Library looking for sponsors

Library improvements continue at various stages thanks to a number of grants Gibson Memorial Library has received over the past year, spanning from physical additions to new programs.

Work on the pavilion itself has been done for a while, but furnishing the area was a different story. Thanks to a large grant from the South Central Iowa Community Foundation and a donation from Union County Chicks with Checks, most of the outdoor furniture has been paid for. However, the library had to dig into some of their own savings to complete the payment. They’re now looking for sponsors to finish funding the outdoor furniture.

“That said, there are chairs, tables and the picnic tables that could be sponsored and most of this cost has already been paid,” Library Director Danielle Dickinson Thaden said. “If we get $2,500 to $3,000 in sponsors, we’ll have fully paid that off without digging into our funding. If we go above that, that’s not a problem either because we can look at adding after that some of that money for heaters, maybe public art.”

With three furniture items available for sponsorship, there’s a wide variety of prices. A chair comes in at $275, a table at $845 and a picnic table at $1,265. The sponsorship of a furniture item includes an engraved plaque recognizing the sponsorship. Sponsorship forms can be found at the library or online, with checks made out to Gibson Memorial Library.

Busy with the pavilion, the library hasn’t had the chance to utilize a second grant from SCICF focused on improvements inside the library. Dickinson Thaden said the library has received a six-month extension for the grant, though she is doubtful it will take that long to complete the grant.

The $10,000 grant for accessibility services from the American Library Association is continuing forward, the money likely to arrive by the end of the month. According the grant guidelines, the head of the project must go through four courses to get a better understanding of disability and accessibility in libraries. Additionally, a community meeting with the target audience must be held before any grant money is spent. These meetings can begin taking place on May 1.

“With the targeted audience for this grant being those that have difficulties leaving their house or can’t leave their house at all, what I’ll probably have to do is do one-on-one phone calls,” project head and library Assistant Director Jordan Foote said. “With that, they’ll just have to tell me how we can better serve them as our target audience.”

Once the project has officially started in May, the library has until April 30, 2026, to spend the full $10,000. A final report on the project must be filed by June 30, 2026.

In other library news...

April 6 through 12 marks National Library Week. In celebration and support of the library, Dickinson Thaden asked board members and patrons to share why they love the library.

Three library policies had changes approved. The policy regarding genealogy usage simply updated with new information and resources. The policy regarding checkouts from institutions was changed to increase the amount of materials from 25 to 30. The policy regarding public relations was changed to include a mention of social media.