North Morrow Volume XXIIII Number 6 January 8, 2016
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Oregon Trail Library District Director makes libraries friendlier Many changes have come to the Oregon Trail Library District since Kathy Street became Director, but the main change is to make all the branch locations “friendlier” according to Street. She started working in the District in July, and became the fulltime Director on August 25th of last year. The Oregon Trail Library District was formed in 1992 to provide library services to the communities of Heppner and Boardman. In July 2000, the community of Irrigon joined the District. The Oregon Trail Library District is part of the Sage Library System which enables patrons to have access to more than one million items from over 70 libraries in Eastern Oregon including public, school, community college, and university libraries. The District is run by an elected board of directors consisting of five members, elected at-large from the District. Sally Walker, Heppner is Chair, Bill Kuhn, Heppner, Stephanie Lovin, Irrigon and Mary Jones, Boardman are also Board Members, with one current vacancy on the Board. One of the first changes Street made to the District was to align the days and hours each of the branches is open. Whether you are in Boardman, Heppner or Irrigon, Tuesday through Saturday, you’ll find each branch open at the same time: Tuesday & Wednesday, 10 to 2 (closed 2-3 for lunch) 3 to 8; Thursday & Friday 12 to 5 and Saturday 10 to 2. Each branch location is closed Sunday and Monday. An addition to the Boardman branch has been a Teen Program, which meets the 2nd and 4th Thursdays from 6 to 8 pm and is for students in grades 7 through 12. One meeting night is for a movie and games, and the other meeting is “Anime Night”, which consists of Japanese animated movies and games. Although there are only five or six consistent teens
attending now, Street hopes more will join. Another change is an outreach program called First Step. Library personnel go to schools and headstart locations every two weeks to give a storytime with
When questioned about that, the students fessed up that their parents couldn’t (or wouldn’t) sign for the student to get a library card. Recent changes allow responsible students at age 16 to sign up for their own library card.
online. The world of smart phones, Kindles, Ipads and laptop computers has forever changes how some people enjoy books now. The District is aligned with other libraries in the Sage Library System, as well as the Oregon State Library System. Check out the historical documents and drawings from the famed expedition of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark available online. The library’s website is: http://oregontrail.ploud.net/ and they also have an active FaceBook page: www.facebook.com/ OTLDlibraries. There’s a tutorial on their FaceBook page on how to use the software Overdrive to retrieve e-books or audiobooks online. Although there are volunteers who help at the libraries, Boardman
currently has no “Friends of the Library” group as in the past to assist with the “extra stuff” such as cleaning up the landscaping, or planting some flowers in pots along the front of the building to improve “curb appeal”. Is anyone is interested in serving on “Friends of the Library” or in the vacant Board Member position, contact Kathy Street for more information. Street’s background in eastern Oregon makes her a good fit for the District; she lived in Condon for 20 years and then Arlington for 3 years, where she was the school librarian. Her husband, Kelly is a long-time employee of Les Schwab Transfer Station. Together they enjoy their 3 grown kids and two grandkids.
Boardman Chamber of Commerce Awards Nomination form I nominate_____________________for:
Kathy Street, Director of OTLD laughs easily when talking about the good changes she’s made at the District. songs and rhymes to preschoolers. A box of lending books is replentished each visit, and twice each year each child is given his/her very own book to keep. This program is active in Boardman and Irrigon and has 13 sessions it attends. Getting your very own library card is something special. Street found that some students spent quite a bit of time in their library, but never checked out a book.
The branches are more than a repository for books: patrons can check out DVDsx, audiobooks, use the library’s computers to complete homework or research, printing, scanning and fax services are also available. And then there’s the world of e-books and audio books! Some patrons of the library (your writer included!) seldom physically go to the library, but are prolific readers (or listeners) of ebooks and audio books available
___Citizen of the Year ___Business Person of the Year ___Educator of the Year ___Youth of the Year ___Fire & Safety Award ___Pioneer Award Reason for Nomination:________________________________ ____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ *My name is:____________________Phone:______________ *The Chamber will provide 2 tickets for the winner & a guest. Additional tickets may be purchased. *The Nominator can introduce the winner if they wish, or have the emcee do the introduction. Return this form by mail: Chamber of Commerce, PO Box 1, Boardman, OR 97818, or fax: 541/481-2733, email to info@boardmanchamber.org or drop off at the office 101 Olson Road inside the SAGE Center. DEADLINE for nominations is 10am, January 15th.