Happy holidays! It’s hard to believe yet another year is coming to an end. A lot has happened in the last year at the library, and we’re excited by all the changes. Here’s a recap: 

We expanded the Young Adult section by moving the magazines and newspapers. This allowed us to double the shelving in Young Adult section, a much-needed expansion. Our wonderful Friends of the Library group gifted the money which purchased the new tables and seating in the young adult area.

We got two new display shelves for fun book displays. They are prettier and work better for our needs than the past display shelves we had. One was purchased with money from a memorial bequest and the other was purchased with Hy-Vee receipt donation money. We’re two-thirds of the way to our next check from Hy-Vee. Keep bringing in your receipts!

In October 2017, through a donation from the Friends of the Library, we started a small board game collection. In 2018 we greatly expanded our board game collection through further donations from the Friends of the Library and from board game companies. We currently have 161 board games and have established a monthly board game night.  

Speaking of new collections, we have also added maker kits to the collection. These kits focus on STEAM concepts (science, technology, engineering, art and math) and include all-age kits that teach circuits and coding, crochet, hand-lettering, and other skills. 

We applied to the Sewing Machine Project and received five refurbished Brother sewing machines in summer 2018. We have put on two Sewing 101 classes so far and will be continuing to offer more sewing classes into the new year. Thank you to the Brookings Area Quilters Guild for helping us offer these classes through the donation of time and money. 

This year was also the year of escape rooms for us. We offered four escape rooms this year. These have been fantastically well attended events. Didn’t quite make it to an escape room program? Our fourth and last escape room for this year is Dec. 11-13, and there will be more in 2019.

We also have some big plans for 2019. We have received a $2,000 grant from the South Dakota Community Foundation to purchase telescopes and add astronomy programming, and we are exploring the possibility of adding a dedicated maker space, and a new website is planned for launch in 2019. After 20 years the carpet is looking more than a little worn, so we will be replacing our carpet sometime in 2019. 

Along with new carpet, we will also be getting a new circulation desk, thanks to a generous bequest of the Sandra Garnos Family.

Thank you for a wonderful 2018. I’m excited to see what will happen in 2019.