Latest news with #library
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Welsh celebrates opening of new library building
WELSH, La. (KLFY)-The town of Welsh celebrated the opening of a new building at the McBurney Memorial Library, a library that has stood since being built in the 1970's. Jeff Davis Parish Library board officials said the McBurney Memorial Library has been in need of upgrades for over a decade, but they say their plans to expand have become a reality with their new $1.3 million facility. Michael Staton, The Jeff Davis Parish Library director, said the building is a result of former directors pointing out the lack of space in the library. 'This is really a product of the former directors recognizing that we were outgrowing the space in the Welsh branch here and being able to come up with a solution that was both fiscally responsible with the taxpayers money but still met the needs of the community,' said Staton. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now To celebrate, the library held a community festival with many activities such as live music, face painting, an escape room, and a petting zoo. Welsh Library Branch Manager, Jean Stoute, said the new building includes an 85-person meeting room, study rooms, and storage rooms. 'With the new facility, we'll be able to supply more needs to our community,' said Stoute. 'We'll have more programs, and we'll get different needs, we already have four programs a week, we are hoping to increase that, so we're excited about the progress,' said Stoute. Staton said more resources for children, the updated library will now be better equipped to support families. 'We see a lot of grandparents taking care of their kids, and this gives people something to do, keep kids occupied during the summer and just provide a safe place where we know that they're being looked after and engaged and increase their literacy, just increase their participation in their communities,' said Staton. Staton said the future of the Welsh library looks very promising. 'It gives us our own space to be able to prep programs and have things ready to go and grow and expand for the community, and the Welsh library has always been really supportive by their local community, so we're eternally grateful to the Welsh community,' said Staton. Welsh celebrates opening of new library building Sunday forecast: Clouds build, possibility of pop-up storms Which states are looking to ban soda, snack purchases for SNAP recipients? Hawaii to begin charging new 'Green Fee' tourist tax: How much will it cost visitors? How did white-tailed deer come back from near-extinction? Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Wichita's Maya Angelou Library reopens with celebration
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — After months of renovations and years of planning, the Wichita Public Library officially celebrated the grand reopening of the Maya Angelou Branch Library on Saturday, welcoming the community back to a refreshed and reimagined space at 3051 E. 21st Street. Tens of thousands crowd Sundown Parade The event began with a ribbon cutting and remarks from city leaders, including District 1 Council Member Brandon Johnson, who reflected on the years of planning and community input that led to the branch's transformation. 'I am really excited today,' Johnson said. 'This is something that has been in the works for years.' The Angelou Branch quietly reopened in March after undergoing extensive remodeling, which included the addition of a sunroom, updated interiors, and a relocated study room. Improvements also include upgraded lighting and flooring, along with a seed library for residents to grow their own food. 'We're really doing Maya Angelou justice,' Johnson said. 'I hope that people feel welcome and included. When you look at the renovation, the artwork, the cultural artwork, the quote that is on the outside on the mural, I hope that a lot of the folks in this community see themselves in the space.' The library also now features extended hours, remaining open until 8 p.m., two hours later than before. 'I am looking forward to seeing more young people coming through here,' Johnson said. 'The library is where I spent a lot of my time as a kid. I love to read.' For Johnson, the moment was personal. 'I think about my upbringing, growing up in poverty. We didn't have enough money to buy books all the time, so I spent a lot of time in the library,' he said. 'I would check out the Goosebumps books. I think I read the whole series twice.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Flathead County Library board breaks with fundraising partner over Kalispell branch project
May 31—The Flathead County Library Board of Trustees voted last week to break with its nonprofit fundraising arm, the Flathead Library Foundation, as it prepares to launch a campaign to build a new Kalispell branch. The 4-1 decision, which came as a shock to foundation officials, was made after board Chair Dave Ingram expressed frustration with how slow the process was of signing a fundraising agreement. He also accused the foundation of acting improperly and being "coercive" after the organization asked the board to agree to three conditions for its support in the endeavor. The conditions included unanimous support from the board on a capital campaign agreement, a commitment of capital improvement project funds from the county and a commitment from the county to support the library in the future. Foundation leadership, which disputed Ingram's characterizations of the conditions, said the organization needed a signed agreement that ensured support before it approached donors. It's normal for a document like this to go through several revisions, according to the foundation. "There is no coercion, only basic requests for the sort of assurances that any donor deserves," said foundation Executive Director Sara Busse after the meeting. The memo that included the conditions was sent to the board the day before its April meeting. The timing rankled Ingram, he told fellow trustees. "To me these actions raise serious issues regarding overstepping operational authority by inserting themselves in negotiations, repeated breakdowns in communication, a lack of transparency and the attempt to influence or control the decisions of a public governing body," Ingram said at the board's May meeting. Trustee Carmen Cuthbertson echoed Ingram, stating that the library needs a "reliable, dependable, honest, trustworthy fundraising entity." "We do not have it right now," she said. Ingram stated that possible fundraising avenues include reducing the earnest money down payment, possible owner financing and potentially renegotiating the purchase price with a better understanding of "what we bring to the table" for the property owners of the future home of the Kalispell branch. During the public comment period, Flathead Library Foundation Board president Erica Wirtala responded to the criticisms. "How is it possible to go to a donor ... when it looks like the Board of Trustees is not all on board and we don't have very solid assurances from the county commissioners that they are behind this project as well?" Wirtala said. Flathead County commissioners publicly expressed support for the project in early May but cautioned that their focus was on the completion of a new jail. Work to purchase property at the Kalispell Center Mall for the library's future location officially began last summer. In August, the board sent its initial letter of intent to SHOP Companies, the Texas developer that bought the mall last year, and began negotiations. At the time, Ingram said, the board was working on two documents: a capital campaign agreement with the foundation and the buy-sell agreement with the landowner. The former document is an agreement between the library and foundation that outlines the first phase of the project: acquisition of the property. After multiple revisions and the document going back and forth between the two entities, the agreement was officially approved by the board on a 3-2 vote on March 27. The split decision left foundation leaders concerned. "We want the same thing the Board of Trustees wants. We would love to have a new library. We would love to help you with that. But to go to fundraisers, hold events, and to ask people for money, you have to show that everybody is on board with the project. A 3-2 vote doesn't do that," Wirtala said. The foundation sent the three requirements after that vote, stating that they would not sign the agreement until those three conditions were met. Cuthbertson said that the inclusion of guarantees was irrelevant given the limited amount of money going toward libraries overall. "What I need is a foundation that understands that conditions are not ideal, and we just have to work with what we have," she said. "If the foundation needs ideal conditions in order to be able to fundraise for us, then the foundation should consider this project a lost cause." Trustee Jane Wheeler, the only board member to vote against separating from the Foundation, made a motion at the meeting to return the agreement to the Board of Trustee's facilities committee for further review before ending the relationship. The motion failed. Moving forward, Ingram stated that the library is willing to work with the foundation on the project but that they aren't associating the project with the foundation's ability to fundraise. Foundation members are concerned that without a clear path forward, fundraising will be difficult. "We've been told there are entities and people who could potentially make this happen," Ingram said after the meeting. "Rather than being bogged down with further contract language, we decided to open it up." The Flathead Library Foundation was created to support the Flathead County library through philanthropy, collaboration and advocacy. Their fundraising work helped complete the new branch of the library in Bigfork last year. Reporter Kate Heston may be reached at 758-4459 or kheston@
BBC News
3 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Wolverhampton library's windows smashed by vandals, police say
A library in Wolverhampton which is nearly 100 years old has been targeted by vandals, police Midlands Police said severals windows at the Low Hill Library in Kempthorne Avenue, which opened in 1930, were smashed over the past few weeks.A force spokesperson said they have put on extra patrols in the area to try to reassure people who use the building and to try to stop further with information about the vandalism and who might be behind it, was asked to contact the force. Follow BBC Wolverhampton & Black Country on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
BBC News
4 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Millisle: Linfield captain 'blown away' by new school library
He has won it all in football as captain of Linfield, but a new library in Millisle Primary School had Jamie Mulgrew almost lost for words."I'm just blown away by it," he told BBC News NI. "It's going to make such a massive difference to the children".Millisle Primary's library is a bit special County Down seaside village is famous for its caravan parks - and that brought opportunity when one of them gifted the school a caravan that was due to go up for sale. Parents and staff got to work transforming it into what is now called the Windmill Library, named after one of the village's landmarks. Parents 'sacrificed time, money, effort' With 240 pupils, the school struggles for space. Principal Ian McManus said they previously had no room for a library."Our previous library was just a number of shelves in the computer suite, so it was awkward in terms of children getting to borrow books," he said."We have a caravan, which is synonymous with the village already, (and) everybody thought it would be a great idea to convert the caravan into a library."He said parents had "sacrificed their time, money, effort" to fundraise to create the library."We brought in tradespeople who we knew would do a really good job and I think we have the perfect finish," he added."Research globally shows that children who read for fun at 10 years old go on to have better results at 16."We want to be a school that imparts that for life for our children, so we throw everything at it." Education Minister Paul Givan came to the school to officially open the Windmill Library, and he was impressed."All of the evidence shows that if you get engaged in reading in your early years it massively impacts on your academic performance throughout the rest of your education," he said."Financially, school budgets are under pressure but what they've been able to do here through their own initiative I think is something to be commended." 'I love it' Pupils 10-year-old Preston and 10-year-old Julia got their first glimpse inside the Windmill Library."I think it's really good and I love it," Julia said."It's very good, and gives all the younger people and older people a chance to read in silence," Preston favourite author is Anthony Horowitz."All his books are action packed, and I like action," he meanwhile, is a fan of David Walliams and enjoys reading."It keeps your mind motivated and I think it's really fun and it helps you with your imagination," she said. Jamie Mulgrew has been taking time out to encourage pupils at the school to read for a number of has a "Books and Boots" who meet reading targets get a weekly session working on their football skills with the former Northern Ireland international."The difference that this programme has made to the children has been absolutely fantastic," Mulgrew he admits he was a reluctant reader at school."I've three children myself and now I see the difference that it can make and the importance of it," he told BBC News NI."It's something I try and instil into my children and I suppose learn from the mistakes I made."
