Turon Community Library is the proud recipient of a $500 New Programs/Projects Grant from South Central Kansas Library System (SCKLS). SCKLS serves 144 participating public libraries, school districts, academic libraries and special libraries in 12 counties. The mission of the South Central Kansas Library System is to assist member libraries to provide excellent service to their communities
According to the grant guidelines, “This grant is reserved for new or special library programs that allow a library to diversify offerings or explore unique opportunities.”
Libraries are often billed as just a repository for books. A place for bookworms to come and fawn over the latest new release without having to pay for it. (And that is a significantly marvelous perk of a library – free access to books.) However, libraries, and specifically our library has a broader mission – we are repositories for information. Libraries are community centers and hubs for creativity. Granted, most library programing and use is centered around literacy – reading and writing, both digital and analog. However, libraries are evolving just as the demands of our patrons and the digital age is evolving. Other forms of literacy, creativity, and community engagement are being explored, recognized, and utilized by a growing number of libraries to better serve the needs of our communities. Let’s be honest, with the internet and the easy access to free digital books, why go to the library at all? Why do we even need the library in the first place?
Because a library is what you make it. You decide what it gets to be. You, the patron, are the one who breathes life into a library and defines it.
Right now, our most frequent and influential patrons all happen to be under the age of twelve, and love creating individual works of art.
For this reason, we will be using the $500 to start an art club and purchase supplies.
Art and the library go hand in hand for many reasons. Think about the first books you ever read. They were full of illustrations. The illustrations captivated you, drew you in, and were possibly the reason you loved or selected the book to begin with. The illustrations provided clues to help you understand what you were reading, or interpret the emotions the author was trying to convey. The illustrations filled in the gaps in the story and brought it to life.
Art is a universal language. It’s expressive and reflective properties actually develop literacy and communication skills. Not to mention how the act of using different mediums in different ways – from holding a paint brush to cutting paper with scissors – develops both gross and fine motor skills needed for other tasks, like writing. Art promotes visual literacy and verbal creativity. It also gives those who don’t like reading and writing and opportunity to express themselves and explore their world.
So it is easy to see why art belongs in the library and we are excited to be able to offer this opportunity year round.
Standby for official details when the program rolls out. And if you are a creative artist of any type, consider donating your time to teach a class at the library. We would love to host you and your work, especially if you are local.
Last but certainly not least, we want to extend a community wide thank you to SCKLS for making this possible and allowing us to explore this unique opportunity to serve our community in a new and exciting way.
