The New Monroe Community Library

Ready to Build!

2011-09-12T12:43:00.000-07:00

The sign shows it all! We now have 100% of the funding we need to build the new library here in Monroe/South Benton! Thanks to everyone on the South Benton Library Project board who worked so diligently and carefully to get all the grant writing done! You all are so wonderful. Thank you to all of our donors! From the smallest donations given by our local students to the major foundations who were beyond generous with their donations. It's simply amazing to have been able to have our funding completed in such a short time period of 4 years.

Here are two links that say all the details more eloquently than I ever could. Besides, I am so excited I can hardly stop dancing!

http://www.gazettetimes.com/news/local/article_fc4d7f42-dab4-11e0-941b-001cc4c002e0.html

http://www.co.benton.or.us/boc/read_article.php?p=433&d=boc

Keeping Up to Date on the New Library's Progress

2011-07-07T11:43:00.000-07:00

The South Benton Library Project continues to advance ever closer to
securing the funds needed to begin construction on the anticipated new
library facility in Monroe that will serve the residents of south Benton
County for many years to come. In recent weeks an additional $50,000 has
been added to the project’ s coffers as a result of a grant awarded by The
Collins Foundation. The Collins Foundation, created in 1947 by Truman W.
Collins and other members of the family of E.S. Collins, is an independent
private foundation. The Collins Foundation exists to improve, enrich, and
give greater expression to the religious, educational, cultural, and scienti c
endeavors in the state of Oregon and to assist in improving the quality of
life in the state. The Foundation works through existing agencies and have
supported proposals submitted by colleges and universities, organized
religious groups, arts, cultural and civic organizations, and agencies devoted
to health, welfare and youth. This award is contingent upon raising the
balance of the necessary funds to complete the project.

This grant, along with recent awards from the Ford Family Foundation,
The James and Marion Miller Foundation, and the Meyer Memorial Trust,
strengthens the position of the Library Project in its application for a
Community Development Block Grant. The application for this federally
sponsored award was submitted in June and awardees will be announced this
August.

The Library Project has raised more than $840,000 since starting its capital
campaign in 2008. Tax-deductible contributions from the public toward
construction of the Library are still being accepted. Send checks made
payable to “ The South Benton Library Project” to PO Box 591, Monroe OR
97456.

Dorcas Smucker Visits Monroe!

2011-06-13T15:19:00.000-07:00

The South Benton Library Project and the Monroe Community Library are sponsoring a free presentation by Dorcas Smucker, author, columnist, and engaging speaker, on Thursday, June 16, 2011 at 7:00 PM. The program will be held at the Monroe Fire Hall meeting room at 680 Commercial St., Monroe. In this program titled "Making a Difference,” Dorcas shares her experiences growing up with libraries. Dorcas writes the "Letter from Harrisburg" column for the Register Guard and is the author of 3 books: Downstairs the Queen is Knitting, Ordinary Days: Family Life in a Farmhouse, and Upstairs the Peasants are Revolting: More Family Life in a Farmhouse. She will have her books available for purchase. Free and open to the public

The Reason Why... One of them anyway.

2010-12-15T17:05:00.000-08:00

The Depot...why is the Historic Monroe Train Depot part of our South Benton Library Project? Why would we use it, when it looks like it is falling apart? There it sits, on the corner of HWY 99W and Ash St. in Monroe. It looks pretty lonely out there and in fact it looks a tad bit more decrepit than it did 4 years ago when we moved it to it's new home.

What a day that was! Do you remember? It was an early March morning, a little overcast and dark. But something remarkable was happening in Monroe! The Depot was being moved and in the process, it was given a reprieve from destruction. It was really a leap of faith for our group, the South Benton Library Project, to have the Depot moved. We didn't yet own the property where it was being moved, we didn't yet have any funds to pay for the move. We didn't even have a plan of how the Depot would be incorporated into the new library design. But we had a vision of what we didn't want to happen; the destruction of a landmark. The building was historic and a part of our South Benton history. The saving of it just fell into our laps. And yet, somehow it fit right into our plans.

I keep thinking about the Monroe train's arrival in town each day so many years ago. About the people meeting their families at the depot, about coming home, and about leaving for other places. Coming to the train depot back then was a destination and a departure place. By saving the Historic Monroe Train Depot and using it for our Community Library we will keep it's original use somewhat intact. This is what I mean: people coming to the library today come for many reasons and some are the same original reasons that they came to the Depot many years ago. They come today to meet people-haven't you "met" the characters in your favorite books at the library? Also, for many it is a home place-most of our town's kids have been raised coming to the library and are perfectly at home here. Most of these kids will grow up, have children of their own and bring them to the Monroe Library. And by checking out many of our books and material people can, in essence, depart for other places-even if it is only in their mind.

The Historic Monroe Train Depot will be incorporated into the new Monroe Community Library and once again it will take it's place in a town where people meet, gather and grow. What a welcoming place to be and a wonderful reason why.

An Impressive Quote from one of our Donors

2010-12-13T15:56:00.000-08:00

From Megan Schumaker, Program Officer for Community Grants & Funds at the Oregon Community Foundation:

“The Oregon Community Foundation is impressed by the amount of support the South Benton Community Enhancement Association has garnered from local individuals and businesses. It is clear that construction of a new library is a high priority in the community, with more than two-thirds of Monroe-area households having contributed. John Gray, a prominent Oregon philanthropist and graduate of Monroe High School, has made a generous pledge to help complete the campaign and OCF is pleased to be part of this strong community effort.”

Guest Post from Nancy, SBLP's delightful Publicity Chairman

2010-12-02T12:26:00.000-08:00

What a Thanksgiving! Two foundations and generous neighbors provide funding that keeps us chugging along toward realizing construction of the new library and community center we have been working for.

The Oregon Community Foundation (OCF) generously awarded our efforts to build a new library and community center with $25,000 for the second consecutive year in support of our capital campaign to build a new library for the residents of South Benton County. Funds granted came from two specific philanthropic funds: the Kiilsgaard-Greene Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation ($550) and the Jerome S. and Barbara Bischoff Library Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation ($24,450). The foundation's generosity has helped us bring our total for funds raised to $868,689.

The mission of The Oregon Community Foundation is to improve life in Oregon and promote effective philanthropy. OCF works with individuals, families, businesses and organizations to create charitable funds to support the community causes they care about. Through these funds OCF awards more than $60 million annually in grants and scholarships.

The Oregon Community Foundation makes grants through an application process that involves local citizens in the review and evaluation of requests for funds. Application materials are available through the foundation’s Portland office. Individuals or businesses interested in establishing fund may contact the Eugene office at 541.431.7099. Please visit OCF’s website for additional information at www.oregoncf.org.

The South Benton Library Project also received $50,000 from the Ann and Bill Swindells Charitable Trust, providing considerable financial assistance toward construction and preconstruction expenses for the area’s new public library and community center. It is the intention of the Ann and Bill Swindells Charitable Trust to contribute to organizations whose principal mission is to improve the quality of life of the citizens of Oregon and to assist and sustain the educational, cultural and scientific endeavors of the state.

In addition to grant funding, private and business donations to construction of the new library have exceeded $50,000. We are very grateful to the generous citizens and business leaders of our community and their commitment to the success of the capital campaign for construction of a much needed new public library in South Benton County.

Best Moments of My Week @ the Library-Nov. 15

2010-11-15T14:31:00.000-08:00

-a patron who told me that she was cancer free!
-the confidence to not panic this past week during Storytime when the building's fire alarm went off- the ladies next door burnt their toast in the toaster oven! All the kids eyes sure got big!
-I followed a Christmas tree bailer into town on my way to the library...it's almost Christmas!
-one of the kids asked me after school, "Lori, did you forget to brush your hair today?"
-the kids at the library named the spider up in the corner, "Bob".
-the very next day, "Bob" went missing. I know he'll show up...when I least expect it!

Hope you had many wonderful "moments" in your week too!

Best Moments of My Week @ the library-- November 3rd

2010-11-03T13:19:00.000-07:00

-two boys running into the library saying "Yeah! No one's on the kid's computer, we can have our turns!" (poor kids, they didn't realize there was only 3 minutes left before the library closed)

-teaching a patron how to print out a 52 page document double-sided and seeing the joy on his face to learn something new

-birthday flowers from Gloria!

-telling a patron "Yes, the new rotation of Large Print books will be here on Saturday!"

-having a volunteer tell me that there was compost under the chairs in the teen area! (how was I supposed to know that someone left a banana peel there during the summer?)

-coming in every day and seeing the large spider still up in that unreachable corner. Hey, if it's still up there it won't come running out at me when I move a box of books!

Patiently Waiting...

2010-10-14T11:10:00.000-07:00

Yes, we are still waiting to break ground on the new library! After working on it for 3 years now, it can seem a little slow moving; even to me. Not a day goes by without someone asking at the library just how the new building project is coming along. So I thought that I would update the blog (wondering if anyone really reads this!) just in case we have anyone who is peeking in to see where we are at.

This past Monday we had our monthly South Benton Library Project board meeting. Each month, our faithful group gathers to report on the progress they've made for the past few weeks. There are our fund raising gurus, our event queen, our construction wonderguy, our city council liaison and more who each bring his or her dedication to the table. All in all we have about 12 very loyal and hard-working volunteers behind the scenes. They are making it happen. Getting the job done.

You might not see the progress they are making... but it's happening, I assure you. Grants have been written and submitted, meetings with Benton County Commissioners have happened, City Council members' hearts have been won over to the project and construction drawings have been drawn. There has been tons of action going on behind the scenes.

So why, people ask me, isn't the train on the depot sign moving? Good question! It's because we have been sitting on our 44% dollar figure for a long time now. But we have been making the most of that 44%! At this past meeting I heard a wonderful phrase used by our construction wonderguy. He said we are "bid ready". Meaning all we need is the rest of the money and we can start with the bidding process and then break ground and build. So what's the hold up? We are waiting to hear back from grants that have been written and submitted. The total amount on all these grants, if awarded to us, would bring us to 100% of the funds we need to break ground and build the new library.

That's why I'm waiting... patiently.

Wine in Paradise!

2010-02-18T15:08:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, April 3rd, South Benton Library Project will host a benefit to raise money for the new library in South Benton County. This event is being billed as a "Winemaker's Dinner Art & Wine Auction. The evening will be filled with fantastic wine, food and art and is being sponsored by Broadley Vineyards and Paradise Springs.

6 PM No-Host Bar with viewing of Art & Wine Auction items
7 PM Dinner by Marche' of Eugene - followed by Auction

At Paradise Springs Event Center
25674 Cherry Creek Rd.
Monroe, OR 97456

Tickets are $75 and available at the following locations:

Monroe Community Library: In person or by telephone
668 Commercial St., Monroe 541-847-5174

Corvallis-Benton County Public Library: no telephone reservations
645 NW Monroe Ave., Corvallis

Another Author Visit this Saturday, Feb. 13

2010-02-11T13:59:00.000-08:00

This Saturday, Feb. 13th, at the Monroe Fire Hall the South Benton Library Project will welcome author Diane L. Goeres-Gardner to speak. Award winning Ms. Goeres-Gardner has written two Oregon history books; "Necktie Parties: The History of Legal Executions in Oregon, 1851-1905" and "Murder, Morality and Madness: Women Criminals in Early Oregon". We will be entertained and informed with her research using photographs and slides focusing on how women were treated by the legal system in Oregon during the 1800's. Ms. Goeres-Gardner has another book, "Roseburg" due to be released in March 2010 also. Here are the details:

Where: Monroe Fire Hall
680 Commercial St.
Monroe, OR
When: Saturday, February 13, 1:00-3:00
Cost: Free!
Contact info: Lori Pelkey 541-847-5174

Different Christmas Readings

2009-12-22T14:48:00.001-08:00

I shocked one of my patrons the other day by telling him that I owned a Kindle 2. I was similarly shocked to find that I had shocked him! I have had my Kindle 2 for several months and I am in no wise ready to throw books out the back door to make room for a library full of e-book readers. But it made me think about a conversation I had earlier that very day with a 90 year old patron who was scandalized that someone would want to "read" a book on CD or cassette! To him, a book on CD was just as shocking as an e-book reader was to another "younger" patron. Makes you wonder what will sound strange and scandalous to my generation on the book front in another 40 years!

In the mean time I have enjoyed my Christmas reading this year on several book fronts. I've read, the old fashioned way with actual books in hand, several Christmas stories to the kids here at Storytime. Including a new favorite, "A Pirate's Night Before Christmas" by Philip Yates. I've read, on my iPhone, "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens. I've read, via Book on CD, "The Christmas Sweater" by Glenn Beck and I've read, on my Kindle 2, (my personal favorite) "A Night Before Christmas" by Clement C. Moore. One book I'd really like to get my hands on is "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" by Dr. Seuss. The $3.99 interactive version can be bought on my iPhone through iTunes... but I think I'll hold out for the real thing. I'll put it on hold using our library's catalog and anxiously wait my turn for it to get here.

Oregon Community Foundation Grant Awarded

2009-12-16T18:35:00.001-08:00

South Benton Library Project is the recipient of a $25,000 grant from the Jerome S. and Barbara Bischoff Library Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation! This grant will be used to assist with the capital campaign to build a new library for residents of Monroe and South Benton County. This is another wonderful show of support for our new library. Each time a grant is awarded to our project we get closer and closer to seeing our dream of a new library become a reality!

On behalf of the South Benton Library Board a big round of applause goes out to our architect, Lori Stephens of Broadleaf Architecture in Corvallis, Oregon. She's responsible for the design of our future library building. We all love it and anxiously await the reality of seeing our new library on the corner of HWY99 and Ash St. in Monroe!

Please also see the nice article in today's Corvallis Gazette-Times newspaper.

http://gazettetimes.com/news/local/article_0728265a-eab2-11de-85b5-001cc4c03286.html?mode=story

Library Closed for Veterans Day

2009-11-10T16:03:00.000-08:00

The library will be closed tomorrow, November 11, in honor of Veterans Day. We will open again on Thursday at 10:00.

Gazette Times News Article!

2009-11-02T15:30:00.001-08:00

Please click on this link (the word "share" below to be taken to the nice article that was in the newspaper on Oct. 29, 2009.

share

Posted using ShareThis

Bob Welch coming to Monroe Library!

2009-10-29T15:13:00.000-07:00

Welch Poster

10 things seen at the Monroe Library...

2009-10-27T11:57:00.000-07:00

1. 12 tiny pumpkins waiting to be picked up by Story Time kids
2. Children's author Alexandra Day and her dog Carl
3. The newest Skippyjon Jones book, "Skippyjon Jones, Lost in Spice"
4. 10 shelves full of patron holds waiting to be picked up (it used to be 3 shelves!)
5. 8 shelves full of DVDs waiting to be checked out (it used to be 2 shelves!)
6. A $500 check granted from Sterling Savings for SBLP (thanks Bobbye!)
7. The entire back room spotlessly shelved in Dewey Decimal order... thanks Monroe Subs!
8. A few sick patrons looking for books to tide them through the flu. (Yikes!)
9. 8 little boys crowded around one children's computer playing one game together!
10. One happy Lori back from vacation and taking care of everyone's information needs in Monroe.

Long Time; nothing posted

2009-09-02T19:14:00.000-07:00

It's been a long time since I've posted anything about the new library. I apologize for the long delay between posts. It's been an extremely busy Spring and Summer here at the Monroe Community Library. Fall is upon us, our Monroe school children will be back to school next week and that gives me some hope that it might quieten down long enough for me to post some updates! I will be posting more in the next few days with all the latest that's been happening toward the new library and some fun things that have happened here in our old library. Here are a few things that I'll be posting about:

1. Our awesome South Benton Library Project Board.
2. The new sign that was just made for the Train Depot showing how much money we've made toward the new library
3. Our wonderful Summer Reading Program and how extremely kind Monroe's Fire Chief, Rick Smith was, who moved out the fire trucks each week so more than 100 kids would have a place to enjoy some great performers!
4. An exciting childrens' author coming to visit with her friendly dog she writes about!

Stay tuned!

2009-04-23T11:01:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of the sticker I made to wear at the library today... I want to tell everyone in town that today is a great day for the South Benton Library Project! We now OWN THE LAND! It's been a long process and I'm so happy to be able to say, we now own the land where the New Monroe Community Library will be built and where the historic Monroe Train Depot now sits. This is a wonderful day and in the words of our Deputy Library Director, Teresa Landers,

"As we all know this is a MAJOR milestone in the process. A big thanks to Roger (Irvin, President of South Benton Community Enhancement) for understanding the technical details of such a purchase and to Lori S.(Stephens of Broadleaf Architecture) and Roger for following through on the various steps that had to happen to make this a reality. We also owe the (Benton) County Commissioners for putting their own interests aside and letting us negotiate on our own. And, of course, to our generous donor for providing the funds that made all this possible."

Please pass on the word to everyone in our community about this happy milestone on our journey to a new library!

All Aboard for the New Monroe Library!

2009-04-22T15:54:00.000-07:00

Last night South Benton Library Project hosted a Kickoff Event at the Monroe High School Commons. South Benton Community Enhancement's President, Roger Irvin, was on hand to emcee for the event. First, City of Monroe's mayor, Frank Thayer spoke about the growth of our city and how the new library building will be a beautiful gateway into our town. Then Corvallis-Benton County Public Library's Director, Carolyn Rawles-Heiser spoke on behalf of our library system. After her, Monroe's Community Library Specialist, Lori Pelkey, spoke of how important it is to provide a place for our many young people who have discovered their library in the past few years. Having captured our children's attention with books and other library material, it's important to not lose their interest! A bigger library will provide a place for all ages to meet and enjoy what our wonderful library has to offer. From there, architect Lori Stephens, from Broadleaf Archtecture was there to show off the model of the new library and to give us a virtual preview of what the new library will look like, inside and out. We rounded out the evening with a question and answer session. Refreshments were served throughout the evening and everyone enjoyed viewing the model of the new library displayed along with a model train.

Register Guard Newspaper Article

2009-04-10T09:18:00.000-07:00

Here's a great story on how we're growing and why a new library is so important to our local community.

http://www.registerguard.com/csp/cms/sites/web/news/sevendays/11328894-35/story.csp

LIA Day 2

2009-04-08T14:32:00.001-07:00

Sorry it's taken me so long to write about what happened on Day 2 of our Leadership in Action training here in South Benton. I've been crazy busy trying to digest and implement all the wonderful ideas from those two days.

So the bottom line is that on Day 2 most of what we accomplished was in break-out sessions where we worked within small groups to see... well, to see leadership in action! We ended up with 4 groups working on projects that will hopefully be put into effect with the next short few months. Here are the projects:
1. Restoring the beautiful flower baskets throughout Monroe.
2. Building and maintaining a community website for the South Benton area.
3. The South Benton Library Project!
4. Starting a Farmers Market that would include the selling of staple food products so that travel to and from the "big" neighboring cities would be kept at a low roar.

I can tell you that I know that the flower baskets group is headed in the right direction and we will have beautiful color in the next few months as we drive through town. I can also tell you that the community website is happening. Kathy Conn and myself approached the Monroe City Council to see if they would support us in this endeavor. They said that they would definitely like to see it happen and that there was already someone working toward it. So, I've emailed that other person and our group will be meeting soon to put our plan into action. Of course the South Benton Library Project was already underway; but most of what we learned at Leadership in Action was so applicable to what is going on right now in our Library Group! And finally, the Farmer's Market idea was put on hold because it seemed like this idea needed a full year to plan so that farmers in our area would have a chance to plan ahead on what they would like to plant that would sell good in a market in our area.

So, that's about it! I am really excited to be able to work on two of these projects. Having a community website will help our local government, our local businesses, our schools, our library and would become a place for visitors to our area to find out what we have to offer! And of course, the SBLP part is a natural to me! If you get me started on how soon and why we need an bigger library here in South Benton we would have to sit down for a full pot of tea!

See you at the library!

Day 1- Leadership in Action

2009-03-14T03:23:00.000-07:00

Regional Field Staff Associate, Beth Gilden, and Benton County’s Jane Barth lead the Leadership in Action training and had each of us participants introduce ourselves, tell what kind of boat we thought our community was as a likeness and then tell what we hoped to get out of our weekend training. It was interesting to hear everyone’s idea of what kind of boat South Benton community is. We were likened to a rowboat without oars, a rowboat with different people paddling in different directions, a skull with many seats still left to fill, or a tugboat trying to get a bigger boat moving in the right direction. I thought we could be likened to a little boat with an outboard motor; the motor needs to get started and lots of people are trying hard to get that engine started but we need help.

Beth then told us about Leadership in Action’s training and that the Ford Family Foundation pays it for. She told how FFF ‘adopts’ communities in rural Oregon and for five years they help these communities with training of leaders, projects that help the community and financial aide for those projects. At the end of the five years, FFF hopes that the communities they have ‘adopted’ will go on and build on the relationships they’ve forged together and will move forward with projects on their own. My take on it is that Ford Family Foundation doesn’t want to just give money to a community and hope that the funds are spent well. Instead they entrust a community with the training they can then use to help and further themselves along and show them how to work together for common goals with the money they will give. I love this idea! It’s a kind of take on the “you can give a man a fish, and feed him for a day, or you can teach him how to fish and feed him for a lifetime” proverb. About halfway through the day’s training, Tom Gallagher of Ford Family Foundation came and surprised us and brought the wonderful news that our South Benton County community has indeed been selected to be the next community that the Ford Family Foundation starts their five-year program with. I cannot stress the honor that this is to our community. Our program with start in Spring 2010.

Throughout the afternoon there were great times of collaboration with each other and lots of visiting and hearing each others ideas. I thought it was a wonderful chance to look at our community through another person’s eyes. At first, it was easy for everyone to think that not much has been working or happening for good in our community. (the glass is half empty!) But by the end of the afternoon, through talking and collaborating together we were wowed by what our community already has done and the abundance of great things happening here. (the glass is half full!) I can only guess what monumental things can and will be accomplished here in South Benton County with leadership and the right training!

Leadership in Action

2009-03-13T08:08:00.000-07:00

Leadership in Action training is coming to South Benton County today. What's this you may ask? Well, I don't know... exactly! but I aim to find out in these next two days. The website for LIA is here... Leadership in Action The site says that LIA is "a two day Leadership training for your community hosted by Rural Development Initiatives, and The Ford Family Foundation". Several of our group from South Benton Library Project are attending, so between us all we should get a good idea of just what Leadership in Action is. Our South Benton community has had several informal meetings with Rural Development Initiative/Ford Family Foundation and from what I've gleaned it seems that this training and what comes from it will be a good thing for our area. So, starting today, "emerging" leaders will be trained on how to actually be a leader in our community. I'll post some updates on what we learn at this two-day training. I'm really excited because there are around 25-30 people attending from our South Benton area. Stay tuned for updates!

Check It Out!

2009-03-12T13:18:00.000-07:00

The Corvallis-Benton County Public Library Friends and Foundation puts out a publication each month called "Check it Out". The South Benton Library Project has a prominent place on the front page of this month's issue. Here it is: Check it out!

http://www.thebestlibrary.net/joomla/images/publications/cio_marapr09.pdf

SBLP Meeting Agenda- March 9, 2009

2009-03-05T14:50:00.000-08:00

7PM AT THE MONROE FIRE HALL

INDRODUCTIONS/WELCOME

APPROVAL OF LAST MONTH'S MEETING MINUTES

TREASURER REPORT

OLD BUSINESS

1. ELECTION OF AT LARGE MEMBERS & DISCUSSION OF VOTING - TERESA

2. COMMITTEE REPORTS

A. MONROE COUNCIL - CATIE

B. FUND RAISING - MICHELLE

C. KICK OFF EVENT - SHARON

3, LAND UPDATE - ROGER

4. OTHER

5. NEXT MONTH'S AGENDA IDEAS AND ADJOURN

SBLP Meeting Minutes - Feb. 9th, 2009

2009-03-05T14:46:00.001-08:00

SBLP Meeting Minutes February 9, 2009

In attendance:
Lori Pelkey-Monroe Community Library Specialist-Acting Secretary
Teresa Landers-Corvallis Benton County Public Library Deputy Director
Alyce Bayne
Serena Logan
Evelyn Lee
Dena Elliott-Chairperson
Roger Irvin - President SBCE
Amy Erickson-reporter for the Tri-County Newspaper
Carol McGlasson - Monroe City Council Chairperson
DeeDee Smith
Catie Mange - City Council Liaison
Craig Pelkey - Treasurer
Howard Steele
Sharon Kavanagh- Publicity committee
Michele Gazica - Fundraising
Janeece Cook - Representing Strengthing Rural Families
Sandi Crumley
Serena Logan

Introductions / Around the room

Teresa read last month's meeting minutes- and then they were approved

Treasurer's Report: No much activity reported this month, a few donations/expenditures. The Nick Salerno Fund that is in a CD has matured again, a motion was made, seconded and approved for Craig to look into a longer term CD for this fund.

Old Business:
Brochure: As Teresa translated the brochure into Spanish, a few errors were found. We talked about what to do. Everyone was agreeable to leave the error as is. Teresa showed her Spanish version of the brochure. Lori Pelkey will be looking into a different company to reproduce it.

Land: Roger reported all is going well. Partition survey has been filed. Preliminary title report has been done. Sale should be final by the end of March. We talked about a need for an executive session with the City Council about re-zoning the property. This needs to be done before groundbreaking.

City Council Liaison: Catie updated us on her latest visit to the council. They have been very happy to have a liaison. Carol McGlasson reported that Catie is doing a great job updating the council on the Library's progress. The question was raised about getting a permit to build on the land before the property is re-zoned. Carol McGlasson reported that the city can only take the property once the library is built.

Kickoff: Sharon gave out copies of the Kickoff plan. The Monroe High School commons is booked for the event. On her Kickoff plan, the colored items are things that are needed. Janeece talked about an idea she had for for a young children's storytime at the event. Teresa is getting a model train for display. We talked about advertising, various ideas were put forth. Evelyn reminded us of the button maker that we helped purchase and said that the button maker is at the Museum. Dena will pick it up. We talked about putting "Are You On Board?" on buttons with an added ribbon saying "I am" after someone has donated. Contact Sharon about making food for the kickoff.

Depot concerns: Teresa reported that there are still concerns in our community about the safety of using the depot. We need to make a fact sheet about the depot to pass out at the Kickoff. The results of the chemical testing needs to be available for community members to see. The environmental study will have been done by then so results of that should be out too.

New Business:
Grant Writing: Michele Gazica is interested in giving it a try. But she needs to take classes to learn more. There is a class coming up, the question was asked if SBLP should pay for the class. John Norenna should also be sent. It was agreed that SBLP will pay for classes for grantwriting. There is also an upcoming class on April 3 called "Mobilizing your board to raise more money". Two people should be sent to this. During the meetings' conversations about grant writing and fundraising, Michele seemed to lean more toward Fundraising. It was decided to approach John Norenna to see if he will take over Grant Writing and this would free Michele up to focus on Fundraising. Dena will contact John.
Ford Family Foundation: Lori, Catie and Evelyn told about the meeting they went to with Rural Development Initiative. At the meeting about 100 names were gathered to invite to the March 13 and 14 Leadership in Action seminar that will be held at the Monroe Legion Hall. All were encouraged to attend as many things will be taught at LIA that will help our efforts toward a new library.

Evelyn reported that the teens from Teen Council would like a full kitchen in the new library. She also asked about the "greeness' of the new building and if potential growth of the City of Monroe had been considered in the design. She also offered the use of the Alpine Community Center for Howard Steele to use at a fundraising concert.

Blogs from the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library

2009-02-13T15:41:00.001-08:00

I've known about a few blogs that the CBCPL has, but I've just discovered a new one called The Second Floor Librarians . Looks like it will be an interesting blog and might give more information about our library services. As you all know, Monroe Community Library is a branch library of the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library, but this blog here is not so much about what we do as a library (although I can't resist sneaking in a post every once in a while about our great library services!) but more about the journey our community is on while our new Monroe Library building is getting organized and then built. Believe me, I can't wait for the day when I have ground breaking pictures to post! Meanwhile, please check out the newest blog from our library and while you are at it, check out our other amazing blogs; Birth to 6 and Teens@CBCPL .

Thursday, February 12

2009-02-12T14:38:00.000-08:00

Hello there! My name is Amy Davis and I'm one of the volunteers at the Monroe Library. Lori has asked me to sit down and tell you my thoughts about our library, so here goes.

Let me begin my introducing myself. I've lived in Monroe pretty much all my life (19 years) and am currently enrolled at Linn-Benton Community College as an English and Journalism major. One of my classes this term is Photojournalism, and my last assignment was to take an environmental portrait of a friend. I chose my favorite librarian, Lori. Turns out, my instructor loved the photo I took (you can view my blog post here, if you'd like).

I've been coming to the library since I was a young'un-- probably since age 3 or 4. I can remember planting myself in the children's book section and pouring over my favorites for hours and hours (or minutes and minutes-- that can seem like hours to a little kid). I love coming here and just browsing through the books. I'm one of those weird people who loves the smell of rows and rows of books. This space is so familiar, I consider it one of my homes away from home. When I heard about the South Benton Library Project, you can't imagine how happy I was. As comfy and cozy as this place is, it will be absolutely wonderful to be able to spread out a bit. I tell you, it can take some talented maneuvering for more than one person to shelve books in the Adult Fiction section without knocking anything over or bumping into the other person. Recently, the SBLP was featured in both the Tri-County News and The Gazette Times. Our new library will give us the chance to house even more books here (I hear the angels singing now!) as well as having more space for the Summer Reading Program attendees and more computers. Every time I walk by the scale-model of the new library, I can't help but be excited. I can't wait for construction to begin!

Last Night's Town Hall Meeting

2009-01-15T14:26:00.000-08:00

It was a bit of a surprise to me when I walked in to the Monroe Council Chambers last night at 7:00 pm to find a full house! There was a Town Hall Meeting concerning our community's transportation needs and was headed by Sharon Fipps from Benton County Transportation. Why there is no bus service between Monroe and Junction City or between Monroe and Corvallis has often been a subject of conversation at the library here. Last night's meeting addressed this issue and Monroe's community came out in force to voice their needs. It came as a surprise to Ms. Fipps that there was a need to travel between Monroe and Junction City; she was prepared to hear mostly comments on the need to travel within Benton County. Travel between Monroe and Junction City crosses county boundaries and makes it difficult for either county's transit system to take on this challenge. There were many comments and suggestions from our community members, and even one of our Latina community members came and voiced concerns coming from our Hispanic population. It's downright hard sometimes to get between here and Corvallis or Junction City when there are doctor's visits, shopping trips or social events happening. And in the interest of saving gas in these hard times, something should be done to make travel possible and/or easier. Mostly what Ms. Fipps spoke about would happen in 2011-2013. This is very far away when the need is now. One idea suggested was for the City of Monroe to own it's own van/vehicle and hire it's own drivers to bring community members to either Corvallis or Junction City where they could then pick up on either Benton or Lane County's transit systems and continue on to their destinations. I loved this idea! Wouldn't there be grants out there that would make the purchase of a vehicle possible for something as innovative as this? Think about the publicity our small town would receive for solving this problem of transportation on our own! This sounds like a great possiblity to me...

January 12 Meeting Minutes

2009-01-14T15:33:00.000-08:00

SBLP Meeting Minutes - January 12, 2009

December meeting minutes approved

Financial Report-Attached

The Corvallis-Benton County Library Foundation added a line for donating to SBLP on their fund raising mailer they send out each year.

Land Update-

Teresa Landers reported that the contract of purchase for the sale of the land was signed with the railroad! SBLP will be the one purchasing the land. We can now do the wetland survey. We also need to do the environmental study on the land. Then the partitioning--has to go through the City of Monroe City Council. Closing date for the sale of the land should be the end of April. Dena also found out that South Benton Community Enhancement's insurace will cover SBLP. Roger Irvin reported that we should update the city zoning where the land is. Right now it is zoned industrial. This should be done in a private session with the Monroe City Council.

Fundraising-

Our new Publicity Chairperson, Sharon Kavanagh reported her ideas. She envisions several events in rapid succession. The following is a list of ideas to generate donations for the new library

1. (Get on Board or All Aboard!) A grand kickoff celebration event at the high school commons for the whole community. Some ideas for this event include book activities, high schoolers reading to children, furniture with books out for little ones. Have the architect's model of the new library out in the middle. Sharon asked Roger Irvin to MC the event, he agreed. We will ask Lori Stephens to do her computer presentation on what the library will look like. She would like small speeches given by Lori Pelkey, Dena Elliott and Teresa Landers. A donation table will be prominent with opportunities to make pledges to the project. Also a huge suggestion box. Coffee and small refreshments will be served.

2. Within a week, have Dena Elliott's belated retirement fest (Dinner with Dena) to honor her years of service at the Monroe Library. Dinner will be served and a current list of Dena's friends is needed.

3. Approximately three weeks later we will start having desserts at the homes of patrons who love the library. They will invite 20 friends and ask to donate/support the new library. Should have a SBLP board member come to each dessert. A list needs to be started of potential patrons to host these desserts.

4. Art idea: have an art fair this summer after Art in the Park is ended. Show the children's art from Art in the Park. Maybe have the children do art at the show. Make buttons and bookmarks with art to sell at the circulation desk.

5. Before kickoff-everyone on the SBLP board is encouraged to make a donation or pledge to support SBLP. Many grants require this.

6. Find someone younger to do something on YouTube, Flicker, Facebook etc. We need a web presence besides the blog. Can we get an Eagle Scout to take this on as their project?

7. Howard Steele again offered to donate all the ticket money for a concert he will give. (Country and Cowboy western)

Next meeting will be February 9.

Attendees:
Dena Elliott
Janeece Cook
Page Pedder
Howard Steele
Serena Logan
Catie Mange
Craig Pelkey
Lori Pelkey
Teresa Landers
Sharon Kavanagh
Roger Irvin

Agenda-SBLP Meeting Jan. 12, 2009

2009-01-11T17:00:00.000-08:00

WELCOME

1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES

2. FINANCIAL REPORT

3. LAND UPDATE: TERESA

4. FUND RAISING

A. PLAN

B. IDEAS: EVENT TO START US OUT - SHARON K.

C. FUND RAISING: COORDINATOR/CHAIR

5. GRANTS

A. CDBG GRANT

B. GRANT WRITERS

C. GRANT WRITING COORDINATOR/CHAIR

6. OTHER BUSINESS

7. AGENDA FOR FEBRUARY

SBLP Dec. 8, 2008 Meeting Minutes

2009-01-11T16:55:00.000-08:00

Approval of last month's meeting minutes

Treasurer Report -

What to do with $96.57 left on Design Grant was tabled. Later it was decided this money would be used to pay for Posters similar to the brochures

Old Business

Policy changes-Discussion yielded consensus to adopt a Steering Committee

Monroe Light Parade- the decision to make a float and enter into this year's light parade was cancelled due to not enough people to help

New Business

Land- RR wants land completley insured-this will be discussed at the next South Benton Community Enhancement meeting, Dena Elliott will report to us in January
Once we own the land, a celebration should happen. Unveil the model, pass out brochures, have dessert and coffee. Have this at the High School? Publicity committee should take this over. Sharon Kavanagh volunteered to be the Publicity Chairman.

Bank account signer- It was agreed that Catherine Mange will be a replacement signer on the bank account replacing Janet Begg.

City Council Liaison report- On Nov. 20, three people from the city planning commission, three city councilors and one new councilor met with Catie Mange and Lori Stephens who reviewed the design of the new building. Several questions arose about the wording on the brochure soon to be printed. Ideas were discussed about these changes and it was agreed to change the wording on the brochures. Catie Mange reported on the Nov. 28 Monroe City Council meeting where she reviewed our last meeting with them and officially reinvited everyone to attend all our SBLP meetings.

Lori Pelkey and Lori Stephens were invited to the Jan. 6, 2009 Lions Club meeting to present the New Library Design to their group.

Next meeting will be January 13, 2009 at the Monroe Fire Hall.

Attendees:

Serena Logan, Dena Elliott, Laura Oakes, Alyce Bayne, DeeDee Smith, Craig Pelkey, Catie Mange, sharon Kavanagh and Lori Pelkey

Final Agenda for October's South Benton Library Project Meeting

2008-10-09T15:37:00.000-07:00

Please come to our October South Benton Library Project Meeting. We will meet this Monday, Oct. 13th at 7:00 pm at the Monroe Fire Hall meeting room. I have invited the three Monroe City Council candidates to come and see the progress we've made toward our new library building in an effort to encourage their participation on the project. I hope to see you there too as your efforts are greatly needed and appreciated.

Sincerely,
Lori Pelkey
Monroe Community Library
541-847-5174

Agenda for Oct. 13th SBLP meeting

Approval of last month's meeting minutes

Treasurer Report

Old Items
1. Status, Review and Finalization of Brochure using BCCC grant
2. Railroad news/ Money granted for land
3. Tri County news article
4. Ford Family Foundation/Rural Development Initiative interest

New Items
1. Restructuring committee: composition/structure, who should vote, how votes are weighed, conduct of meetings, positions open, etc.
a) How decisions are to be made in and out of our monthly meetings.
b) Email: It's use and limitations - establish guidelines in this type of communication.

2. What should/can we be doing (if anything) while we wait for final word on land?
a) If we wait to pursue certain things at what point do we proceed?
1) Possession of title?
2) In escrow?
3) Firm option to buy?

3. Status and input on Won Productions, Inc. marketing/publicity proposal.

4. Understanding Teresa Landers (Deputy Library Director for Corvallis-Benton County Public Library) and Monroe Community Library's staff role with our committee.

5. Upcoming Grants to apply for
a. BCCC
b. any others?

The Pout-Pout Fish-Great Storytime Book!

2008-09-30T09:46:00.000-07:00

Last week at StoryTime I read a sweet book by Deborah Diesen called The Pout-Pout Fish. First of all I have to say how much I love to read stories at StoryTime here in the library. I think I've alluded to this several times here on the blog. But, since I love books so much, every once in a while I just have this urge to tell everyone about a wonderful children's book that comes along. The Pout-Pout Fish took me by surprise! It's got great rhythm and a sweet message. I'm very particular about loving kid's books. You all know that SkippyJon Jones is my personal hero and it's really hard to find a book that lives up to anything that Judy
Schachner writes! But I heartily recommend The Pout-Pout Fish to anyone who loves children's books or who has little children to read to in their life! Come on in to the library today and I'll help you find many more children's story books!

Last Night's (Sept. 8th)SBLP Meeting

2008-09-09T15:15:00.000-07:00

I want to let you know about a major decision that was made at last night's South Benton Library Project meeting here in Monroe. Many of you didn't make it to the meeting but have expressed an interest in what has been happening concerning the new library building. We are moving into an active stage in our building project development and it's an exciting time. It's because of this that I cannot stress enough how the presence of each one of you at our meetings and the effort you make works for the good of everyone involved. What we are doing this very minute will benefit many generations to come.

At the meeting last night, we met Courtney Rader. She is the Volunteer Coordinator for the Corvallis Benton County Public Library but she also has her own consulting business. She has many years of experience doing fund raising for nonprofits and has been involved with capital campaigns as well. She has given us a proposal to accomplish the fund raising strategizing part of building our new library. She wrote it giving us an opportunity to spend as little or much as we feel we can afford by bidding it on an hourly basis with an initial retainer. She would also do it for a flat fee if we prefer. After much discussion on the subject of hiring Courtney, a motion was made, seconded, voted on and passed to retain her services as a Fundraising consultant for SBLP. Courtney brings a great amount of enthusiasm to our team and feels like raising 2 million dollars is very doable. She stressed that it will be hard work, but we will have a beautiful library built for our efforts. I listened carefully to her proposal and liked what I heard. I believe she will bring valuable assistance and direction to South Benton Library Project. I have attached her proposal with this email. Please feel free to let me know what you think. In the near future we are going to need some major team players who are willing to give of their time and effort to bring our new beautiful library building into reality. I know you are all committed to your library. I see it in your eyes when you come in to browse and check out your books. You all are on the front line of knowing how much we really need a bigger place to accommodate our growing community.

In a few days, I will post the minutes to last night's meeting on the blog. Again, this is no substitute for your actual presence there at a meeting, but will give you a flavor of what we do each month. I encourage you again, to attend next month's meeting on Oct. 13th at the Fire Hall. I do know that some of you may have conflicts and are unable to attend meetings. PLEASE call me so we can discuss how you might be able to help without coming to these particular monthly meetings. As we learn more about the nuts and bolts of fundraising I know we can find a way for you to help make this new building a reality.

Sincerely,

Lori Pelkey
Monroe Community Library
541-847-5174

September SBLP Meeting...

2008-09-04T16:02:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone,

It's that time again! Our next South Benton Library Project Meeting will be held this coming Monday, Sept. 8th at the Monroe Fire Hall at 7:00 pm. I really hope you can make it. At the last meeting we all decided to bring a friend to our September meeting. So, here's your chance to come to the meeting with a friend or family member!

At this month's meeting we will be talking more about the wetland study that must be done. We also will be hearing the latest news on purchasing the land from the railroad. You'll get sneak peak at the brochure that's being printed very soon too. And we will be hearing from a Fundraising consultant that has some great ideas for bringing the money together to build the new library building! So you can see we have some exciting things to hear about on Monday evening.

We’ll see you there!

Lori Pelkey
Monroe Community Library
541-847-5174

And the Survey Says.....!

2008-07-17T13:34:00.000-07:00

Yes! A big "Thank You" to our South Benton Community who took the time and effort to fill out the Income Survey that was sent to some of our households! It is official that we qualify as low/moderate income! That means we are officially eligible to apply for CDBG and possibly other grants or loans as well. In a few days I will be posting the minutes from our July 14th meeting where we had Lori Stephens of Broadleaf Architecture answering questions about access to the new library site from HWY 99, Bill Patton of Streamline Engineering answering questions about the small wetland area on the property and Roger Irvin of South Benton Community Enhancement letting us know about the latest progress the county is making with the Railroad in purchasing the property.

Lori

Will You Be Taking Your Kids to the Library this Summer?

2008-06-04T14:44:00.000-07:00

So, everyone, are you taking your kids to the library this summer? The Summer Reading Program in most states this year is "Catch the Reading Bug". You can take your kids to visit and join the programs, check out books for summer reading and in most libraries attend fun performances too! In our library, here in Monroe, we will even be having a performance with BUGS! What I love to tell both moms and kids is that during summer kids can read whatever THEY want! Yep, no teacher telling them to read this or that. They can chose. What fun! Moms...here's a hint...look at the running sidebar on my blog. I have some of my favorite read-aloud books there. These are storytime tested fun books! You could sneak some home and catch the reading bug with your kids! Oh and here's another hint... I did this and still do it for my kids...and it works at the library too! I put "bait" around the house! Yep, I unashamedly bring home NON-Fiction books that look interesting and just lay them on the couch or by the fireplace. Bam! I catch them every time browsing through the bait! Go to the kids section in your library and find some books about any fun or strange subject. Believe me any thing will catch their attention if it's just sitting there on the couch! Make sure you put fresh "bait" out often so they don't get bored... And what's really cool is that, little do they know it, but they are reading without you telling them to! Try it!

The Return of the Repile Man

2008-05-15T14:41:00.000-07:00

Yes! The Reptile Man is returning to the Monroe Community Library on Wednesday, May 21st at 3:30 pm. He'll be at the Fire Hall again because we are expecting another big crowd. So, come early if you want to get a good seat.

Richard Ritchey's educational presentation will include over a dozen reptiles. Come learn about snakes, tortoises, turtles and lizards!

South Benton Library Project News by Catie Mange

2008-05-01T14:14:00.001-07:00

Happy Spring! The efforts towards a new Monroe Library are steadily moving forward. However we still need more volunteers from the community to assist us with publicizing our efforts and the progress we’ve made. We meet regularly each month at the Monroe Fire Hall on the second Monday of each month at 7:00 pm. Call 847-5174 if you have any questions regarding these meetings. Please join us to learn more about what we’re doing and how you can help.

A couple of weeks ago we sent you an income survey for the South Benton Library Project. If you haven’t returned that survey form please fill it out and send it back now. We are very close to having enough responses for a valid survey, but we still need a few more completed forms. If you’ve lost the form, please call Scott Wilson and he can take your information. His number is 541.924.8473 (daytime) or 541.753.2156 (evening).

Thank you for your cooperation and we hope to see you at the next meeting

Happenings at the Monroe Community Library

2008-05-01T13:56:00.000-07:00

Now that we have made it through tax season, everyone can breathe a sigh of relief! But wait, you still have to deal with high gas prices and the high cost of just about everything else. There is good news at your library in Monroe! We're local! For most of you we are just a short walk or bike ride away. No gas involved! We have so much to offer you too. If you check out our website, http://www.thebestlibrary.net you can see that we are more than just a small city library. Monroe's library is a branch of the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library. This means that you have access to everything that is in either the main library in Corvallis, the Philomath Library, Alsea's new library or the Bookmobile. You can request anything you see on our library's website and, using your library card number with PIN, it will be brought to you here at the Monroe Library! You'll get an email or a phone call telling you it's here and you can come down and pick it up. It's that simple. Don't see what you want on our website? Heard of a new book that the library doesn't own yet? You can request the library to buy it! Remembered an old book that was a childhood favorite and you don't see that we have it? We can put out an Inter-Library Loan request. This means our library borrows it from another library for you! Now that's service!

I am pleased to announce the return of "The Reptile Man" on Wednesday, May 21st at 3:30pm. The Reptile Man has been a big hit in Monroe for a few years now, so if you missed him last year, here's your chance to enjoy some really creepy crawly friends! After school ends in June, we will again have our Summer Reading Program here at the library. This year's them is "Catch the Reading Bug!" There will be a slight change in the day of the week we will have performers here at the library. This year's performers will come on Wednesday afternoons at 12:30 pm. If your children attend the Art in the Park program, they will be walked to the library for our Summer Reading Program performances each week. Look for flyers at the library and coming home with your kids from school soon. We will also be having fun things for the teens to do at the library as usual this summer.

See you soon at the Library!

Finally! What you've all been waiting for.....

2008-02-07T11:54:00.000-08:00

No, not the money for the new building! But... we will be having the first meeting of 2008 next week. I would like to invite all South Benton area residents to come on out to our meeting which will be held again at the Monroe Fire Hall.

South Benton Library Project Meeting
Monroe Fire Hall
Monday, February 11, 2008
7:00 pm
Come and join us!

SBLP Meeting for November 2007

2007-11-15T13:13:00.000-08:00

Monday, November 19, 2007

7:00 PM

Monroe Fire Hall

Agenda

I. Call to Order

II. Treasurer’s Report

III. Fundraising Committee Report

IV. Publicity

a. Christmas decorating

b. Raffle Quilt Donation

V. Roger Irvin-Report on R.R. Land

VI. Next Meeting Date?

A Window into Monroe's History

2007-09-04T15:47:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday, a few of us met at the Depot here in Monroe and took a "tour" inside. I brought my camera and took a bunch of pictures and I hope to add a few on our blog here and there. This first one I wanted to share with you right away because it's just so much fun! Does anyone out there know who is Carl's Girl? She's so cute in an Olive-Oily way! Makes you wonder doesn't it?

August 13th Meeting Minutes

2007-08-23T13:25:00.000-07:00

Minutes: August l3, 2007

Randy George chaired the meeting with 12 people in attendance.

Craig Pelkey gave the financial report.

The $20,000 grant has been received.

The Salerno Family has designated the project for memorial donations in memory of their son, Nikolas.

The Funding committee reported of their meetings:

Grant sources have been designated and amounts targeted.

A budget is being prepared

They will be applying for their first grant from MYHOMETOWNHELPER by Sept. 1, 2007.

The design committee reported of their meetings and progress with the architect.

The need to acknowledge donors was discussed and Alyce Bayne will be handling it.

Members of this project will be contacting Peter DeFazio August l4, 2007 at the Monroe Town Meeting. We will introduce ourselves and ask for his support.

Different types of publicity were discussed and will be looked into before next meeting.

Next meeting: September 10, 2007 – 7pm Monroe Firehall

Respectfully submitted

Janet Begg

Tri-County News Article

2007-08-20T13:13:00.000-07:00

This week SBLP has been featured in the Tri-County News. They went and talked to our architect, Lori Stephens of Broadleaf Architecture, and got all the latest news about her design process. You can either pick up this week's Tri-County News, or click on this link!
http://www.triwestnews.com/Pages/TCnews3.html

Thanks Tri-County News!

Library Design Sketches from Architect Lori Stephens

2007-08-20T13:08:00.000-07:00

Drum Roll Please! Click on this link and you will see the preliminary design of the New Monroe Community Library!

http://www.broadleafarchitecture.com/monroelibrary.htm

Last Night's Meeting (Aug. 13th)

2007-08-14T13:02:00.000-07:00

At our August 13^th meeting of SBLP we had four new community members attend and introduce themselves to the group. Each meeting has been this way, with new faces bringing so many new ideas and such enthusiasm. All together, there were 13 of us there last evening. As our group moves forward, we have all become more aware of the importance of this project we have begun. I can’t stress enough how much we need our whole community’s involvement working for a new library. As the old saying goes, “many hands make light work”. We also had a very nice member offer to write our "Thank You" notes and acknowledgments. Thank you Alyce!

On a different note, today a few of us from SBLP went to listen as Peter Defazio spoke and answered questions at the Monroe American Legion Hall. Our goal was to speak to one of his aides about SBLP and just kind of make them aware of our group and what we are doing to get a new library here in Monroe. The aide was very gracious and assured us that Mr. Defazio would be willing to write letters to help with any grants we are applying for. We might just take him up on that offer!

I heard an interesting thing last night at our meeting...and I'm going to go check it out tomorrow. I heard that the South Benton Communities Historical Association Museum is preparing an exhibit featuring none other than our own Historic Depot! The South Benton Communities Historical Association Museum is open on Wednesday afternoons and so I thought I would drop on by tomorrow and get all the details.

South Benton Library Project Meeting this Monday Night

2007-08-09T15:31:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone,

It's time once again for our monthly South Benton Library Project Meeting. It's this Monday evening, Aug. 13th at 7:00 pm at the Monroe Fire Hall. Our Finance/Fundraising Advisory Team has some news for us and we need to plan on doing some publicity in the near future for the New Library. Hope you can make it and once again, we are looking for each of you to bring a friend with you to the meeting. We have a great group of 12 or so community members that have been faithful to come to the meetings each month. I have been personally inviting everyone who comes in to the library this past week to this month's meeting, who can you invite?

I'll see you there!

What Book Got You Hooked?

2007-08-09T13:43:00.000-07:00

I found this on "Neat New Stuff I Found This Week".
http://marylaine.com/neatnew.html
Copyright, Marylaine Block, 1999-2007.

• What Book Got You Hooked?

http://www2.firstbook.org/whatbook/top50.php

FirstBook, which gives away books to children, asked people to tell them
what book got them hooked on reading. "Over 100,000 people responded.
These are the Top 50 books that got YOU hooked!" No doubt everybody's
answers would be different, which makes this a great topic for
discussions .

Needed: A Bigger Library!

2007-08-08T18:14:00.000-07:00

This picture gives you an idea of why we need a bigger library! Just a small portion of the Monroe Fire Hall full of kids is shown here at one of our Summer Reading Programs...doesn't everyone look like they are having fun? Thank goodness we have a compassionate and library loving Fire Chief, Rick Smith, who let us have all our Summer Reading Programs there these past two months. And he currently opens the Fire Hall for our South Benton Library Project meetings each month. Very nice indeed!

Today I would like to let you all know that we have received some very generous grants from some really nice people. Our South Benton Library Project was awarded a $20,000 Planning Grant for Construction from the Wichita Falls Area Foundation in Texas! Also, SBLP was granted $2,000 from the 2007 Long Tom Grange Calendar fund. There is an article in the Aug. 2 Tri-County News http://www.triwestnews.com/index.html , telling about the distribution of this year's calendar funds. We are delighted to be included in this!

Right now, our busy Fundraising Committee members are swiftly working to send in a letter of inquiry asking for approval to apply for a grant from General Mills found here at http://myhometownhelper.com . If anyone knows of another funding avenue, please come in to the library and point me in the right direction! We welcome any ideas...

Architectural Design Teaser!

2007-08-01T18:22:00.000-07:00

Today I went to the second meeting with the architect who is designing the new library in Monroe. To me this is probably one of the most exciting aspects of the whole process of the new library. Unveiling the final outcome to the public will be very grand indeed! Being on the design team is one of the perks of being Monroe's Library clerk, I guess...because I am so very humbled by the intellect of everyone else on the team. I am resolved to just be quiet and listen and revel in what we "get" in our new library. Well... I'm quiet now that I asked for a fireplace included in the design! I did! I asked for a fireplace! Not sure we'll get it, but I asked! And now I will just listen. Let me just say on this blog that you will all be WOWed by the architect and the design she is working on. Today she brought us three rough designs, mainly showing how to position the rest of the library in relation to the Depot. The first design was nice. I loved the entrance and how it allowed for a part of the outside wall of the Depot to be showcased. The second design was not really likable to anyone on the team. But the third design. Wow! Loved it right away. And what really is cool is the computer program Lori Stephens, the architect, has. She took us on a virtual tour of the inside of her design. It's just a rough design right now, but it's beautiful. I am just going to tease you with that! Oh, one more thing I will tease you with. You know those two old barns on HWY 99 going toward Corvallis with the cupolas on their roof spans? I think one of them was the old Willamette Egg Farm...? Those old fashioned barn roof tops are being echoed on the roof of the library portion of the design. It's going to be such a striking building to see when you come in to the City of Monroe on HWY 99. Soon, I 'm hoping to post a link to Lori Stephen's webpage where the initial designs will be posted. Keep your eyes out folks!

What Do We Want to Do?

2007-07-31T15:42:00.000-07:00

Someone asked me this question today and it took me by surprise! Here is my answer...what's yours?

What I think we want to do is:

Provide a library for our rural community that meets the needs, interests, and dreams of our growing population of library users. What strikes me most about what I'm hearing from our patrons is what they dream their new library will be. This has really captured the imagination of South Benton! Of course, everyone wants to know when it will be built...but questions like, "what is it going to look like, how many computers will we have, and how big will it be?" keep coming up mostly! This library is a huge step in bringing Monroe and South Benton into the 21st Century. But in a way that everyone will be comfortable with. We have many old families with such a unique history in our community and we can't lose that link to the past. I see the restoration of the Train Depot being a way to ease the Monroe Community Library into the 21st Century and like our motto of the South Benton Library Project states, "Linking the Past with the Future". Providing a library for new families moving to Monroe's proposed housing developments will be a key element to our livability. And the new library will be one of the first things that will capture the attention of people driving through our community. What an opportunity to become a showcase for other rural communities in Oregon. We can't pass this up...

Dreams I have heard from patrons for the new library:

Lots of computers
Showcases for artwork
More books!
Quiet spaces found within
Coffee...?
Meeting places

What is your dream?

(My personal dream is a fireplace where anyone can snuggle down and read when it's raining and gloomy!)

July SBLP Meeting Tonight at 7:00

2007-07-09T12:50:00.000-07:00

Just a quick reminder to everyone that tonight is our monthly meeting at the Fire Hall. See you there!

2007-06-28T10:36:00.000-07:00

SBLP Meeting Minutes June 11, 2007

Craig Pelkey gave the financial report: Little has changed since last meeting. We have not received the $20,00.00 donation that was discussed in last meeting. We remain hopeful.

Lori Pelkey brought the historic preservation award that we received for our efforts to preserve the train depot as part of our project. Dena Elliott and Randy George and Lori were our representatives at the event.

Randy George has received a bid for our logo to be put on a banner. Larry Buckles will be doing the work. Cost will be approximately $1,000. We’re hoping Friends of the Library will help with this cost. The banner will be put on the Train Depot building facing the highway in hopes of generating interest and enthusiasm from the community.

Our logo was also present at the Monroe Fun Run.

Jenny Gray has worked with our digital files so that they may be used for cards, letterhead, etc.

FUNDING: We reviewed information that was gathered on the various organizations and foundations that we would like to pursue. A comprehensive funding plan needs to be designed. We will probably form a sub-committee for funding. Our strategy remains to get the initial architectural designs funded and completed

We also need to bring more community people into the project.

We could use a historian.

Next meeting: July 9, 2007 7:00pm

Respectfully submitted,
Janet Begg

2007-06-28T10:27:00.000-07:00

Banner for the Depot

A HUGE thank you to the Friends of the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library for their financial support for the banner that will soon appear on the depot! The Friends recognized our need to get the word out to the public just exactly what this building that magically appeared across from the Monroe High School will be used for. The 4'x30' banner is ready to be picked up and installed on the side of the depot for everyone to admire. Big cheers all around!

Want to Contribute?

2007-06-28T10:24:00.000-07:00

It's been mentioned several times that there are patrons and community members who are interested in donating to the South Benton Library Project. If you are someone who would like to donate, or know of anyone who does... here is our address!

South Benton Library Project
P.O. Box 591
Monroe, OR 97456

2007-06-04T13:10:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to South Benton Library Project!

Saving the historic train depot was the right thing to do. Preserving the depot for our community will link Monroe's past with it's future. Needless to say the depot has certainly gotten a lot of attention from patrons when passing through town! Last Thursday, South Benton Library Project won the 1st Annual 2007 Historic Resources Preservation Award for it's "extraordinary contribution in preserving Benton County's historic and cultural heritage". Co-chairs Randy George and Dena Elliott were invited to the Art Centric building in Corvallis to receive the award. It was a wonderful evening and we even got to listen as the Mayor of Corvallis read a proclamation naming May 2007 as National Historic Preservation Month. As a treat, the video that was made of the depot moving to it's new location back in March was shown! Congratulations to everyone of South Benton Library Project for saving the depot!

2007-05-31T15:30:00.000-07:00

South Benton Library Project Meeting Minutes: May l4, 2007

Randy George and Dena Elliott co-chaired the meeting, with nine others in attendance.

Craig Pelkey , the treasurer, has set-up Quick Books and submitted financial reports.

Randy George will be added to the checking account.

The post office box has been opened: South Benton Library Project

P. O. Box 591

Monroe, OR 97456

Janet Begg and Lori Pelkey have keys.

Issues discussed:

We are being considered for a $20,000.00 dollar donation. The donor wishes to remain anonymous.

When this donation is received it will be used to fund the initial design work. This work will be done by Lori Stephens, Architect. This first phase of the design will cost $l8,000.00. The remaing $2,000 will be used for startup expenses. Randy George will finalize and sign the proposal.

A design committee will work with the architect to develop the project designs. They are: Teresa Landers, Randy George, Dena Elliott, Lori Pelkey, and John Norrena. We hope this process begins near June l, 2007 and is completed by August 1, 2007.

We now have a LOGO. Several committee members worked with a Lane Community College graphics class to come up with the design. It is being worked into digital files for future applications.

Randy George will be contacting various printers for bids on Banners.

John Norrena will be asking Jenny Gray to help format other printing matters, i.e. cards, letterhead, etc.

FUNDING: Teresa Landers has prepared a preliminary funding plan. She gave a brief overview of the organizations that we will be contacting. This initial contact process will begin our funding goals and strategies.

Files for each organization were distributed between committee members. Each person will contact their organization and extract the information needed to see if they are a viable resource. All files will be returned to Lori Pelkey ASAP at the Monroe library.

Next meeting is June 11, 2007.

Respectfully submitted,

Janet B.

South Benton Library Project Meeting Monday, May 14, 7:00 pm

2007-05-10T12:55:00.000-07:00

You are once again cordially invited to come to the monthly South Benton Library Project meeting which will be at the Monroe Fire Hall this Monday, May 14 at 7:00 pm. Last meeting was great, we met new people who were interested in helping out and heard their wonderful ideas. Please invite anyone else you know who is eager to help with a new Library for Monroe. We'll see you all Monday evening!

New Volunteers!

2007-05-01T13:05:00.000-07:00

Getting back to how busy it's been at the library this past month I can say there is some hope on the horizon! I have three new volunteers and one that will be available this fall when her daughter starts first grade. What I've been faced with lately has been an increase in people visiting the library, extra work with SBLP and no extra hours to keep up. So I started being vocal about it to my patrons. This was hard for me! Asking for help makes me feel a little guilty. People might start thinking, "what does she do around here all day anyway?" With the encouragement of my dear long term volunteer buddies, I timidly started asking for help. What I am looking for is help in keeping the shelves in order! I know other libraries have Adopt-a-Shelf programs. Starting an informal group like this is what I'm aiming for. So far I have four volunteers with their own section of shelves. I need 5 more. This is pretty low key volunteerism here...it's only requirement is to come in once or twice a month and "read" your shelf. Which means you make sure everything is in ABC or 123 order. Not hard at all once you get started! Come on in to the library and let me know if this sounds like your cup of tea!

April 9th Meeting Minutes

2007-05-01T13:01:00.000-07:00

Sorry this is late everyone! Been very busy at the library! ~~Lori

SOUTH BENTON LIBRARY PROJECT

MEETING 4/9/07

MINUTES

Meeting convened at 7:00 pm in the Fire Station meeting room. There were 14 attending.

The moving of the depot was discussed. The County is taking responsibility for securing the building. We will arrange for a sign or banner to be placed on it telling folks it is going to be a new Monroe Library. We adopted the slogan- “Linking the Past with the Future”. Mayor Thayer graciously agreed to use a contact with a sign maker in Junction City to see what price we can get on the sign. It was explained for new folks attending that the depot will only be a part of the library- in and of itself it is not large enough. It will either stand alone and connect to the library or be incorporated into the library itself. It’s historical nature may make it more attractive for historical preservation funding. It is structurally sound but needs a lot of cosmetic work.

Mayor Thayer also mentioned that he believes the City holds a 99 year lease with option to buy on the property as a result of negotiations about 10-12 years ago to obtain the rail right of way on the south side near the school. The City mows that property, has planted trees and deposited rock there. They would not have done these things if they did not have a claim on it. They are combing the archives looking for printed documentation.

We did receive a proposal from the same architect who did the site study to do a full architectural design. We feel this is needed in order to attract potential donors as having something concrete to show is much easier to sell.

We were turned down for a Spirit Mountain grant but were encourage to reapply when we are ready to begin construction. Teresa mentioned they are working on some complications related to qualifying for CDBG funding but is hopeful. There is another possible source of funding which she is pursuing but is not at liberty to discuss at this time. Hopefully she will hear something in the next couple of weeks.

We do have a bank account at Sterling Bank in town. Donations can be brought to the bank and they will deposit them and give us the names of who donated. Or, they can be given to Lori at the Library. We are going to explore getting a post office box. If that does not work then donations can be sent to Craig Pelkey at his home address which we will publish once we know we are not getting a PO Box. Janet Begg agreed to explore the PO Box idea. To date we have $500 from the Friends of the Library for seed money and $205 that will be transferred from the Library Foundation which has been holding money received in the name of the Monroe Library. A $100 donation from some folks in Alsea has been used to pay for a copy of QuickBooks.

We discussed designing a logo and printing letterhead. The name of a local printer was mentioned, Jim McGillivray and John Norrena is going to see if his wife, who is a graphic artist, will be able to design a logo for us.

Teresa discussed her attendance at a joint meeting of the boards of the Alpine Community Center and South Benton Community Enhancement. Everyone agreed there is a place for both the community center in Alpine and a new library in Monroe and that we need to look for ways to cooperate. We agreed to keep each other apprised of foundations to which we apply.

We heard about a button making machine that was a joint purchase by the Museum, SBCE, the Alpine Community Center and us.

We then passed around a sign up sheet for committees: publicity, fund raising and steering. After some discussion, Randy George and Dena Elliot agreed to co- chair. A final roster of who signed up for what will be available soon.

NEXT MEETING: MONDAY MAY 14 AT 7 PM IN THE FIREHOUSE

(tentatively set the 2^nd Monday of the month as a regular meeting time)

Monday April 9th SBLP Meeting

2007-03-29T15:12:00.000-07:00

Everyone is invited to come to the next South Benton Library Project meeting at the Monroe Fire Hall on Monday, April 9th at 7:00 pm. We hope to answer everyone's questions on the depot move, recruit a chairperson and let you all know about SBLP's ongoing grant seeking process. See you there!

Monroe Train Depot Video

2007-03-22T14:05:00.000-07:00

Another Picture of the Depot

2007-03-12T16:53:00.000-07:00

Here is another shot of this beautiful building positioned
very carefully parallel to the highway. Wish I had time
to put more pictures up on the blog today, but I have to
get ready to leave for a week. My oldest son is getting
married this Saturday and after that, we should get the
video of the depot move up and on the blog.

Historic Monroe Train Depot Moves!

2007-03-11T22:31:00.000-07:00

This morning at 7:30 the Monroe Train Depot was moved to it's new home at the corner of HWY 99 and Ash Street in Monroe. Stay tuned for more cool pictures and video of the move!

South Benton News Articles

2007-02-20T13:31:00.000-08:00

In the February 2007 edition of the South Benton News my article "Happenings at the Monroe Community Library" appears opposite of another article entitiled, "South Benton Communities Historical Association Newsletter 2007" by Mrs. Barbara Wright, Museum Coordinator. In Mrs. Wright's article she wonders about the fate of the Monroe Train Depot and tells some wonderful history of this interesting historical building. In my quest for fulfilling our library's mission of "Bringing People and Information Together" I see my lack here! Since Benton County is working with the South Benton Library Project toward moving the depot to the new library's location, my thoughts went to wondering about how many people in the area I am not reaching with this information? Of course any news about progress we are making toward a new library is important to our patrons and myself...but what about those very few people who don't visit the library on a regular basis? How can I reach them? Well, for starters, I have a few ideas. Number one is to visit the museum the next time it is open and give them our latest SBLP newsletter with a SBLP Blog address bookmarker on it. Mmm...next I will go and pay another visit to the Senior Meals Program and (microphone in hand) bring them up to date on what's happening. Does anyone have other good ideas out there? Please don't be afraid to post them!

Update on the Monroe Depot

2007-02-15T11:16:00.000-08:00

Just heard this from Chris Bentley of Benton County Planning:

"The Board of Commissioners agreed today to loan funds for the moving of the historic Monroe Depot building. This loan will be to the South Benton Library Project, who will incorporate the re-use of this building as a part of the library complex. We have already received donations towards this fund from a private individual and Wilbur Ellis Company.

We will keep you all posted, and let you know the moving date!"

Chalk up another reason for a new library in Monroe

2007-02-13T12:34:00.000-08:00

Today we had 18 little pre-schoolers come to storytime! Last week it was 17. When I first started doing Pre-School Storytime 2 years ago here at the Monroe Community Library, I only had about 3 kids come each week. Sometimes, if it was flu season, no one would come. But it was a beginning! I have certainly learned a lot since those first few storytimes. Things like...letting go and being silly and singing for all the library to hear. That was a hard one! Now storytime has become my favorite 30 minutes of the week. I know there are better storytellers out there...but my love for what I am doing shines through. I am very passionate about reading to babies and little ones. Have you ever sat down and read a book to a baby? They LOVE it! They want to touch and feel the pages. They look into your eyes and hang on every syllable you speak. They smile and giggle and drool. It's wonderful. What a gift you give to them...your human voice; your undivided attention! Believe me, I get back just as much as I give in storytimes. And how does this relate to a new Monroe library? Well...just think about all those stories I've read to these little ones. They are going to grow up feeling wonderful about books! And where are they going to go for those books? Monroe's new library of course!

Introducing: The South Benton Library Project!

2007-02-06T12:11:00.000-08:00

The community’s effort being made toward a new library in Monroe and the south Benton County area is almost in its second year of planning. We have had several meetings and progress is being made toward that end. At our last meeting on January 23 we agreed upon a name for our effort. Thus the South Benton Library Project or SBLP was born! At that meeting, several key issues were discussed besides what to call our group. South Benton Community Enhancement (SBCE) has agreed to sponsor the library project, which gives us the benefit of a non-profit status and opens up many grant possibilities. Meanwhile, the Monroe City council adopted an official resolution to support our efforts and that opens up other grant possibilities. We have a bookkeeper and a back up bookkeeper. As soon a bank account is opened, the Friends of the Corvallis-Benton County Library will deposit $500 which will be used for various start up costs, including a copy of QuickBooks for accounting. Teresa Landers, Deputy Library Director for the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library has discussed progress and plans on a variety of issues including how the County and SBCE are working together to get the railroad depot behind Wilbur Ellis moved sometime very soon to the corner of Ash and Hwy 99 which is the site that was agreed upon for the new library at a meeting in November 2006. We are currently looking for a person who will be our official liaison between South Benton Library Project and South Benton Community Enhancement. We also need to identify someone willing to be the Chair or Public Face for SBLP. We have had some wonderful articles written in both the Corvallis Gazette Times and the Tri-County News about our efforts. If you would like to join in this wonderful endeavor for a new library in Monroe please contact Lori Pelkey at the Monroe Community Library at 847-5174.

2007-01-18T09:03:00.000-08:00

Join us at a community meeting Tuesday January 23rd at the Monroe Library to continue planning for a new library.

2006-11-22T17:10:00.000-08:00

We had a great meeting with the Monroe City Council last night. They are very supportive fo the project and will soon pass a formal resolution in support of it. Here is the report they were given which serves as a good summary of the progress thus far:

The Friends of the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library and the Library Foundation paid for a site and program study. The results of this indicate the need for a 5700 square foot facility occupying approximately .4 acres.

Two sites were identified. The first is currently railroad property for which Benton County is currently negotiating purchase. It is at the north end of town across from the high school. The second site is adjacent to the health clinic, middle and elementary schools.
At a recent town hall meeting at which the architect presented information about both sites, there was a very strong preference for the north site as it would create a wonderful entrance to the community. We are eagerly anticipating what happens with the County.
It is our understanding that both these sites are available at very little cost.
The overall estimate for construction is approximately one million dollars.
Both sites provide ample space should additional community facilities decide to relocate including City Hall, Food Bank, Skate Park, and Community Center (beyond the meeting rooms provided in the new library).

An excited group of citizens agreed to meet again to determine the next steps. This meeting took place on November 14, 2006. The discussion at this meeting focused on options for organizing and what the next steps are.

We heard reports from the citizens involved in both the Alsea and Philomath building projects as they represented different models for how to proceed.

The possibility of getting CDBG funding was discussed and will probably require an income survey be done of the school district service area which is basically the service area of the Monroe Library. An estimate is expected from COG within the next few weeks. CDBG funding would require the City of Monroe to be the formal applicant and recipient. CDBG could provide as much as $500,000.
It was reported than many private foundations will not fund governmental agencies so the need to form or be part of an existing 501C3 organization was expressed. Since CDBG money is a matching grant, it is obvious that funding from private foundations will be necessary. The possibility of sponsorship by SBCE is going to be further explored with a reasonable expectation this will be acceptable to SBCE as long as the library project can provide its own bookkeeper. This way SBCE can apply for grants and when the building is built, SBCE will donate it to the City of Monroe for continuing maintenance support with the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library continuing to operate the library itself.
Three major action steps emerged from the meeting:

Dena Elliot and Dorothy Burt will talk to the SBCE board about accepting a new library as an official SBCE project including setting up a separate bank account for this project.
Everyone will ask contacts about possible bookkeepers for the project; preferably using QuickBooks or a similar program.
Teresa Landers will work with Lynne Miller on writing a grant to secure funding for the architectural design phase.

If you want to be part of this exciting project, we need lots of volunteers. Right now we really need to find someone who is willing to be the bookkeeper for the project. We will supply the copy of QuickBooks. In time, we hope to be able to pay a small stipend for doing this.

The next committee meeting is Tuesday January 23 at 7 pm in the City Council Chambers. If you want to help but can't make the meeting, contact Lori Pelkey at the library.

Great community meeting

2006-11-15T15:47:00.000-08:00

We had a meeting last night with a great group of about 12 citizens interested in working on raising the funds to get a new library. The next step is to get the formal support of the Monroe City Council which we hope will happen next Tuesday night at 6 pm. A more lengthy report will be posted after that meeting.

Community Meeting

2006-11-07T11:37:00.000-08:00

A reminder that we are having a community meeting on Tuesday November 14, 2006 at the Monroe Library to continue working on getting a new library for Monroe. If you want to help with the project but can't make the meeting, stop by the Library at 664 Commercial Street in Monroe and let Lori know you are interested. Hope to see you there.

Town Hall October 24

2006-10-25T13:36:00.000-07:00

We had a great meeting last night with close to thirty folks attending. The architect for the site study, Lori Stephens, presented the two possible sites for a new library. One is across from the High School (the North Site) next to the fertilizer plant. The other is near the grade/middle schools and health clinic (the South site). The North Site is less expensive to develop and the reasons were presented. The full report from the architect is available at http://www.broadleafarchitecture.com/monroelibrary.htm.

The next step is to talk to the Monroe City Council. Another community meeting is scheduled for November 14 at 7 pm- in the library or close by. This meeting is for folks who would like to get involved in going the next step which will probably be to begin fundraising. At that meeting we will hear from folks from other communities who have successfully built a new library with minimal, if any, support from a local governmental entity. Join us if you can or let Lori Pelkey at the Monroe Library (847-5174) know if you can't make this meeting but want to be involved in the future.