Osceola library board on seed library, reopening main entrance

At the Osceola library board meeting Monday it was decided that, after discussing staff preferences, the main entrance would be unlocked and put back into use.

The front door is now available for patrons to use rather than entering through the children’s library. The single entrance was used for the past year to cut down on exposure and ensure that masks were being worn by patrons per the city ordinance. After nearly a year, the meeting room will also reopen to the public as a rental space.

“I think it’s time,” said Barry Mateer, board treasurer. “I mean, everything else is open ... As long as everything can be cleaned in the meeting room between groups then I think we should open it up. It still may be a couple, three months before people really start using it but at least we could say it is open.”

During his director’s report, Francis Acland presented a bibliographic summary report to the board with a list of everything the library has to offer, how many items are currently checked out and how many are still available.

The OPL has 594 audio books, three audiocassettes, 27,657 books, 10 cake pans, 546 DVD’s, 20 kits, 483 periodicals, 18 puzzles and 171 seeds total.

This is the first year that seeds have been available at the OPL. As of Monday eight, patrons had checked out seeds.

“We have a variety of heirloom seeds for our seed library,” said Acland. “It’s kind of an experimental process but people can check out seeds from the library and plant them. Then at the end of the summer we ask that they harvest the seeds and bring those back.”

February, a short and very cold month, saw 661 patrons visit the library. That is the highest number of patrons in a month since Acland was hired last summer.

“My feeling is that more people are coming out now just because the more people get vaccinated the more safe they feel coming to the library,” said Acland.

The board discussed placing a trash receptacle out front by the benches to keep the area more clean. Acland will begin looking for one to coordinate with the current style as the front area was recently re-landscaped.