As published in the Red Rock News

Giving Tuesday is just around the corner! On November 30 Sedona Public Library invites you to join us for this exciting Global Day of Generosity. Giving Tuesday kicks off our end-of-year giving campaign, and we have fun opportunities for you. When you give to your library, you give to the entire community, and this year, we’re offering three ways to support us: Make a Gift; Be A Friend; Be A Sponsor!
 
Make A Gift! We are proud to announce that a generous donor and volunteer has made a matching gift. Yes, that’s right, your gift to the Library will be matched, dollar for dollar, up to $30,000 beginning on Giving Tuesday through the end of the year. Last year we met our match, and went beyond. Will you help us do that again this year?
 
Be A Friend! It’s a great time to celebrate the Friends of the Sedona Library. In 2022 the Friends commemorate 55 years of supporting Sedona Public Library. Happy Anniversary! We’re celebrating with a membership challenge: for as little as $15 you can become a Friend of the Library and receive a year-long 15% discount at the Friends’ Used Book Store. That’s a deal!
 
The Friends of the Sedona Library and the Library basically have the same mission. The Friends’ mission is to support the Library, and the Library’s mission is to create community by fostering lifelong learning and building connections. The Friends helps us meet our goal to open a door to the world through empowering information, inspiring ideas, and engaging experiences.
 
How do they help? They provide funding for the exceptional services and programs that we offer. They help make this great library shine with their support for children’s and adult programs, technology, databases, and more. The Friends have helped Sedona Public Library thrive for more than five decades. That’s cause for celebration.
 
We’re challenging everyone in the community to become a Friend of the Library or renew your Friends membership. We’re excited to support their ambitious 55th anniversary goal: $55,000 by the end of 2022. That’s a lot of Friends!
 
Be A Sponsor! The third way to support us is by “putting your name on it!” We have lots of ways for you to be an annual program or event sponsor. For instance, a $500 gift will sponsor StoryWalk at Sunset Park. These seasonal public storybooks offer literacy, fitness, and family activities for visitors and residents alike!
 
For just $1000, you could name one of the three meeting spaces at the new Sedona Public Library in the Village for a full year. These rooms are perfect for small private or Zoom meetings.
 
Or you could help us launch the Community Conversation programs next year for a sponsorship of $1500. This year-long program will bring residents together to peacefully discuss tough topics that affect our daily lives—locally and globally. These sponsorships will count as matched gifts, and to discuss these and other opportunities to show the community you care, contact Anne Marie at amackler@sedonalibrary.org.
 
Your continued support of the Library and the Friends over the last several decades has allowed us to maintain our services and, most recently, to advance our technology, strengthen our Wi-Fi, broaden our online presence, provide a parking lot holds pick up service, and open a new library at Big Park Community School! And that’s just the short list!
 
If that isn’t enough, your cash gift of up to $300 to Sedona Public Library or the Friends of the Sedona Library may qualify for the Federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act provision for charitable donations in 2021. If you are not itemizing, the CARES Act allows an additional “above-the-line” deduction for charitable gifts up to $300 for individuals, or $600 for joint filers. Visit IRS.gov and consult your tax expert for further information on this and all tax information.
 
Giving Tuesday is a day designed to encourage people to do good and a day that has inspired millions of people to give, collaborate, and celebrate generosity. We ask that you champion Sedona Public Library and the Friends of the Sedona Library.
 
These two community constants have been here to help the community for 55 or more years. Your support guarantees that our organizations remain strong and even better-prepared to meet community needs. And remember, you don’t have to choose just one way to support us—you could choose all three!
 
Please visit sedonalibrary.org/donate to make a matching gift, and visit fol-sedona.square.site to become a member of the Friends. Or stop by one of our locations: 3250 White Bear Road in West Sedona—the Friends’ Used Book Store is next door; or 25 W. Saddlehorn Rd. in the Village of Oak Creek.  As always, I’d love to hear from you, reach me at amackler@sedonalibrary.org.
 
From all of us at Sedona Public Library and the Friends, Happy Holidays, and Thank You!
 
Sedona Public Library
Column for November 26, 2021
Written by Anne Marie Mackler, Development Director

As published in the Sedona Red Rock News
 
This week’s column is another in the Library’s series introducing you to members of our staff. Marcia Hansen (Miss Marcia) has been teaching and entertaining children at Sedona Public Library for more than five years. We’re happy to have you learn more about this literacy expert and star librarian who shines as a member of our team.
 
Everyone loves Miss Marcia and her story time programs on Wednesdays at 9 a.m. Ever since last May, we’ve held “Story Time in the Park” at Sedona’s Sunset Park. Parents, "grandies", caregivers, and children have all joined Miss Marcia on numerous adventures. They have gone to the moon, climbed aboard a pirate ship, been swallowed by a slippery fish, made rainbows, and jumped in puddles. They also met dragons and dinosaurs, had a Teddy Bear Picnic, and they loved a trip to the beach. 
 
One mom expressed her gratitude for Miss Marcia and the Library. "This has been a wonderful program for me and my son this summer. The library is the center of the community, and Story Time in the Park brought new friends to us both. We’ve had many 'in-house' opportunities such as the puzzles, music, DVD’s, interactive activities, and STEAM programs.”  
 
Story Time in the Park was so popular over the summer that adults and children alike requested that we continue it for the rest of the year. So, put on warm clothes, bring your own blanket, and join Miss Marcia for her next adventure or song.
 
Miss Marcia can sing a song about almost anything! She has a song about birds. “Way up in the sky, the little birds fly, and down in their nest, the little birds rest.” She has a song for putting on your boots: “I got my rain boots. B-O-O-T-S. I got my rain boots. B-O-O-T-S.” She even as a song about socks! “I got a staple in my sock, what a rock. I got a staple in my sock, what a rock!”
 
As all our staff has done, Marcia answered our five questions, and her responses will help you get to know more about her. 
 
Where were you born? “I was born in Ft. Sill, Oklahoma in the midst of WWII, and my dad was in the Army.” 
 
What was your first job? “My first job was babysitting when I was 12 years old, and this began my affinity for young children.” Marcia received her BS in Health, Phys Ed and Recreation at the University of New Mexico and her AS in Early Childhood Education from UCLA. From there, the career that led her to Sedona Public Library was, as you can imagine, centered around children. She taught Physical Education in the suburbs of both Maryland and Chicago; she owned her own preschool, Small Wonders, for six years; and she worked and volunteered for both the Flagstaff Public Library and the Cottonwood Library before she joined us at Sedona Public Library.
 
What book most influenced you? A Child’s Garden of Verses written by Robert Louis Stevenson and When We Were Very Young (a Winnie the Pooh book) written by A.A. Milne. “Both books are family favorites. Books were a big part of my life. We lived close to a library, close enough to walk, and I remember going all the time since I was six years old.” She remembers the story time program on Saturday mornings with Mrs. Markey. She won the summer reading program prize when she was in 6th grade, and she volunteered at the library when she was in high school.
 
Are You on Team Dog or Team Cat? “I like dogs better, but I have owned more cats. This is a hard one to choose, but I really don’t like how cats climb all over everything.” 
 
Have you ever seen a ghost or a UFO? “No, I don’t believe in ghosts, and I have never looked for UFOs.” 
 
Sedona Public Library is so lucky to have Marcia! Not only does she entertain and teach the preschoolers, but she reminds parents and caregivers to foster early literacy skills. One of her favorite lessons is “retelling,” which she emphasizes will improve a child’s comprehension, vocabulary, and oral language skills.
 
After a Story Time in the Park with Miss Marcia, a parent shared that her daughter went home and retold the entire story from that day to her dad. She recited The Little Old Lady Who Wasn’t Afraid of Anything almost word for word, including sound effects (which Marcia is so good at!). This little girl is definitely practicing her early literacy skills.
 
Another favorite reminder for parents is a simple one: “Talk to your kids.” Miss Marcia explains how the grocery store is a great place to practice. “It is so alive, and there is so much to do and see.” She finds it disappointing to see children who always have a device in their hands when “the grocery store is a place for conversation. You can talk about what you’re going to make for dinner, what you’re buying, and what clerks do.”
 
Miss Marcia is a true joy to watch and hear, so please come to Sunset Park Wednesday mornings at 9 a.m. for an hour of stories, music, sign language, flannel board songs and stories, and interactive play. The program is geared to preschool-aged children, but all are welcome. 
 
And an extra big shout out to the City of Sedona. Our partnership with them allows us to use Sunset Park regularly for our programs. It is also where you can visit the Library’s seasonal StoryWalk. Watch for Señorita Mariposa, a bilingual book by Ben Gundersheimer and illustrated by Marcos Almada Rivero, coming this month!
 
Sedona Public Library is a 501c3 non-profit organization. Your generous donations are always appreciated. Sedonalibrary.org/donate.
 
Sedona Public Library
Column for November 19, 2021
Written by Viviane Kraus, Youth Services Manager

As published in the Sedona Red Rock News

​On a perfect early November morning, with lovely golden sunshine filtering through the yellow and orange leaves on the treed school yard, nearly 200 people joined us in front of Big Park Community School to celebrate the new Sedona Public Library in the Village.
 
Dotte Vande Linde, the original Village Librarian, cut the ribbon at this Grand Opening ceremony for the new expanded library space on West Saddlehorn Road in the Big Park Community School on Thursday, November 4. From a mere box in Weber’s Grocery Store where the library collected return books 20 years ago, to a full-fledged library branch in the old school library, Dotte heralded the Library coming full circle.
 
“I never thought all those years ago when we were picking up the book returns at Weber’s that someday we could establish a branch in the Village of Oak Creek. What a wonderful day,” Dotte said.
 
Dotte’s eyes were both gleeful and grateful as she walked through the beautiful space for the first time. With autumn light streaming in through the three-story high windows, she looked around and exclaimed, “It’s just so pretty.”
 
All felt right in the new Library when several visitors from Sedona Winds watched as lots of children from the Sedona Village Learning Center paraded in with new children’s books for the Library’s collection. The kids lounged about with the stuffies and pillows in the Children’s Area, and they enjoyed cookies and treats as much as the elders did.
 
The new Library has not only quadrupled its space from the previous service center at Bell Rock Plaza where it’s been for five years, but it has added multiple new programs and services.
 
In addition to eight more hours of service each week, the space provides three small meeting rooms; two furnished outdoor patios; Friends of the Sedona Library book sale; Tech Tuesdays; Story Time; art displays; a substantial and evolving adult and children’s collection; and 4000 square feet of space to hang out, meet with friends, read, study, and more.
 
The traditional services will continue including holds pick up; public computers; a tech station with charging tables, fax, and printer; and WiFi throughout the Library will be available by Thanksgiving.
 
Judy Poe, Library Director, beamed with pride as she talked to dozens of patrons and supporters on Thursday. “This is the first of many new initiatives for Sedona Public Library, and it is a perfect example of what’s in store,” Judy told everyone. 
 
You can read all about The Next Chapter, the Library’s blueprint for improvement, on our website. In the special edition of our bi-annual magazine Check It Out, we review what we learned in our recent Community Needs Assessment, and what we’re planning to do to help make Sedona an even better community. This new branch Library is, according to Judy, “Just the beginning.”
 
The relocation, and the event, could not have happened without the generous support from numerous donors, volunteers, Friends, staff, and our Board of Trustees.
 
Thank you to our speakers: Dan Gallagher, President of the Library’s Board of Trustees; Camille Cox, President of the Big Park Regional Coordinating Council; David Keeber, Gardener Extraordinaire and President of the Friends of the Sedona Library; and Corey Christians, Yavapai County Librarian.
 
Special thanks go out to several local businesses for providing food, beverage, and more for the Grand Opening: Element Sedona, Firecreek Coffee Company, Oak Creek Espresso, Village Ace Hardware, Sedona Golf Resort, Miley’s Café, Red Rock Café, Holiday Inn Express Sedona, Snap Fitness, PJ’s Village Pub, Hilton Sedona Resort at Bell Rock, Sedona Village Partnership, and the Rotary Club of Sedona Village.
 
And, of course, there was art! Thanks to Bev Copen for the beautiful, donated artwork from her personal collection. All the pieces hanging in the Library are for sale to benefit local charities. Beautiful music for the event was provided by Bill Barns. Thanks, Bill!
 
Thanks for furnishings for the new space go out to Lynn Sullivan and Marge and James Pape, as well as the Jewish Community of Sedona and the Verde Valley. Very special thanks to Don and Jan Groves. A big nod to everyone with a truck or car or muscles that helped make the move happen by loading up furniture, boxes, and books and transporting the library goods from one place to the next.
 
By the end of our first day of business more than 300 people had come by to celebrate, visit, see the space, get a library card, or pick up a book and browse the collection. Please come by 25 W. Saddlehorn Road, and enjoy the new library digs and collection! Library hours in the Village are Tuesday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturdays 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
 
We have installed a secure book drop in front of the Library where you can drop off your returns. So much better than a cardboard box!
 
Sedona Public Library is a 501c3 non-profit organization, and we always appreciate your generous support. Your gifts can be designated for the new Sedona Public Library in the Village. Visit sedonalibrary.org/donate. Thanks!
 
Sedona Public Library
Column for November 12, 2021
Written by Anne Marie Mackler, Development Director