After a successful reopening of the library building in April, Patagonia Public Library staff have many projects that we’re working on at the moment, inlcuding revitalizing our Semilloteca/Seed Library collection and planning our Summer Reading Program.
Our amazing cadre of volunteers, itching to get their hands dirty again with anything Patagonia Library related, are assisting with LibraryCall Dial-a-Story and Resource Hotline services. Call (520) 980-9810 to hear a story read to you in either English or Spanish. For a list of current hours and services from our Resource Hotline, available 24/7, call (520) 980-9910.
The next big project is our “Libraries Transforming Communities: Focus on Small and Rural Libraries” citizen science grant project. As part of the grant, library staff will take an online course in how to lead conversations. Staff will then host a conversation with residents about citizen science and use the grant monies to fund PPL’s new “Library of Things,” including a lending telescope from Cornerstones of Science; and birdwatching, butterfly spotting, and plant I.D. backpack kits available for checkout. The library will also become a Weather Underground weather station to provide accurate information on weather events in Patagonia.
Some citizen science projects that will be highlighted are the annual Audubon Society Christmas Bird Count, Sky Island Alliance’s ongoing Border Wildlife Study, and the Friends of Sonoita Creek wet-dry mapping of Harshaw Creek in the summer of 2021.
Using information from SciStarter, National Geographic, Cornerstones of Science, and more, the library will introduce participants to projects like Stream Selfie, the Great Sunflower Project, and the annual Backyard Bird Count. If you are interested in taking part in the conversation, please contact Laura Wenzel at (520) 394-2010 or visit www.patagoniapubliclibrary.org for more information.
“Libraries Transforming Communities: Focus on Small and Rural Libraries” is an initiative of the American Library Association in collaboration with the Association for Rural and Small Libraries. Conversation date is TBA.