Alva Review-Courier -

The staff at the Alva Public Library is gearing up for the Summer Reading Program, which will be held during June. Library Director Sandra Ott told the Library Board Monday that this year the formal program will not stretch past the end of June. Amy Ryerson, youth librarian, is coordinating the program. The Little Explorers preschool group will split into two divisions for smaller class sizes. Information will soon go out to the schools for students to take home to parents.

Then in July, there will be specialized programs offered in small groups. If any sessions are really popular, they’ll take waiting lists and possibly offer those again. The library will also do their incentive reading program with fun activities like Reading Bingo which will encourage students to explore the library. Ott said the bingo cards might tell participants to find a book they enjoyed when they were younger and read it again, or they might be asked to read a book starting with a specified letter of the alphabet. The prizes will be certificates for snow cones and ice cream. Board member Lynn Wilt said about the prizes from local businesses, “It also gets them to see other people in the community value their reading.”

WHOFI Software

An Oklahoma-based software company offered a one year subscription to WHOFI during the Oklahoma Libraries Association Conference in Norman. Angela Courson, a staff member at the Alva library, received a grant to attend. She was the lucky winner of the WHOFI software.

According to Ott, the software normally costs $1,000 per year. She said the program will help them track and report what they do at the library which will help in reporting to the state.

When asked about the Creativebug program just begun at the library, Ott said it is catching on quicker than they expected. The program is offered free online through the library website. It encourages kids to read and provides numerous ideas and activities. It also has creative ideas and information for adults.

Library Week

National Library Week is April 23-29, said Ott. The Alva Public Library will be encouraging patrons to register for drawings. The winners will be able to choose from a selection of books. Ott said many of the books have been donated. Frequently a donated book will be received right after they’ve already ordered the same title so they end up with duplicates.

Imagination Library

On March 20, the library hosted an Imagination Library workshop with ten northwest Oklahoma libraries attending. Imagination Library was begun by Dolly Parton and provides free books to children.

Ott said when the local library started to sign up, they learned the Alva Public Schools beat them to it. The schools will be using their foundation to help raise funds for the program which has a monthly charge plus a lump sum fee of about $2,000. Ott said the school foundation has already signed up several businesses to adopt a month of the program. The library will help by managing the monthly things, like ordering the books.

Waynoka Schools are also signing up for Imagination Library, and they are including Freedom in their coverage.

Finances, Maintenance Projects

Ott went over financial information. The library is usually conservative spending money on materials until late in the fiscal year so they can see how much money will be left in the budget. Ott said they will spend the next six weeks ordering many materials and supplies.

She attended the departmental budget meetings to plan next year’s budget. One capital outlay item on the budget will be replacement of the big air conditioner which she described as “limping along.”

Alva received a grant to replace regular lighting with LED. The city planned to use the money for light replacement at the Alva Recreation Complex and at the library. Ott said the amount of money for the library portion was too much for what they would need to do. The library has already adapted most of their lighting to LED so using the grant money would be paying to replace light bulbs, she said. Instead, the city will use that part of the grant to change the city office to LED.

The library has a purchase order out with Starr Lumber to replace the windows in the Share conference room with double-paned glass. The new windows will use the frames already in place.

After discussing painting the paneling in the offices with the board, Ott received a quote from Full Spectrum Painters of $6,400 to paint the two offices and the whole back wall of the main floor. The work will also include filling in cracks in the back wall. Most of the work will be done during the day, but the library can remain open. Initial prep work will be done after hours.

Ott showed the board some samples of carpet squares to be used for the two offices and the front desk area. She pointed out the color chosen by everyone on the staff. She said each staff member voted separately so they wouldn’t influence each other, and all picked the same color. The board agreed it was a good choice. Northwest Flooring will install the carpet squares at a cost of $4,269.

It was suggested the two paneled walls of the Share conference room where the board was meeting could also be painted to lighten up the room. Ott said Full Spectrum estimated it would cost $1,600. Board members discussed the idea, but most thought the room was light enough with the windows providing light.

Tai Chi Classes Start Monday

Board member Lynn Wilt has been working to become certified as a volunteer trained teacher for tai chi. She is working with OHAI (Oklahoma Healthy Aging Initiative) through the University of Oklahoma. The program focuses on improving the health of aging adults.

Wilt said she will begin teaching tai chi classes starting on Monday. The free one hour class will be offered Monday and Wednesday at 1 p.m. at the library. Those who want to attend need to register with the library. Class size is limited to 12. Wilt said the exercises are intended to improve balance and movement.