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Ketchikan Public Library details outreach programs to borough assembly
Summary
Rebecca Brown told the Ketchikan Gateway Borough Assembly about home deliveries, senior‑center visits, a new sensory garden and book‑share placements (including on Coast Guard vessels), and reported 57 senior‑center visits in the first half of the year.
Rebecca Brown, outreach services specialist with the Ketchikan Public Library, presented the library’s outreach program to the borough assembly on Aug. 4, describing deliveries, on‑site visits and community partnerships that extend services beyond the library building.
Brown said home‑based services are “the heart of outreach,” describing regular deliveries and read‑alouds to senior centers, hospital long‑term care and the correctional facility. She told the assembly that “in the first half of this year I visited area senior centers 57 times,” and that outreach also serves patrons recovering from surgery or living with mobility limitations.
Brown highlighted the library’s sensory garden—redesigned with assistance from Southeast Alaska Independent Living Center and other partners—to increase accessibility and include programming such as weekly worm feedings for children. She described book‑share boxes installed at community locations and on Coast Guard vessels, and said Friends of the Library provided grant funds to support magazine purchases included with outreach deliveries.
Council members praised the program’s reach. Mister Bailey said Brown’s work “makes a difference in other people’s lives,” and Miss Hartsen noted the scale of services provided by Brown’s part‑time role. Brown also outlined memory kits for caregivers, donated puzzle circulation, and upcoming senior safety and tech programs in collaboration with the Ketchikan Police Department and Ketchikan Public Utilities.
The assembly did not take formal action on the presentation. The library was invited to provide contact information and further program details as part of ongoing outreach updates.
