pinal county l ibrary district newsletter
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PINAL COUNTY LIBRARY DISTRICT
NEWSLETTER
PCLD Newsletter : May 2017 - Aug 2017 : 1
Director’s Column By Denise Keller
Library District Updates
The e-rate applications have been filed
on time, and now I am waiting to re-
ceive the notice of funding. It was quite
an interesting process this year, since
the Universal Service Administration
Company (USAC) announced the
availability of construction funds for
broadband build-out to rural areas.
The time between the announcement
and the deadline for e-rate applications
was very short, so I was not able to
send out a Request for Proposal (RFP)
to solicit bids from all telecom compa-
nies. Instead, we sent a Request for
Quote to all the vendors on the Arizona
State Master Contract. Only two quotes
were received, Cox and CenturyLink.
Cox quoted only Florence and Coo-
lidge, where we already have 20 mg
connections. CenturyLink quoted fiber
for all locations, but the final monthly
cost would have been beyond the Li-
brary District budget, and certainly not
something other entities in the rural
areas could afford. The second quote
from CenturyLink was for DSL in Ari-
zona City, Mammoth and Oracle. Ari-
zona City will entail construction costs
of $41,000 which will be entirely cov-
ered by e-rate and the funds set aside
by the Arizona Corporation Commis-
sion. Mammoth and Oracle will not
require construction.
Each of these three libraries will be
bumped up to 20 mgs, which should
help to speed up public access com-
puters some. The broadband build-out
initiative will continue for another year,
so perhaps we will be able to reassess
the landscape in the fall and do a full
RFP and solicit bids from all providers.
Staff at the Arizona State Library told
me we were the only library in the state
to file a construction application on
time. I understand that many school
districts did make the filing deadline,
so we may be able to take advantage of
that next year.
We are in the “testing” phase for the
Polaris upgrade. There are a few librar-
ies helping us test the system, including
libraries that are not in our county net-
work (i.e. AJ, CAC, Casa Grande). We
have not heard back on any problems
other than a printer that would not
print. The next step is for us to decide
when we want to do the cut-over. Po-
laris would like to get this on their
schedule very soon. We are concerned
about how to schedule Polaris down-
time since most libraries have continu-
ing summer reading programs. We are
trying for open dates in the second and
third weeks of August, since June is
Summer Reading and July is taken up
by vacations. As soon as we have a
couple of dates we will poll the librar-
ies to see what will work best.
We filled the Library Technician posi-
tion. Our new staff member is Victoria
Murphy and she is doing a great job
keeping up with cataloging. I am so
grateful to my staff for keeping a
cheerful and “can do” attitude, and
pitching in to help each other. In spite
of that, you may see a little slow-down
in our turn-around times. Of course, the
end of the fiscal year will cause even
more of a backlog, so please be patient
while we struggle to get things back to
normal.
2017 Issue 2 May 2017 - July 2017
Gale Kids InfoBits has a graphical
interface that gives young students
an easy way to find age–appropriate
information. InfoBits is continuously
updated to match elementary-level
curricula and is geared to fit the
needs of today’s young learners.
InfoBits has books, magazines,
news, videos, and more than 13,000
images. Easy-to-navigate search re-
sults allow kids to focus their search.
The modern design and simple navi-
gation makes it easy for kids to ex-
plore content and gain comfort with
database searching. Users can limit
search results by content type, con-
tent level, and other limiters.
To Find Gale Kids InfoBits go to:
pinalcountyaz.gov/library Click the
RESEARCH tab, then look for it in the
Homework Help section for Elemen-
tary School. Contact your local pub-
lic library to get a FREE library card.
PCLD Newsletter : May 2017 - Aug 2017 : 2
Around the County News from the Libraries
APACHE JUNCTION
Library Renovation
The Apache Junction Public Library
received a $35,000 grant from the Ari-
zona State Library, Archives and Pub-
lic Records to renovate part of the li-
brary.
The grant, funded by the state legisla-
ture through the State Grants-in-Aid
program, is meant for library construc-
tion and programming projects.
“This is an exciting move for us to ad-
dress some space issues at the library,”
Spencer Paden, director of the Apache
Junction library, said. “We’re really
looking forward to being able to take
on this project as a result of this grant.”
Pictured above are shelves being
moved in preparation for the renova-
tion project to create a program room
in the North Wing. The new program
room will have dual use as a quiet area
when not in use for large, loud pro-
grams.
The Library partnered with ASU and
Apache Junction Economic Develop-
ment Department to offer business
startup school.
The classes meet on consecutive
Wednesdays and cover an overview of
entrepreneurship and how developing
an entrepreneurial mindset can trans-
form ideas into realities.
We were pleased to be informed that
our pilot project for the Kauffman In-
clusion Challenge was approved for
the $5000 seed funding.
For more information about our pro-
grams, visit the Apache Junction Pub-
lic Library’s website at www.ajpl.org
or call (480) 474-8555.
CASA GRANDE
LibCon & Summer Reading
Casa Grande and Vista Grande have
wrapped up a very busy few months.
The children’s Code Club was cov-
ered by the Casa Grande Dispatch to
raise awareness about STEM program
offerings and Vista Grande experi-
enced a surge of teens in our Maker-
space. The Literati Book Club selected
A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Back-
man as the Favorite Book of the Sea-
son.
Summer Reading is just a few short
weeks away! For family friendly fare,
we are hosting a Saturday Movie Mati-
née of some of the latest and greatest
films that will appeal to everyone!
Vista Grande Library started Continu-
ing Spanish Conversation Group for
those people who already know some
Spanish but want to brush up and mas-
ter the accent. Lead by a former lin-
guist fluent in seven languages and her
fun-loving younger brother.
Also as promised our LibCon is return-
ing with a vengeance for our 3rd An-
nual with twice as many presenters and
expecting hordes of costumed folks to
attend! Come join the ka-razy on Sat-
urday, July 15th from 1:00 pm-4:30pm
Contact the Casa Grande Libraries for
more information about all of their
programs: (520) 421-8710
COOLIDGE Program Room Grand Opening
Summer Reading Kickoff
The Coolidge Public Library cele-
brated the Ribbon Cutting and Grand
Opening of their recently completed
Programming Room on May 16. Con-
struction began last September and the
room was finished April 24 with deliv-
ery of the new furniture. Included in
the renovation is a new study room
that seats up to four people, available
by reservation.
More than 60 people from the commu-
nity attended the ribbon cutting, hosted
PCLD Newsletter : May 2017 - Aug 2017 : 3
by the Friends of the Library and spon-
sored by the Coolidge Chamber of
Commerce. Coolidge Mayor Jon
Thompson and Library Director Joyce
Baker cut the ribbon welcoming the
community into the new room. Ari-
zona State Representative David Cook
told of his long-standing support for
the Coolidge community. Other visit-
ing stakeholders included County Li-
brarian Denise Keller; Workforce De-
velopment Director Adeline Allen;
Dale Savage, Continuing Education
Consultant of the Arizona State Li-
brary; City Manager Rick Miller; Li-
brary Advisory Board Members and
many other community supporters.
The 1,000 square foot expansion, de-
signed by architect Bill Williams of
Engberg Anderson and built by Strat-
ton Builders is used for Story Time,
Fun Van pre-literacy programs, Lego
Club, Tween Titans, Chess Club, Adult
coloring programs, Book Club, and
other adult programs.
Though the majority of the funds for
this project came from local Impact
fees, the venture required help from
other essential partners. The Arizona
State Library Archives and Public Re-
cords, a division of the Secretary of
State, with grant funds appropriated by
the Arizona State Legislature sup-
ported this endeavor with greater than
$54,000 over two years. The Gila
River Indian Community also provided
a grant of more than $50,000 for fur-
nishings and technology.
As summer approaches, we are work-
ing diligently to bring our patrons fun
and enriching activities, while also
keeping up with current programs.
We continue to host Weekly Story
Time every Wednesday morning. Over
the past few months Miss Dani has led
quite a few fun story times including
ones for: Mother’s Day; American
Sign Language with Sign with Baby
Tucson; Dr. Seuss; and Coolidge Cot-
ton Royalty. And Miss Lanita also got
in on the action leading a library-
themed story time during Library Ap-
preciation Week.
The Fun Van is changing things up and
ceasing their Tuesday meeting times,
meeting only on Thursday mornings at
10:00 a.m.
For more information about these and
other programs, contact the Coolidge
Public Library at: (520) 723-6030
FLORENCE
Summer Reading
Readers of all ages will explore all
things building and creating this sum-
mer as Florence Community Library
presents “Build a Better World” during
their summer library program. Activi-
ties may include costume creation,
group games, challenges, art projects,
science and engineering experiments,
and more.
An adult summer reading program will
also be available, with participants
completing prize entries for every
book read, with a prize drawing held
each week. Registration for “Build a
Better World” begins on May 29, 2017
For the first time Florence Community
Library will offer two ways to partici-
pate, paper logging or online. Partici-
pants must choose only one format. To
track and record minutes online, please
visit, florence.azsummerreading.org Or call the library: 520-868-8311
KEARNY
National Library Week
National Library week was April 10th-
14th and the Kearny Public Library held
a Bookmark Contest on this year’s
theme “Libraries Transform.” After all
the entries had been received a panel of
judges chose the best 5 bookmarks from
each grade level. The 5 finalists were
then posted in the library and our patrons
were asked to cast ballots for their favor-
ite for each grade.
We had our annual Open House on
Thursday April 13th at 6 pm, giving out
the Bookmark Contest winners certifi-
cates and prize bags. We also raffled off
two DVDs to patrons who visited the
library during the National Library
Week’s Open House.
We would like to thank all of our faithful
patrons who helped us celebrate National
Library Week, and who voted for our
winners.
For more information, contact the Kearny
Public Library at (520) 363-5861
or visit their website at:
http://kearnylibrary.wordpress.com/
Around the County News from the Libraries
Dr. Seuss Story Time with Dani at the Coolidge Public Library.
2017 KEARNY PUBLIC LIBRARY 1st GRADE BOOKMARK WINNERSFrom left to right
1st Place: Lilianna Solis, 2nd Place: Morgan Gennicks, 3rd Place: Madison Acevedo
PCLD Newsletter : May 2017 - Aug 2017 : 4
Pinal County Library District
PO Box 2974
Florence, AZ 85132
Calendar of Events
American Library Association
Annual Conference Chicago, IL Jun 22-27
Federation Meeting Apache Junction, AZ Aug 25
Association for Rural & Small Libraries
Annual Conference St. George, UT Sept 7-9
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