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By Jody Wacker, Meinders Library Director
You may have noticed that one afternoon last week, the Meinders Community Library drop box grew legs and moved from the outskirts of town to 220 Third Ave SE. Likely, this came as a bit of a surprise. Don’t worry. You are not alone. From one day to the next, our transition plans shift and change, often times surprising us. And we are the ones making the plans!
Moving from our current location at the PAS campus to our new home just south of the fire station is definitely a work in progress.
Over the past few months, Meinders Community Library staff (and some very hearty volunteers) packed boxes upon boxes of books, DVDs, STEAM Room supplies, and general stuff. You know, the very important bibs and bobs, doodads, and widgets collected after two dozen years in the same space? Well, every last one of them had to be packed, labeled, and moved.
Enter more hearty (hardy) volunteers, a half-dozen dollies, and a few enclosed trailers and most of our library belongings have been moved. Thanks to very generous individuals, organizations, and businesses, our volunteers have clocked in 156 hours so far. And they are not done. Nor or we.
All those boxes of bibs and bobs need to be unpacked. Furniture needs to be rearranged. Offices set up. Books emptied and inventoried. Then, in some cases, repacked. You see, Meinders Library has downsized. Our new footprint is smaller and not all of our collection will fit on the shelves at one time.
Yet it’s cozier. We hear it all the time. Whenever someone walks in for the first time, they marvel at how welcoming our new space is. And it is. Despite a smaller footprint, we still have seating for in-house use. We have a fantastic children’s play area, a quiet computer room, and a well-stocked career corner. We can still program and host events. Youth will still be welcome to hang out while waiting for parents.
We have always encouraged our patrons to engage in productive loitering—it’s what libraries do. As such, we have set up our half-sized library to continue providing all of the great amenities you have grown to love, right down to our maker space which is more of a learning lounge or a curiosity corner, but that’s okay. Everything is cuter in miniature. It’s why we are drawn to puppies and kitties and tiny candy bars.
Miniature, but still be mighty. It even had Bob Meinders’ stamp of approval last week during his visit.
We hope it will meet with your’s as well.
Please note that Meinders Community Library will be closed completely November 23 through December 4, so we can properly prepare our new space. While we know this transition has been an inconvenience, we appreciate your patience during this unique time and look forward to serving you when we reopen. In the meantime, you can return your materials at our new home. Our drop box is there, waiting for you!
Unless we get thrown a curveball, we plan to open to the public at 10 a.m. on December 5—a goal that is only possible thanks to the support of our volunteers, Pipestone Area Friends of the Library, Meinders Community Library Board, Pipestone City Council, Pipestone County Commissioners, Plum Creek Library System, and State Library Services at the MN Department of Education.
If you have any questions, please call and leave a message at 507-825-6714 or email us at info@meinderslibrary.com. We will get back to you as soon as possible. To keep up to date on any changes, follow us on Facebook or sign up for our blog at meinderslibrary.com.
