Editor's note: This article is the latest in the Co-op Cares series with the Southern Plains Co-op. Thanks to the Co-op for supporting this venture to celebrate organizations in the communities it serves that do great things in the community.
OXBOW - Sheri Cooley hasn’t been with the Oxbow Public Library for a long time, but she has quickly seen the value the organization has for the community.
Cooley was hired as the branch librarian in December 2020. Since that time, she has enjoyed interacting with people from the community.
The pandemic has obviously impacted the programs they can offer, the number of people they can have coming through the doors and even the amount of time it can be been open. The library was closed for a month starting in March, so all programming had to be offered virtually.
“We called them take and make packages where families could stop by and pick up a craft that they could take home and do with their kids, and a book to go along with it, because we didn’t have any programming going on in the library at that time.”
It gave the kids an activity for when they were at home. It was free for the families to enjoy.
A few adult projects could be picked up, taken home and complete by people on their own time. Video instructions often accompanied the projects.
Cooley completed theme packages of bundled books. For example, she gathered books on dinosaurs for the kids, and had them labelled so that families could pick up the books.
The library, like so many other attractions, is fully open again. She noted that on July 13, there was an adult book club whose members chose to meet outside in the shade, because they had children’s programming happening inside and the library was a busy place that day.
“We had a library filled with little kids who were excited to all see each other, and they were looking at books and they were playing with the puzzles, and then they did a craft. The ladies chose to meet outside because it was a little noisy, but they were all really excited to all see the kids in the library as well.”
When she started at the library in December, she didn’t see many kids visiting. Some parents came in and picked up books for the youths. But now she’s seeing lots of kids accessing the facility.
Since the programs are free, it provides options for families. It costs money to have kids in many activities, but the library is free.
It’s especially important since many families have been struggling financially more than in the past.
People are very appreciative about their efforts. They’re pleased the programs are free, and that the library did what they could to have free services for different age groups.
“I know the moms really appreciate the packages that you can just take home and make at home, because it takes all of the prep work out of it for them at home, so they can actually sit down and do a craft and activity.”
The library is in the midst of a sunset photography contest. Both kids and adults are able to participate. The Oxbow area has had so many beautiful sunsets, she said, and they want to showcase them.
“In August, we’re going to develop them, and then voting will take place,” she said.
The library also has a competition in the summer called “See How Much You’ve Saved,” in which patrons are asked to keep track of how many materials they’ve borrowed in the months of June, July and August. At the end of August, they will see who saved the most money by borrowing books and other items versus purchasing them.
And children’s programming is happening Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 10:30 a.m.
