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LAUREL — The Laurel Public Library is starting a kid-friendly corner.
Library director Bob Parsons attended the July 22 Cedar County Commission meeting to present an overview of the library’s plans. The presentation updated the commissioners before they finalize budgets for the next fiscal year.
Parsons said they are looking to add more interactive aspects to a 10 x 15-foot ft corner on the public side of the library, including a Lego wall, magnetic whiteboard and soft seating.
The Lego wall will be 8 x 4 with Lego plates attached to the wall, and the magnetic whiteboard will be 16 x 8. Parsons also said they will add cut PVC pipes that may attach to the board that allows for “ball runs.”
The addition of soft seating will also be “tiered” to allow different seating that can be moved throughout the space.
“It can fit in the corner and is built like a puzzle,” said Parsons. “We can pull that out and use it for story times and different events.”
Due to the unique combination of a public library connected to the school library, space is tight.
“We’re looking at putting (the kids’ corner) by the restrooms and where the meeting rooms are, for two reasons,” said Parsons. “One, we figured, in that area, parents in meetings could still be close to their kids, to check on them. The other thing is it’s really about the only place we have right now.”
With limited space and a limited budget, Parsons said the project has gone through many phases already and has been in the conversation for about five or six years.
“A lot of it had to do with budget, knowing what we wanted,” said Parsons. “We wanted interactive and creative things but had to look at what was available and what would fit well.”
Parsons and the library board members looked at what other libraries had and did research on what was available online.
“We were trying to get the combination between creative and educational aspects,” said Parsons. “The public library has moved kind of away from being the keeper of books to, you know, having more knowledge in general.”
Having a safe and playful area on the public side of the library may also help parents attend more gatherings.
“We hear parents aren’t able to come and attend, like the adult programming that we have, because they have kids,” said Parsons. “We really wanted this just to give kids something to do, and to help keep them entertained.”
Parsons said he and the board have discussed the idea with a few parents and have received positive reactions.
“They were pretty excited about it,” said Parsons. “They’re very receptive and excited for the direction we are heading.”
Parsons said there has not been any fundraising because they intend to stay within budget.
“We didn’t want to go out and ask for donations, because we wanted to be able to see if we could do this within our budget,” said Parsons.
In total, Parsons estimated the cost of the renovations will be $5,000. Depending on what they receive for funding this year, the purchases may come in small increments.
Last year, the county gave the Laurel public library $3,500 and will likely give the same amount for the upcoming fiscal year.
