The North Jefferson County Library District received its shipment of furniture and other supplies on Sept. 27 courtesy of a $4,000 ARPA grant applied for by the North Jefferson County Friends of the Library.
Jane Hamman, chair of the library district board, told The Monitor that through couponing and sale shopping, the libraries were able to purchase stackable chairs, air filters, hand sanitizer dispensers, book sorting bins and still had $1,770.72 left over to donate to the library for the purchase of books and movies for adults and youth.
A Sept. 5 library district press release explains that it will be easier to meet cleansing standards with the easily sanitized plastic chairs. These will replace the libraries’ wooden chairs which were “difficult to wash.”
The press release also explained that the district was unable to make some of these purchases during the COVID-19 pandemic to accommodate cleaning supplies and masks in the budget.
“We’re replacing or building up some of the newer things again that we couldn’t purchase during that time,” Hamman said, adding that ARPA approved the donation.
Both the Clancy and Montana City libraries received items from the grant, with Clancy receiving a new children’s table in addition to items, which will be easier to clean than its wooden one.
Cheryl Vukasin and Nancy Scusa, members of the Friends of the Library, found out about the ARPA grant a week before the application deadline.
“We must have done a good job,” Scusa said during the celebration of the delivery.
Patrons can view the new items during the libraries’ regular hours of operation. The Clancy library is open from 1–4 p.m. on Tuesdays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesdays and Thursdays, 1–7 p.m. on Fridays and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays.
The Montana City library is open from 1–7 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Fridays and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays.
