Prov. money makes RR Library better for kids

By Ken Johnston
Editor

The Rainy River Public Library celebrated major improvements to its facilities on Saturday with an open house.
Two years ago the library board and staff began working on making the children’s section of the library more inviting and fun for kids to use.
They applied for a Trillium Foundation grant and received approval for $11,000 for capital costs.
“The major focus for the project was the kids area,” said Librarian Penny Shumaker.
They purchased new furniture, shelving, lighting and a storage cupboard. The “Kid Zone” as it is now called, has also been painted with bright inviting colours. As part of the project it was expected that volunteer hours would be contributed by the community to make it happen.
Penny’s family, especially her husband Tom, volunteered countless hours putting up all the shelving, slot wall and built the arch-way.
Work took as long as it did because the library remained open the entire time. “We still had to operate the library and worked around normal operations to get it done,” said Shumaker. Each week the Kid Zone plays host to a story hour for kids as long as they are accompanied by an adult. That is every Tues. at 10:30 a.m.
Shumaker said the reaction by parents has been very positive. “They all think it is fabulous.”
“The (main) idea behind this is for the parent to go in with them (kids) and read with them. We have provided a safe and welcome environment to do that.”
An activity area compliments the room. “We tried to put out activities that compliment the reading experience,” explained Shumaker. Things like crafts and puzzles, etc.
Shumaker said the idea came from a conference she attended. While she wishes she had more space she is pleased with how it turned out.
In addition to the Kid Zone, some of the Trillium monies were used to purchase furniture for a quiet reading room at the back of the library. It is currently still a work in progress.
Since the grant was for capital costs only, no literature was bought with it. However, Shumaker said the proceeds from the penny table at the recent Borderland Orchestra fund raising concert went towards new materials for the Kid’s Zone.