Architectural Design Teaser!

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?

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

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

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

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?

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

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!

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

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!

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

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

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

Another Picture of the Depot

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!

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

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

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

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!

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.

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