Philanthropy Today
Philanthropy Today
Manhattan Public Library on the GMCF Community Hour Episode - 185
This episode highlights the role of the Manhattan Public Library in promoting community engagement and literacy through diverse programming and events, including an upcoming book sale. Eric Norris, the library director, discusses membership benefits, volunteer opportunities, and the importance of community support in maintaining accessible library resources.
• Eric Norris shares his experiences as the library director
• Overview of engaging library events and discussions
• Opportunities for community involvement and volunteering
• Focus on local history through Humanities Kansas initiatives
• The library as a resource for all ages and backgrounds
Philanthropy Today is brought to you by the Greater Manhattan Community Foundation. In this episode we feature a recently broadcast segment of the GMCF Community Hour as heard on NewsRadio KMAN. We return with the GMCF Community Hour here, 1019 on NewsRadio KMAN. I'm Dave Lewis and our guest this segment is the director of Manhattan Public Library, eric Norris, is making a triumphant return back to the program. Welcome.
Speaker 2:Thanks for having me. Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1:We're just talking about this off mic or off air, that you've been here in the position three hours, three years, three years.
Speaker 2:Sometimes it feels like three hours but three years it's been a. It's been a really wonderful. It's been a really wonderful opportunity. We've had a blast. My wife and I have really enjoyed Manhattan and it's just a great community and really like being here.
Speaker 1:I see you getting out and about.
Speaker 2:We do, we do. We moved here as empty nesters and so we try to take full advantage of that, and then we replaced that empty nest with a large dog, so we walk our dog all over the place, but um, definitely try to be involved with, uh different things that are happening around town good for you.
Speaker 1:That's the way it should be, isn't?
Speaker 2:it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it feels nice what are some of your?
Speaker 2:favorite things, you know. I'll be honest with you. Uh, a really nice thing is the deck the outside deck at the Manhattan Brewing Company. It's always on a beautiful day, that's a really nice thing. But just the park that's in the middle of town downtown park is just awesome. We love getting out on those nice days and walking around that park. Seeing how well it's utilized by the community is incredible. We've lived in different places too and you just don't see a park that's used like that. So it's really nice. Do you have a selfie with Johnny Carr? I have. I send that picture to a lot of friends.
Speaker 1:Okay, I haven't done the selfie yet, I need to do that. Okay, all right. Well, selfie, I mean, that's not easy to take because he's a big dude. Exactly, exactly, but kind of iconic isn't?
Speaker 2:he, he is.
Speaker 1:All right. Well, Eric, let's talk about some things that are happening at the library. The book sale is coming up. This is always a big deal for you.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. Book sale coming up. It is rolling up February 28th. That Friday evening is the first evening that we open it up to MLA members. So our friends members that have a membership. They get first crack at the sale for a couple hours on Friday evening, and then Saturday and Sunday. It's open Saturday most of the day from 10 to 4 to the general public just to come on in and browse the tables, and then also Sunday, 1 to 3.30, we're open to the public. Then it's real easy to become a Friends member. If you come to the library before the sale starts that evening at 530, you can purchase a membership right on the spot and be able to access the sale a little bit earlier. So this year we've got a lot of books. We've been putting them into the storage area and we'll fill up the auditorium and then also the shell, which is our empty, unused storage area space. So there'll be a lot of books, a lot of people. It should be fun, okay, yeah.
Speaker 1:Put that date down on the calendar the 28th for friends.
Speaker 2:Yep For friends and I don't have my membership. Prices are really reasonable. I don't have it in front of me. I'd hate to say the wrong number. I think for a family membership it's $10, I believe $10?
Speaker 1:Yeah, man, that's a push isn't?
Speaker 2:it, it's tough, it's tough.
Speaker 1:I don't know anybody in town that has a membership for $10.
Speaker 2:And I think an individual membership might be lower than that. But yep, you can become a member right on the spot and get into the big book sale.
Speaker 1:Okay, all right, so what do you?
Speaker 2:use the proceeds for the book sale for Our friends group, mla, is really generous with the library. They donate a percentage of the receipts sold. We use that money for programming for all ages throughout the library so that goes in to help with all sorts of different programs In the children's area. We really kind of focus in on some of the the story times that we have that we put on the different events that we just allow people to come in for free. It is free of charge because that's what we do as a library, but getting that support from Friends and getting that support from this book sale really helps us keep those programs free and open and keeps as many of them as we can do. So we focus in on children's but we do. We use programming money from Friends for all ages in on children's, but we do.
Speaker 1:we use programming money from friends for all ages. I was just looking at your website and, by the way, if you have not been to the website, mhklibraryorg, I understand you're closed today for President's Day.
Speaker 2:We are. We are closed to the public. We actually have staff development day. That goes on. Well, you got your little key thing on, so I wear that everywhere when I'm on the clock, so yeah, Yep, we're closed to the public today, but we do staff development, make sure staff are trained up on policies and manuals, and we also use it for a lot of team building as well.
Speaker 1:Ah, team building. Yes, yes, yes, yes. What do you do with team building in the library?
Speaker 2:You know, we just make sure that staff are all comfortable with each other. Everybody knows who everybody is. We got to. We're all comfortable with each other. Everybody knows who everybody is. We're a big organization. There's about 60 employees, is it really? Yeah and right at 60. And some of the staff members work in offices behind doors. A lot of staff members don't get to see staff members who work on the weekends. Maybe it's just weekends and evenings primarily.
Speaker 1:So it's a good chance to get everybody together and just make sure everybody's comfortable with everybody.
Speaker 2:You've got a lot of characters On, so it's a good chance to get everybody together and just make sure everybody's comfortable with everybody. You've got a lot of characters On staff. Yes, a lot of wonderful characters. We were actually just talking about that this morning. So a lot of really great people, wide variety of backgrounds and experiences, and it's wonderful.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so tell me about some of the other events you've got coming up. I understand there's some book-related things here this week.
Speaker 2:Yes, I've got some events pulled up just so I can remember the couple fun ones to really talk about too. We are doing book discussions with Humanities Kansas. So every other month we're putting on a book discussion. You can come and check out a book beforehand. We'll have plenty of copies. But one of them that we have coming is, I believe, on February 20th, which is coming up pretty soon. So if you haven't read the book you've got just a few more days to jump on.
Speaker 2:It is the Last Cattle Drive, the Robert Day book that's set out in western Kansas. We're going to give a book discussion about that book. Then coming up in March is going to be a book called Letters of a Woman Homesteader. It was written by Eleanor Pruitt Stewart. Set in 1909. And I'm reading this because this doesn't all come from memory, but set in 1909, wyoming recounts her own experiences as a widowed mother of one. She builds her homestead out in Wyoming and proves that women can ranch. So that book discussion is coming up March 20th that evening and February 20th, so a month out. You can come to the library. Just let them know you want to register for this event. They'll get you a book that you can read for that month and you'll be all set up and ready to go.
Speaker 1:Sounds like an interesting lineup of Western based books.
Speaker 2:A lot of those come from. You know you can grab those different themes like that and that's just kind of the theme that we're on right now and fortunately we're able to partner with Humanities Kansas to get plenty of copies of these books. There's a limited number that we can get, so it's around 20 or 25 people. We get 20, 25 copies from Humanities Kansas. Borrow them for a little bit. People come and check them out and get ready for the get ready for the book discussion. Okay.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you know there's. There's such a synergy about, you know, the humanities and in the state of Kansas these days. You know and you look around this town and what we were, what we have experienced here over the last. You know, and this predates you, but you know, with the Flint Hills Discovery Center coming in Earlier on K-Man, we had Calum Rebecca Katzmeyer talking about the prairie and a lot of things that they are working with their land trust opportunities and we're seeing just a tremendous amount of new things to bring back the old. Yes, and I think that that just really adds a lot of spice to us that we probably really haven't had that much influence in the past.
Speaker 2:You know Humanities Kansas does do that good job of making sure they're capturing those stories that may get lost, and especially those regional and state stories that are going on, that you know stories about some of the different oh just different opportunities that went on Like well, and I don't know too much about it, but even stories about like when some of the dams were put up in Kansas in the 1930s, kansas in the 1930s and just how that changed landscapes, how that changed towns, how it helped create certain situations and how it had to replace some certain situations. So you get a lot of those local stories that you know will get lost in time and fortunately there's people out there that are capturing, those that are paying attention to it, that realize that if we don't have people who continue to tell these stories, we're going to lose them. So so I think it's. I think it's fascinating.
Speaker 1:Yeah, there were a lot of efforts there during the the Roosevelt administration and you know an FBR had a, you know, with uh coming out of the depression and a lot of those uh, I think, ycc projects and then, of course, you know you talked about the dams and the story about uh Tuttle, I think, is just one that's fascinating.
Speaker 1:Yes, you know, and there's a lot of people that don't still resent. You know people that had to get relocated out of Randolph and some of those other small communities, but it's. I mean, there's a lot of great stories about that and it's neat to see those are are captured and retold.
Speaker 2:And I think it's important that the humanities pulls those out, so it takes that storytelling part of history and makes it interesting now. So it's not just it's not just knowing the dates and this is what happened, but you get to learn about individuals that were experiencing these sorts of things, and that's one of the wonderful things about humanities.
Speaker 1:Okay, Well, let's talk about some other things here. You know we have a lot of people that are listening in and always looking to get involved one way or another in some of the things within the community, and the library has plenty of opportunities.
Speaker 2:We do. We do. We do have volunteers for various events that we have go on. So when somebody comes in and they want to volunteer with the library, we look for a place to kind of fit what they're looking for into what the library needs. Another way that people do get involved is donating books to the library for this book sale specifically, some of the books get put in Rosie's Corner, which we have available every day that we're open. So we do have books for sale that are primarily through donations and also withdrawn books from our collection that people can purchase really, really inexpensively. But those book donations are what kind of keeps this book sale alive and going on, you know.
Speaker 2:And joining MLA too, you don't have to just wait until right before the book sale. We do a big push at the end of every year to get people's memberships locked in. Those five, 10 bucks, 20 bucks what people use to secure their MLA membership at whichever level they'd like to participate at. That money again comes back in and helps support the library and programming throughout the entire library, you know. And another way that when people ask how they could be involved with the library is just to come down and check us out. I use that pun quite a bit, but it's just. It's come in and see what we have available there's.
Speaker 2:I'm still amazed that in you know 2024, 2025, there's people that come in the door and say I didn't realize you had this. Whether it's our online services that we provide, we have a lot locally that we support and make available to to the residents of Manhattan, but also we partner with the State Library of Kansas and bring in and we have online opportunities that are available through them, as well as just books. We've got audio books still. We've got movies, dvds. We have a few music CDs. They've been kind of falling out of the collection a little bit over the years.
Speaker 1:Have they.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Would you like some of that to be restored, because I've got thousands?
Speaker 2:We take those donations and they go on the book sale too. We're having bets on whether or not cars will put CD players back in them in the next handful of years. How you see these resurgence of of of different things that kind of pop back up. I doubt we'll ever see a cassette player in a car again, but a CD player may be a normal thing. They're in the next five years, I'm thinking. Maybe it'll come back around.
Speaker 1:You know, I would like to think that, because you know I've got that huge collection and I've got, I do have a vehicle that still has a cd player. I bought a used one here not too long ago and had a cassette deck in it oh wow, still, that was like a 2005 just to knock around it. Uh, that didn't last long, but because I didn't really have too many cassettes in there, yeah. But but hey, you know, I go back to the eight track under the dash I've heard of those.
Speaker 2:Yeah, see, I've got some of those up there on the wall.
Speaker 1:But yeah, but you know one of the things that you know the public library and you know it's something that has you have something for everybody, and it doesn't matter what age, it doesn't matter gender, it doesn't matter. You know where you are socially or financially, everybody has something that they can pick up at the library, and that's not true. Gender, it doesn't matter where you are socially or financially, everybody has something that they can pick up at the library. And that's not true for a lot of entities.
Speaker 2:It is a place that's for the community. It's sponsored by the community. That's where we get our funding from, is directly from the community, and we make sure that we have a robust collection in there, that there's something for everybody in that collection and if there's not, there's also plenty of opportunities to reach out to other libraries. If you still want a physical book and it's something that you're looking for specifically, if it's not a newer book or something we would purchase for you. Upon that ask, which is something we do, a lot People will come in and ask for a title. If we don't have it in, we'll put a purchase in, and if it's something that's maybe not newer, we'll look to other libraries.
Speaker 2:The network of public libraries in Kansas are connected through interlibrary loan, and then there's also online resources that are available to people, and when you have a librarian step you through how to use one of the online services, it becomes the mystery, falls away from it. It becomes a very easy thing to use, a very easy thing to locate, and then that opens up tens of thousands of titles to you that are that are available for free. But you know, we just we really try to stay community minded and and make sure that we do. We do have a very robust collection for for a very robust and diverse community that we have here.
Speaker 1:Eric Norris. Thank you for joining us. Happy to be here.
Speaker 2:Thank you.
Speaker 1:Book sale the 28th of February and the 1st 28th of February to Sunday the 2nd Sunday, the 2nd? Okay, put that down, and you can always find out more about the library at mhklibraryorg or, you know what, you can even stop by and visit, please do Just right down on Points Avenue.
Speaker 1:It's so convenient and it's beautiful Coming up next from Meadowlark. Michelle Howell will be here. She is the special programs leader and they've got a lot of neat things that are happening, as they always do. It's the GMCF Community Hour here on NewsRadio KMAN, brought to you by the Greater Manhattan Community Foundation. You can always find out more about the foundation's work at mcfksorg.