Since 1987, the Ignacio Community Library (ICL) has served the surrounding communities with countless resources, book clubs and meeting spaces. The library was originally brought to life by a group of locals who saw the need for the collection to be available for the public.
In 2004, when the library moved into its newest location they had 2,200 registered patrons and housed a collection of 15,000 books. They also began providing more programs that addressed literacy, computer skills and began offering more programs designed for young adults and children.
“We’ve done some cool things with the schools.” Ignacio Community Library Youth Services liaison, Hannah Horman stated. Before, the 2018-2019 school year began for the Ignacio School District, library representatives went to present at an all staff meeting for the School District, there they offered their services and welcomed any suggestions.
ICL offers the following youth services for free, all for a wide range of ages. Storytime is offered for kids in pre-school to kindergarten, this helps them build literacy skills and is held every Wednesday. Kidz Klub is a science and story sharing club that is held each Thursday for students from fifth grade and younger. Inklings and Booklings are book clubs that are offered to students in third grade and above each Tuesday and Thursday. Anime club is for sixth grade students and older who meet every first Monday. The teen café is also offered for students in the sixth grade and above, they meet each Wednesday to relax, play games and or to receive homework help.
In addition to all these programs that are offered to the youth, the library has made it a priority of theirs to bring in guest presenters. “[We] bring in a published author every year, and they spend the entire day with students from the Ignacio Middle School,” Horman explained.
This year the library was able to bring Colorado author Todd Mitchell for the fifth year of their “Author Visit” series. Each year ICL will bring in a successful author to lead workshops and creative writing sessions. “He got the kids to really engage, they were all writing their own stories,” Horman said. Mitchell is a professor at the Colorado State University and is an award-winning young adult author. He hosted a workshop for teachers on Wednesday, Feb. 13 and spent the entire day with students on Thursday, Feb. 14.
For the first time ever, the library was able to host a conductor visit; the Ignacio High School Band students were able to interact and ask questions with Thomas Heuser. Heuser is the music director for the San Juan Symphony, he was also the conductor for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and has even conducted abroad in Germany. “We want to keep doing the author visits and we want to make the conductor visits a continuous thing,” Horman expressed.
The library is in constant use. “We offer so many programs, everything from toddlers to adults — we’ll most likely have a spot for them,” Horman stated. “And almost all programs are free, we’re always trying to support the public the best way we can.”