When people think of libraries, they envision indoor settings with librarians and long shelves stuffed with books. The Talkeetna library is all of that. But it’s also supplemented by a dedicated group of supporters who guide a litany of other literary programs.
As you approach the Talkeetna library, it hard not to notice the beautiful flower garden or the herb garden that grows outside the entrance. The library workers inside don’t have much time for projects like that.
But since 2003, the Friends of the Library have met once a month to participate in programs that support the local library. The outside flower garden, funded by the late Talkeetna resident, Suzanne Fisher, is weeded and nurtured by the Friends. Peg Vos, a member of the Friends of the Library, describes how it was created.
“It was a legacy to Suzanne. She had left money to build a garden at the library. So we met with a Master Gardener from Trapper Creek. We scrounged plants from Rose Jenne. We got some from Birch Creek Farms. We went with perennials as much as possible.
When you around the back of the library, a sign welcomes you to the “Children’s Literary Trail.” That was funded in part by the Jessica Stevens Foundation. A path winds through the woods until it reaches a lake and then wraps around to make a loop.
Throughout the trail there are reading stations. At each station is one laminated page of a children’s book. As children walk the path, they read the entire book. The children carry a passport and they receive a stamp for every book they’ve read along the trail. The book is changed every two weeks throughout the summer, motivating readers to complete the trail multiple times. Vos explains, there’s also another surprise out there.
“There’s a geocache on this trail and people have actually done it already. So I’m not sure how many kids are participating, but a lot of kids will walk this trail before or after story time on Thursday.”
The Friends of the Library is a small group. But they serve as a coordinating body for other supporters of the library.
Even the Borough maintenance crew has joined in, planting the herb garden and designing the watering system, which uses rainwater instead of drawing from the well.
Peg describes some of the other activities that the Friends do.
“We’ll also buy Amazon gift cards for readers if they hit a certain goal.”
In addition, the Friends are the force behind the “Little Free Libraries” that are popping up all around town. And coming soon will be a new program.
“We’ve come up with a new one that will start October hopefully. It is called Stone Soup and it’s for adults. It’s one night a month and it’ll be after hours, like from six to eight, and it’ll only allow twelve adults, but it’s a cooking, cultural book reading kind of thing.”
The Friends of the Library meets once a month and they are always looking for new members. Peg says that the meetings are a lot of fun. She explains how others can get involved.
“I believe we’ve moved to the second Friday, normally 1:00. We now are meeting back at the library, or if they can’t make the meeting to email. We do have a website and we also have email.”
The website for the Friends of the Library is friendsofthetalkeetnalibrary.org and their email is: fotl.tka@gmail.com
