Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Library Programs topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Library director outlines new programs: seed library, spice club, puzzle exchange, paint nights, incubator and author visit
Summary
Library Director Tiffany Anderson presented a slate of community programs at the Feb. 14 Richfield Public Library board meeting including a seed library, spice-of-the-month club, puzzle exchange, monthly paint nights, a science incubator project with hatching chicks, and an author visit scheduled for Feb. 28.
Library Director Tiffany Anderson told the Richfield Public Library Board on Feb. 14 that staff are developing several new and returning community programs intended to increase visits and broaden services.
Anderson said she is planning a seed library modeled on a program at Provo Library: donated or library-purchased seed packets would be available for patrons to take, grow and, if successful, return seed stock to the library to sustain the collection. She proposed storing seeds in a small card-catalog drawer unit and using refrigeration in the off-season to preserve germination rates.
Other planned initiatives include a puzzle exchange in which families borrow or swap puzzles at the library’s existing collection; a Spice-of-the-Month club that distributes small spice packets with accompanying recipes and hosts a monthly potluck discussion; and recurring paint nights tied to tutorial videos or a local instructor to encourage community participation.
On the science side, Anderson said the library acquired an egg incubator and expected middle-school teacher Mr. Williams to deliver chicken eggs for a short-term hatching display. She said the teacher intends to return chicks to the school once hatched.
Anderson also reported an author visit: local author Caden Matheson will be at the library Feb. 28 for a signing and presentation on youth empowerment and mental-well-being. Anderson said Matheson hopes to return with a second title later in the year.
Volunteers were part of the director’s update. Anderson said she had contacted Meredith at R6 (regional volunteer services) about senior volunteers and noted two post–high-school special-needs volunteers (Amber and Zach Call) already assist with shelving and children’s programming on a weekly basis.
Staff and some board members discussed modest, low-cost starting options for paint nights and other programs — for example, inexpensive easels and canvases and using the library’s smart TV to stream tutorials.
Anderson said she was also applying for a small grant program run by United for Libraries and Penguin Random House that awards $500 or $1,000 in-kind or monetary support to rural and small libraries to assist friends-of-the-library groups; the application was due Feb. 18.
The board did not make any formal policy changes on these program items; Anderson said staff would return with additional planning and, where needed, budget implications.
