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About North Douglas herald. (Drain Or) 2023-current | View Entire Issue (March 1, 2024)
Page 4 March 2024 Fundraising Event Provides Student Public Library Cards ESD 4J Homeschool and Public Charter School Students Eugene OR — Last December the ESD 4J district announced a community literacy drive to provide library cards for every student in the district, but that didn’t include homeschooled or public charter students. Jenny Jonak, 4J School Board Vice Chair, saw a gap in access for those 4J students, as well as non-4J students living in unincorporated areas of , so she organized the fundraising event at Tsunami Books. Students who are homeschooled, attend a 4J public charter school or attend another district but live in certain rural Eugene areas outside city limits, are not eligible for the current library card program. One of those charter schools is Title One -- a school with a high percentage of low income students. The annual cost of a Non-Resident Eugene Library card is $132-- a significant amount for families in poverty. Jenny Jonak partnered with Lane Educational Service District, Lane Eugene Foundation and the Eugene Public Library to close in on these gaps in youth literacy. In Jenny’s words, “I even heard from parents of kids with dyslexia, or learning disabilities who are telling me we really need access to audio books and some of these alternative ways of learning, that are very expensive.” Their goal was to raise $10,000, which would fund several hundred cards. At the end of the weekend, the estimated total was $18,900, but the actual number, according to Jonak, including online deposits, may turn out to be higher than $19,000. Jenny also said, “I see literacy as very much a social justice issue. If you look at literacy rates, it is highly correlated, not only with financial success later in life but also it’s civic engagement with higher health outcomes with crime rates, all sorts of things. Basically everything we want for our community. We want our students to grow and become successful individuals that are involved in their communities.” In the next year, Jenny plans to collect data to come up with permanent solutions to provide Letters from the Librarian “A place where everybody knows your name.” I’ve been thinking about the third place. If home is the first place, and work or school is your second place, do you have a special third place? A place where you feel comfortable and at home? You can meet friends or sit quietly. Is it church? Is it a pub like “Cheers” of tv fame? Well, just maybe, for some of us that third place is the library. This is of course different from gold, silver, and bronze medals. There’s no competition implied. People who study human belonging write about this third place. Librar- ies are more than books inside walls. They are vibrant places of connection to the world and to others. In case you’re not sure: Mildred Whipple Library is truly a place you belong. Inside the library doors is a place to read the papers, to browse the shelves, to make friends or be comfortably alone. We shed our political views, our differences. We connect with the world and make it a little better one library visit at a time. Thanks for being part of the community that makes libraries and other public spaces safe and fun for all of us. We are the luckiest. If you’ve not stopped in, we’d love to meet you. Miriam Sisson, Director Mildred Whipple Library, North Douglas Library District ndld.org 541-836-2648 equal access to a library. Carol Dennis, Secretary & Treasure of the Lane Education Foundation, said, “Lane ESD provides services for life skills classes, migrant education, for students that are homeschooled or for families that are unhoused. Reading is a magical thing to be able to do, and I wish it on everyone.” On literacy, Jenny said, “It’s not only the way that you learn, but it’s also the way that you hear about other perspectives, learn about other cultures, learn about how to see different viewpoints, and that’s such a critical thing that we want for all of our students and for members of our society.” The Lane Educational Service District provides services for all school districts within Lane County. Schools and education centers can apply to the Lane Education Foundation for grants ranging from $200 to $1,000. Links to donate: https://tinyurl.com/2sshzc9w North Douglas Herald Press Release: OREGON’S OLDTIME FIDDLERS TO CONVERGE ON WINSTON The Annual State Convention of the Oregon Oldtime Fiddlers’ Association (OOTFA) is scheduled for APRIL 4-6, 2024 at the Winston Assembly of God Church in Winston, Or. With several hundred musicians and fans coming from throughout the region, it will be an ideal place to enjoy stage shows, jamming, dancing, workshops, band scramble, raffle, food and more. LULD Library Notes Lower Umpqua Library District (LULD) has materials available for borrowing in a variety of different formats. The magazine section has substantially expanded recently, due to the addition of new subscriptions about a variety of topics. Some examples of recently added magazine titles include Rock & Gem, Trails Magazine, Freehub, Oregon Historical Quarterly, The Guardian Weekly, Scientific American, Medieval World, and New York Times Magazine. While the normal borrowing limit for library materials (books, DVDs, CDs, etc.) is 25 items at a time, patrons may borrow an unlimited number of magazines. New magazine issues are available for checkout immediately after they are processed. LULD created new music CD and video games sections last year and while the number of items available in those formats are still relatively small when compared to others, we are continuing to add more. Donations are welcome! If there is a particular title that you would like to borrow that the library does not yet own, please let us know and we may be able to acquire it. We would like to encourage more people to volunteer at the library. Volunteer work could include tasks such as shelving, inventorying, and processing new items as well as more complicated projects. Information about any events being hosted at the library can be found on our website, www.luld.org. For example, a series of talks about gardening are being given in the library’s meeting room. We are open to ideas about other events that could be hosted at the library. Please contact the library if you have any questions or would like to schedule an event in the meeting room. Alex Kuestner Library Director/District Manager Lower Umpqua Library District
