More than just books — Conrad Public Library adapting to meet patrons’ needs
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CONRAD -- The Conrad Public Library enters 2024 with the goal of continuing to expand on being more than just a collection of books.
Kate Poling, the library's new director, stepped into the position following longtime director Susan Blythe's retirement, and she brings nearly 10 years of experience working at the library including serving as Assistant Director under Blythe from 2021 to 2023.
In addition to the usual fare, Conrad's library allows patrons to check out electronics, cookware, tools, binoculars, and more items that would be atypical to rent out with your local library card.
Poling suggested that a more complete title of the Conrad Public Library would be the Conrad Public Library, Community Center and Community Helpdesk.
"The library should be the first place that comes to mind to answer questions or access a service," Poling said. "We can all have a higher quality of life by pooling resources through the library."
In addition to Poling stepping up to director, half of the library staff turned over due to retirements and graduations. New faces include Amy Bachman as Children's Librarian, Hannah Homeyer as Librarian and Julianne Brown as the Student Library Aide. Library custodian Gina Dinsmore and student aide Brady Smith round out the staff at the library.
The library also continues to work with the Board of Trustees overseeing library operations and the Conrad Public Library Foundation, two groups that have also seen recent changes of the guard; Kathryn Bartling and Sandra Gowdy have joined the board as newly-appointed trustees and Annie Estes and Paula Benson have taken the role of Secretary and Treasurer for the Library Foundation.
One of the CPL Foundation's recent projects was funding a recently-installed 24-hour book drop return box for the library through donations to the foundation, which replaced the previous book return that had years of wear-and-tear.
Poling and her staff are also bringing the library to the rest of Conrad.
Every other Friday, the staff brings library requests to residents at Oakview Nursing Home, speaking with the residents about their checkout offerings in addition to providing tech help and answering reference questions.
Also on alternate weeks, a staff member visits the Lil' Comets Childcare to lead a Storytime program, which is in addition to once-a-month Storytime visits from BCLUW preschoolers to the library and a weekly Storytime session at the library open to the public every Wednesday at 10 a.m. Poling estimates that between in-house, remote and takeaway Storytime offerings around 50 children every month receive early literacy support from the library.
A recent $10,000 grant will also allow the CPL to improve access to library services for residents with disabilities, which includes direct home deliveries, expanding the collection of large-print books ten-fold, adding adaptive equipment like page lights and magnifiers that can be checked out.
Poling also said she's working on securing funding for a permanent year-round "story walk" feature along the Conrad section of the Comet Trail to replace the current yard sign setup used in recent years.
The library also offers a "game room" with a Wii gaming system and a gaming PC available by request for kids in the middle school grades and up that includes a green-screen room. Poling added that she hopes to add an audio recording station in the space soon and is welcoming any donations for old video game consoles or games to set up in the room.
In looking back at 2023, the Conrad library saw a return to pre-COVID usage levels while carrying forward changes made to the library during COVID that patrons enjoyed, like roomier furniture and fixture placement, moving the handicap-accessible computer station out of a study room and into the main computer area, and a kid-accessible computer station as well.
"Citizen engagement is key to guiding library management," Poling said. "Our collection, program and service offerings will continue to diversify to meet the community's needs."
Poling said that the library's Summer Reading program enjoyed an all-time high of 5,402 items read and recorded for prizes by the 101 challenge participants, and more than 200 total participants for the program altogether. Hundreds of visitors also came to the library during special Pumpkinfest and Christmas in Conrad events.
With 20 years of experience working at Theisen's in Marshalltown in addition to other various jobs, Poling, an MHS grad, still surprises herself with how often her non-library skills are useful within the library walls.
"One day a few weeks ago, I helped patrons with printing screenshots from a cell phone, ordered books and took a vacuum apart to repair a wiring short," Poling said.
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Contact Jake Ryder at 641-753-6611 ext. 227 or jryder@timesrepublican.com.