The Victor Farmington Library, located at 15 West Main Street, has something going on for everyone this summer.
Children can enjoy story times or crafts, teens can participate in events like tie dye workshops or cupcake wars, and adults can partake in recurring games including Scrabble or Euchre along with various classes. The library has designed a summer filled with a variety of events for patrons of all ages to enjoy.
Upon entry to the library, one of the first noticeable things are the paper origami cranes hanging from the ceilings.
Victor Farmington Library director, Timothy Niver, explained that the project was created as a way to help bring the community closer together during the pandemic. When first entering the library, a display offers information about the Japanese tradition which is a “symbol of hope. healing and having wishes come true.” The goal of the project was to make 1000 cranes, and Niver said there are now more than that. This is just one example of how deeply rooted the library is to the community surrounding it.
Credit: Samantha Goodman, FL1 News.
The library offers various services to patrons, including what they call ‘Discovery Kits’ for children to check out.
Discovery Kits for children. Credit: Samantha Goodman, FL1 News.
“Christina, our children’s librarian, does some great things here,” Niver said. “We’ve got Discovery Kits that we keep behind the desk that have a microscope, one that’s a bird watching kit that comes with binoculars and a bird watching book.” There are kits with books and toys to help children learn about feelings, kits to help children learn their ABC’s, and even a kit with travel activities. Children are able to check these out like books to take home and have a more fun and interactive way to learn.
The children’s event calendar for the summer of 2021 is available at https://victorfarmingtonlibrary.org/event-calendar/. Activities include indoor story time, indoor drop-in crafts, Crafternoon, concerts in the parking lot, Storywalks, and several games. The library is also offering Checkers Library TV where children can watch as a character named Checkers and his robot vacuum friend Snoozer showcase animals from all over the world with fun facts. Kids can pick up Checkers Library TV Packets on Wednesdays for the watch parties on Thursdays.
Teens have their own space too, adorned with colorful furniture and Young Adult books lining the shelves.
Young Adult section. Credit: Samantha Goodman, FL1 News.
The teen section also holds the library’s magazines, newspapers, and periodicals.
Teens will be able to participate in a series of events this summer that run from July 1 through August 18 on the library lawn. The Teen Summer Kick Off Party will be July 1 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. with author Talli Morgan. The various programs offered include a tie dye workshop, button making, cupcake wars, rock painting, edible architecture, mason jar terrariums and the Teen Advisory Board meetings scattered in between. The programs are for teens in grades 7-12 and they can be registered here. There are other activities including an online summer reading challenge and Take and Make craft kits.
Adults have various activities to choose from at the library as well. On June 14 the library was able to start hosting on-site programs again, and recurring events returned.
Located in the back of the library is a space for games and other activities which include Mah Jongg on Mondays from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., Scrabble on Tuesdays from 12:30 p.m. until 2:30 p.m. and Euchre on Wednesday’s from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Meeting space for recurring events. Credit: Samantha Goodman, FL1 News.
Niver explained that during the pandemic the meeting space normally used for games and lunches in the afternoons was utilized as a room for disinfecting returned books and holding much of the library’s furniture. With restrictions being lifted, the library is able to return to a more normal schedule for their patrons.
Also available for adults this summer is the Adult Summer Reading Book Bingo, where participants can read and enter into a raffle after obtaining a bingo. Library Walkers is available as well; a recurring event where adults can meet in front of the library every second and fourth Wednesday of the month to explore local trails, neighborhoods and parks by foot.
For adults still looking to remain virtual, every Thursday at 11 a.m. the library offers Live Chair Yoga through their Facebook page.
The library offers unique and fun things to help keep the variety fresh, including the ability to check out a metal detector and local community groups offering a selection of books they would find suitable for the public.
Garden books display courtesy of Victor Garden Club. Credit: Samantha Goodman, FL1 News.
Along with the fun, interactive, and community driven opportunities offered, the Victor Farmington Library also offers individual spaces for people looking for quiet time alone.
Private rooms. Credit: Samantha Goodman, FL1 News.
Niver explained that these spaces are quite popular, but at the moment due to the library’s size they are only able to offer library goers two cubicles for quiet space away from others.
According to the FAQ offered on the Victor Farmington Library’s website, the search for a bigger location began in 2017. An in-depth study into what the community was looking for was conducted before deciding on the location in which 740 residents responded. 82% of respondents said yes to Victor needing a bigger library.
Before making the decision to move the space, architects working for the library said that a second story could not be supported with the current foundation at the Main Street location. An expansion would also diminish current parking, where a larger library would require 100 spaces and the current library only has 50. The cost of separating the library and building one in Farmington would also be more expensive overall compared to moving to a more adequate space.
The library now was built over 25 years ago to serve 14,800 patrons and the 2020 census expects the population to be over 25,000 today. The Victor Farmington Library ranks in the top two library’s out of the 42 libraries in the Pioneer Library System for circulations and door counts. Around 400-500 customers are helped on any given weekday and over 4,000 people utilized the meeting space the library offers last year.
The FAQ offered by Victor Farmington Library explains that libraries are far more than just places to check out books; they are the cultural and social center of communities.
The Victor Farmington Library is heavily involved in community connection, and being that involved means more space would help immensely for the thousands of people who use the library and all it has to offer.
The library is currently releasing a series of chapters discussing the history of the library and why the expansion is so important not only for the library, but the community itself. Chapter one has been released and two more will be released later in the summer.
The community had a lot of say in what they were looking for in a new library, one of the things being a coffee shop in addition to the added space.
Meetings will be held as the date to vote approaches in May of 2022. If the vote is a success, the library will break ground in 2023 and open to the public in 2024.
Samantha edits our personal finance and consumer news section. Have a question or lead? Send it to [email protected].