MOUNT JEWETT — For those in the Mount Jewett area interested in trivia games and tons of friendly competition, you should check out what’s happening at the Mount Jewett Memorial Library on Tuesday nights at 7. Library Director Debbie Deane said the newly-established trivia night has been one of the biggest adult draws they have to offer.
In addition to trivia night, the library also offers and supports a number of other programs for specific community groups and for the community at large. These programs include summer reading, movie nights, story time, themed events, educational workshops and Swedish Festival activities.
“Programming is probably the biggest focus and investment we do here,” said Deane, who added, “we’ve been trying to branch and go out into the community more to see what people need and want.”
One of the more successful programs the library has is the summer reading program that starts in July. Deane said the program has been steadily growing in size every year with an average weekly participation level of 30 children.
Deane said the biggest program they’ve had in the recent past was a cooperative program with the Pennsylvania Game Commission that drew in about 60 children. The program offered participants a chance to hear about conservation and build a birdhouse that they could take home and put up.
“We’re planning to do another similar event this year around Earth Day,” said Deane. “We’re partnering with the master gardeners out of Smethport to build a pollinator that will attract bees.”
Deane said the current trends and research indicate a decline in the honey bee population and the library wants to use its programs to help people see and understand real issues like this.
It’s not only environmental issues that their programs look at. Deane also described how some of the programs target very specific and sometimes hard-hitting issues such as sex trafficking of children and cyber vulnerabilities and security.
“We really want to be proactive and evolve what the library is,” said Deane. “We’re not just about books anymore.”
Deane went on to talk about a sex trafficking program held at the library in 2016 that was far better received than she thought it would be. She said more than 40 people showed up for the program, including several teens.
“After the program was over, I had this one high school girl come up to me and say she didn’t realize how vulnerable she really was,” said Deane. “For me and what we try to do here, that’s important.”
Deane also describe an upcoming program that she was doing focused on internet safety with the local Girl Scout troop. Deane said the program would be done in steps, with the first being a roundtable discussion to determine what depth and detail the group wanted to go with their daughters, followed by a second tailored to the Girls Scouts themselves and then one that was open for the rest of the community.
In addition to community awareness programs, the library also has several internet-capable computers that have been recently upgraded with only one older model remaining. Deane hoped that she’d be able to update the last one this year.
In line with the computer upgrades, Deane wanted people to know the library also has a number of e-books available to check out. Many places have been switching to digital books in the past few years and Deane didn’t want the Mount Jewett library to be left behind.
“We offer e-books because we want to stay current with things. If libraries don’t change with the times, it’s not good,” Deane stated. She then went on to say, “We really need to find what the community needs and fill the gap.”
Focusing more on the community has been a staple focus of Deane’s time as the library director and it has also become a main talking point of library board meetings.
“Community outreach is an ongoing item on our board meeting minutes,” said Deane. “At the end of the year we review what worked and what didn’t and adapt to what the community needs.”
Deane said she loves the work at the library. “I love doing the programming and anything to do with the library. This job is my ideal job and it has enabled me to raise my kids, support the community and to be the parent I wanted to be.”
Moving on from programming and features, Dean also raised concern over the level of volunteerism and funding that is needed to keep things running smoothly. She said that without the eight volunteers she currently has, many of the programs wouldn’t go as smoothly as they do.
“It’s very surprising what we’ve been able to do with so little for so long,” said Deane. “We’ve done an annual fundraiser for three years now and that is a tremendous help. Without the memorials, donations and the fundraiser, we previously made do with what we had and it was hard. I wanted to show people what we could do with some money and I think we’ve been doing that.”
Deane also shed some light on the deficit they have to overcome each year, saying the state only provides a little more than $4,300 annually to keep the library open despite it costing around $15,000 per year in total operating costs.
“It can be difficult at times to make it all work,” said Deane. “Sometimes I have to focus on programs more and the library duties can suffer a little bit. Then I focus on the library stuff and the programs can suffer. In the end it works, but it is hard”
When asked what area residents could do to help, Deane stressed that more volunteers would be a big benefit and that additional donations or ideas to fundraise would always be welcome.
For more information on how to get involved or to help support the Mount Jewett Memorial Library, call 814-778-5588 or send an email to librarian@mtjewettlibrary.org.
