Children’s services librarian outlines programs, outreach and new collections

Children’s services librarian Jay Hodnet told the Churchill County Library Board about existing and expanding youth services including an elementary book club, a teen library club that helps order young-adult materials, three weekly in-person story times (averaging about 23 children each), a Saturday virtual story time, STEAM sessions, Reading with Rover therapy-dog sessions, Books for Babies outreach with Banner Churchill maternity staff, and a seed library that circulated about 45 seed packets per month in the fall.

Hodnet said the elementary book club will mark two years in September and that the program grew from a United Way book donation. She described a seed-library plan to encourage Fallon-proven seeds and to develop a self-sustaining seed collection including native species such as basin wild rye. Hodnet said Beanstack is being used for summer-reading registration and year-round reading challenges for all ages; summer reading pre-registration opened May 20 and the kickoff is scheduled for June 7.

Hodnet also described special circulating backpacks for community science (a junior naturalist kit and a night-sky telescope) and highlighted recent and planned classroom tours, author and conservation programs, and partnerships with the local museum and Walker Basin Conservancy. Board members praised outreach efforts to schools and the virtual programming that lets staff reach patrons who cannot visit the library in person.

Board members and staff discussed volunteer support, program logistics and coordinating with school and county events; no formal action was taken on the presentation.