This has been an exciting year for the Mount Vernon Public Library and its Foundation. There was sadness and joy as we left the old library with a party where 300 people drank punch, ate cookies, reminisced, and cried as we said good bye to that beloved building which has served us so well.
On to the new library where the Foundation co-hosted a joyous Ribbon Cutting with federal, state, and local officials congratulating us on our astonishing new building. The library opened softly a few weeks later while construction continued. It was time for the Foundation to start spending the money we had raised from generous citizens and businesses. Library staff told us what they needed to furnish a modern library. We funded a well supplied STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) Maker Space in the new teen room with a 3D printer, laser cutter, and poster printer as well as sophisticated gaming consoles and games where teens gather and experience the library in new ways. Younger kids found a huge soft dragon and small rugs in the story time area, new books, and kid friendly furnishings that allow crafting, lego building, and parent-child reading. We added to the Adult World Languages Book Collection, supported the Indigenous Knowledge Series, and bought lots of new books to put on brightly colored book trucks that help the staff organize shelving and reshelving by color. We underwrote free books for the summer reading program where each participant received a free book. Free books went to start the Spanish language book club, and to the juvenile detention center where the Outreach Department staff visits young inmates every two weeks. The city supplied a car for the library which we “wrapped” with distinctive library logos to show the community the extent of outreach as staff goes to retirement homes, and places where children gather such as the Boys and Girls Club. We brought celebrity entertainer, Lucky Diaz to Hillcrest Park for the Dia de Los Ninos celebration organized by the Outreach staff. The Foundation never stopped fund-raising to stay abreast of the vital programs the library brings to the community. We brought author, Timothy Egan to the Lincoln for a very successful evening of fundraising, inspiration, and community joy. Donors responded generously to National Library Giving Day in April and our end-of-year plea for funds.
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February 2025
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