technology to use these free resources, we have you covered there as well. We now have circulating Chromebooks, iPads, and mobile hotspots to check out.
Books About Libraries
If you are craving a book about libraries or librarians, here are a few I recommend!
The Library Book by Susan Orlean
The Starless Sea by Erin Morganstern
The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict
Thank You for Making Our Library Great!
We appreciate every single person we have the pleasure of serving and want to say thank you for making our library what it is. Your smiling faces and curious minds make coming in to work every day such a joy.
