Yearly library look back for 2024!
- 10/15/2024
- 13:27
- Jackie Kolb
With 2025 right around the corner, it is time for our yearly look back! 2024 was another busy year at Seymour Library, with new community partnerships, collections, and over 500 programs offered (so far!).
2024 kicked off with a variety of programs for lifelong learners of all ages from storytimes and STEAM programs designed to promote early childhood literacy and hands-on learning, to the Music in the Stacks concert series, travelogues, beginners knitting classes, Drop-in Mah Jongg, and chair yoga. Back by popular demand, LEGO Club, Pokémon Club, and monthly scavenger hunts in the Family Space!
In January the library’s Digital Memory Lab opened in the History Discovery Center, giving visitors access to preservation equipment for digitizing VHS tapes, photographs, documents, cassette tapes, and more! Since its opening, visitors have spent 122 hours preserving their family history!
The library shared an update on its newly re-envisioned strategic plan in March. The plan provides strategic pathways to enact our mission through inspiring people, building partnerships and participation, and celebrating place. Thank you to everyone for your invaluable feedback and support!
The spring marked the start of the library’s houseplant and gardening workshop/lecture series: Leaf, Stem, Roots. Topics included “An Introduction to the World of Orchids,” “Growing Healthy Soil & Nutritious Food,” “Houseplant Care & Design,” “Bonsai Basics,” “Orchids Around New York State,” and “Container Gardening.”
Leading up to the 2024 Total Eclipse in April, the library offered a variety of programs for all ages from Solar Eclipse STEAM, to lectures for teens and adults about the phenomenon. Over 2,000 solar eclipse glasses were made available to the community for free, and the library hosted an Eclipse viewing party. In partnership with Cayuga Tourism, the library helped collect glasses for recycling. Glasses were sent to Eclipse Glasses USA in an effort to supply children in Latin America with glasses for the October eclipse.
July through August, children and adults joined us in Discovering Summer at Seymour Library with our adventure-themed summer reading program. Highlights included: The Teddy Bear Picnic, PokéWalks, a performance by Jeff the Magic Man, IMAGINE Storytime, Book Bingo for adults, the adventure lecture series, and a concert with the Ivalas Quartet. Over 85 people attend the free concert- a collaboration with the Skaneateles Festival, Seymour Library, and Cayuga County Tourism. The library also added a third StoryWalkⓇ at Casey Park!
2024 was a year for community connections!
- During Paws to Read Month (March), the library partnered with the Finger Lakes SPCA of CNY to promote reading and pet adoption/care with a donation drive, storytime for families, and a social media campaign.
- The library launched a Seed Library in partnership with the Cornell Cornell Cooperative Extension of Cayuga County, offering the community access to a variety of free flower, food, and herb seeds. The Seed Library ran from April through June, with over 110 visitors!
- In May, Seymour Library, Seward House Museum, and the Friends of Seymour Library, presented an Author Talk with Tim Wendel, author of Rebel Falls.
- In collaboration with the 2024 Juneteenth Planning Committee, Auburn Enlarged City School District, aaduna, and the Cayuga Museum of History & Art, the library hosted “Exploration in Words & Art” – an evening of art and spoken word that featured artwork from local schools and poetry from members of aaduna and the community. This Juneteenth celebration also included the grand opening of ‘Cosmic Black Joy: The Jubilee Tapestries,’ –a vibrant digital collage series from Arthur the Artist that is currently on display at Seymour Library through mid-October.
- Other outreach efforts included info/family fun nights at schools; storytimes with BOCES, Cap Head Start, and the Gavras Center; and collaborations on projects like Hands-on History Camp, Fanny Seward Day, STEAM with the YMCA and the Auburn Parks Program, workshops with the Alzheimer’s Association, a mental health book club with East Hill Medical Center, and Fire Safety with the Auburn Fire Department – to name a few!
Library staff work hard to expand and add new collections based on community needs and interests.
New collections in 2024 include:
- The Peace Collection featuring books for all ages, focused on fostering peace and promoting a culture of understanding, equity, and kindness.
- Senior Health & Wellness Kits containing resources to help seniors live healthier lives, including blood pressure and oxygen monitors, robotic pets and easy workout resources. (Coming soon: a Telehealth Kit).
- The World Language Collection which includes fiction books in Chinese, Ukrainian, and Spanish and is an expansion of the library’s language learning resources.
The year is not over yet!
Don’t forget to check out the library’s fall programming schedule.
Other Library News:
Budget Referendum and Trustee Election
The Seymour Public Library District will hold a Budget Referendum and Trustee Election on Wednesday, October 23, 2024, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the library, 176-178 Genesee Street, Auburn, NY.
A copy of the proposed budget is available online (see link below), and, it is also on file for review at the library during its regular hours, Monday through Wednesday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., Thursday and Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.