Meet Sarah, the new Library Assistant at the Graham Public Library. New to our library system doesn’t mean that she’s not ready and willing to help with your technology questions and fill in as she’s needed. We’re looking forward to seeing how she makes her impact on the Graham community.
How long have you worked with the County? Just over three months.
Where are you from originally? Greensboro, North Carolina
What are you most passionate about? Crafting, accessibility, and learning new things.
Do you have a hobby? Reading (obviously), writing, and I’ve recently started crocheting!
When you were little, what was your dream job? English teacher or forensic anthropologist
If your life was a song, what would the title be? “Kaleidoscope” by Chappell Roan
What is the weirdest thing you’ve ever eaten? Haggis flavored potato chips.
What’s your favorite TV show? Psych or Derry Girls
What is your favorite thing to spend money on? Clothes, stationery, and yarn.
What’s the most interesting thing you learned recently? The common starling was brought to the United States in the late nineteenth century as part of an effort to introduce all the birds mentioned in William Shakespeare’s works to North America.
Meet Nicole, our new Youth Services Coordinator for the county. New to our area, she’s jumped right in getting to know the people and organizations to make new partnerships and connections that will ultimately help children thrive!
How long have you worked with the County? Started on 3 June 2024
Where are you from originally? Originally a Carolina girl from the Coast
What are you most passionate about? Passionate about Folks (especially children) recognizing their light Within
Do you have a hobby? Not a traditional hobby, however I do practice Capoeira Angola (“a martial art”)
When you were little, what was your dream job? I wanted to be an Obstetrician (because of the Cosby show)
What was the best part of your week/weekend? Waking up slowly on a Sunday
If your life was a song, what would the title be? Soundtrack: Dream On by Aerosmith
Are you involved in any community projects or organizations? Not on any community projects Yet but grateful to be meeting phenomenal people in the community from various organizations from BHA, ACC, CSW, United Alamance & United Way
What is the weirdest thing you’ve ever eaten? A snail
What’s your favorite TV Show? Keeping Up Appearances
What is your favorite thing to spend money on? Trips that require a Passport
Meet Susana S. a newly full-time Library Assistant at the Graham Library. While she’s been at the Graham Library for a while, we are excited to now have her more often!
How long have you worked with the County? Almost 3 years.
Where are you from originally? I am from Chapel Hill.
What are you most passionate about? I love creating things and learning about how to become a better steward of the land.
Do you have a hobby? I like to crochet, specifically amigurumi projects.
When you were little, what was your dream job? I wanted to be a veterinarian.
What was the best part of your week/weekend? Cooking some new recipes.
What is your favorite thing to spend money on? Crafting supplies and miniature versions of things.
Looking back on the past year has shown an amazing number of changes inside our library spaces! After learning that patrons want something different from libraries than they may have previously, we were excited to be able to adapt our spaces to meet those new needs. Not only behind the scene projects occurred to use our staff spaces smarter and accommodate new positions, but all of our physical buildings saw change.
The May Memorial Library has an additional meeting room for use, two new small study rooms, and an abundance of study areas and comfortable seating options for those who need to have a place to work privately on our Wi-Fi. The teen section rearranged the collection and computers to create a new seating area that provides a safe place for teens to hang out. And the Children’s department created multiple spaces for kids and families to engage with activities and socialize.
The Graham Library moved almost every piece of furniture in the library to create a children’s area that’s safer for children, further from the entrance to help reduce the noise level but also prevent the youngsters from making a run for the automatic doors. The new adult space has an abundance of new tables and chairs as well as two new single booths and two private study booths, which is a first for Graham. There’s also now a teen section with colorful, comfortable seating and tables.
The Mebane Library rearranged and added engagement opportunities to their children’s space creating separate areas for young children and elementary children and was also able to add a teen space to the second floor as well. The adult section on the second floor saw quite a few improvements, including sound reducing paneling in the existing meeting rooms, adding two additional meeting rooms, new tables for personal study areas, and additional comfortable seating throughout.
The North Park Library also saw an abundance of change with the addition of the Discovery Lab, a makerspace filled with multiple hands-on opportunities including sewing, tools, 3D printers, coding devices, and more!
With all of these changes we still served 299,200 visitors and checked-out 468,820 items. Our offered programs and attendance with 1,650 programs that brought in 46,111 attendees, which is a 25% increase from fiscal year 2022-2023. Creating more welcoming space also resulted in a large increase in our computer and Wi-Fi usage with 88,781 uses in FY 23-24 compare to 68,804 in FY 22-23. Almost all of that increase was in the Wi-Fi use which saw a 61% increase.
We welcome feedback from our patrons and are grateful to have received special funding which made implementing change possible. Offering opportunities for the community to live a larger life and nurture their heart and mind is our priority!
Thank you to all who have partnered with us this year! Whether it be a stop for a vehicle, StoryWalk location, Little Free Library host site, program partner, or any other opportunity we appreciate all the support from our community and citizens!
Thank you to all who have partnered with us this year! Whether it be a stop for a vehicle, StoryWalk location, Little Free Library host site, program partner, or any other opportunity we appreciate all the support from our community and citizens!
We are pleased to welcome Jenn to the Mebane Library staff. She has been a part-time employee with the library for years, with experience both at the Graham and May Memorial locations. We are excited to see her impact on the Mebane Library!
How long have you worked with the County? 2 years this December
Where are you from originally? Upstate New York
Do you have a hobby? Reading of course!
When you were little, what was your dream job? Princess
What was the best part of your week/weekend? The best part of every day is when I see my cats waiting for me at the door when I get home.
If your life was a song, what would the title be? Symphony no. 5 – Beethoven
What’s your favorite TV Show? Ghost Adventures
What is your favorite thing to spend money on? Would saying books be too obvious?
What’s the most interesting thing you’ve learned recently? That spiders can’t chew.
We are thrilled to welcome Ana as a new full-time employee at the Mebane Public Library. Mebanites might already recognize her from her time as a part-time employee, but we are honored to have her become full-time and see the additional creative flair she’ll bring to the library.
How long have you worked with the County? About two years.
Where are you from originally? I was born in Mexico and I grew up in Graham, NC.
What are you most passionate about? I am most passionate about movies.
Do you have a hobby? I don’t have any hobbies, but I do like traveling, going to new cafes, and visiting the dog park.
When you were little, what was your dream job? I wanted to be a singer growing up.
What was the best part of your week/weekend? The best part about the weekend is taking my dog to the park and letting her lay in the grass for hours.
If your life was a song, what would the title be? It would be Set Fire to the Rain by Adele since that is the only song I know the lyrics to.
Are you involved in any community projects or organizations? Not at the moment, but I am interested in joining a park clean-up.
What is the weirdest thing you’ve ever eaten? This isn’t weird but I have tried seaweed and it tastes very fishy.
What’s your favorite TV Show? Probably Gilmore Girls because of the fall vibes which is my favorite season.
What is your favorite thing to spend money on? A matcha latte and a sweet treat.
What’s the most interesting thing you’ve learned recently? I recently learned how to make buttons.
The Alamance County Public Libraries is proud to now offer Fiero Code as a free resource available to our patrons. Through this unique electronic resource, library patrons can use their library cards to learn to code, a tool that not only entertains but will provide a valuable life skill throughout their lives.
With positions in the Information Technology focus becoming one of the most in-demand and lucrative fields, learning to code with easy to follow video and written tutorials from Fiero Code will provide the foundation for meeting requirements for entry-level information technology positions.
Use your library card today to explore a new interest, discover a talent, and create opportunity for your future. Explore today!
Unlock levels to upgrade your robot while you learn how to design and code for video games, websites, animation, and/or programs. Everything is at your own pace with no age restrictions but basic computers skills are required i.e., manipulating a mouse and keyboard, navigating through a website, and watching instructional videos. No previous knowledge is necessary, just an interest in learning and the willingness to follow the instructions. Have fun!
If you’re interested in taking some of your skills to another level, keep your eye out for programs in our Discovery Lab at the North Park Library. Opportunities to utilize some of the hands-on equipment – Dash and Dot robots, Makey Makey STEM packs, Code-a-Pillar, Tinkercad, and more can help you as well.
North Park Library is creating a new space for the community called Discovery Lab, a makerspace to ignite the imagination, give access to specialized equipment, and help build a community of idea makers. A makerspace is a place in which people with shared interests can gather to work on projects while sharing ideas, equipment, and knowledge. We are taking that to the next level, where participants will learn new skills through programs and classes all at no cost. The lab will go from a No Tech area for our smallest patrons to start their journey of discovery to hands on areas of arts, crafts, fiber technology, engineering, woodshop, digital media, robotics, gaming, and 3D design.
The No Tech area will hold a Lego® building wall, a magnetic wall, ramp construction sets, Lincoln logs, and MagFormers Tileblox for early imaginative learning. The special purchase of a wind tunnel where even toddlers will be able to see and connect the concept of force. This area will be a space for the youngest makers to explore STEAM through storytime programs and then independent play with the subject matter.
The space will progress to simple craft supplies, such as markers, construction paper, playdough, glue, and scissors. Also offering art supplies such as paints, canvas, and all the tools needed to create a work of art. We will host programs like Artist in Me where we will showcase books about artist and then recreate a work of art or host an artist to come in and teach their craft to older participants.
The next area of Discovery Lab will hold Fiber Arts to showcase one of the counties longest industries textiles. From crochet, quilting, and simple sewing to sewing machines. We will also teach dying techniques, and design. We will have Circuit cutters and vinyl press to create more appeal or products for the budding learners. Programming will be across all these fields and will also give cosplay tutorials for the more adventurous crafters.
Advance to the engineering area where we will hold a lot of cardboard and wood. We will have Makedo SCRU sets for designing structures for the younger participants for cardboard construction and some basic kits like Keva Planks, erector sets, and simple machine kits. With these kits we will host programs from bridge building to ship construction, pine wood derby to rocket design. For older participants we will have basic tools like hammers, screwdrivers, pliers, wrenches, measuring tapes, to electric tools like drills and sanders. We will have programs where participants can learn how to build simple structures like bird houses or bat boxes. To How-to programs hosted by construction professionals to teach people how to fix or design simple household items.
Digital Media is a big thing now and we want help interested patrons learn how to use and create content. This area will need computers and computer software like Power Director, Abode Premier, or VideoPad, headphones, and microphones for how-to programs from using your phone or computer to create, edit, and upload digital content. Photography tutorials where patrons using their own equipment can learn how to get the best images through the teaching of a professional photographer. The patron will also be able to create original music with an Akai professional lpk25 keyboard and the LPK25 Editor software. We will also be able to create content for the library with these technologies.
Electronics and Robotic is a hot job for the millennial generation with game systems becoming more advanced and robotics being integrated into many industries. We will give even the youngest participants the ability to learn how to code and create with Dash and Dot robots and Code-a-pillar. The middle grade and up can learn how to create their own circuit boards and games with the Makey Makey STEM pack and Tinkercad software, engaging them with plenty of hands-on circuitry projects to help them boost their creativity skills. We will host programs from paper circuits and conductivity labs to robotic creations. We will also have game consoles for game nights and VR headset for experiencing the newest form of gaming.
Finally, we will have our 3D design area that will use the same computers from other areas of Discovery Lab to design and create 3D creations. Using Tinkercad software and our Flashforge 3D printers we will teach the basics of dimensional designing. We will also host more advance nights where makers from the area will be able to come together to work on projects and problem solve issues they are having with their design concepts. The younger designers will be able to experience insta ready designs with our 3D Doodle pens.
In conclusion, our Discovery Lab will be a benefit to our community through teaching basic problem-solving skills through creative programs, facilitating ideas, innovation and encouraging patrons to think outside the box. By offering these collaborative programs, we are creating learning experiences that will help patrons connect concepts they have learned in our programs to real-world applications and build perseverance, “failure is a lesson not an end” to inspires further investigation and learning.
