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Idaho Tax Credits for library donations explained

As we turn the calendar over to
November this weekend, many of us have already started thinking about
end-of-year charitable giving and saving some money in taxes for 2020. 
With that thought in mind, I would like to further explain how much a
contribution to our public library can help in more tax savings. 
Monetary contributions to Clearwater Memorial Public Library (CMPL)
Foundation will receive a tax credit in addition to the federal and
Idaho deductions for charitable contributions.

Your
contribution to our public library (CMPL) qualifies you for a tax
credit under Idaho Code section 63-3029A.  The credit is 1/2 (one-half)
the total contribution, not to exceed $1,000 for joint returns or $500
for individual returns, $5,000 for corporations, and not to exceed 50%
of your income tax liability. 

More information may be obtained from your accountant or the Idaho State Tax Commission. (Donations of goods and services do not apply.)

With this in mind, we would like to
remind the community that we truly welcome your monetary contributors to
the CMPL Foundation, the volunteer group which is raising funds to
expand and furnish our existing library in Orofino,

If
you have already donated in the past, but not in 2019, this is an
excellent time to consider making another donation and earn a sizable
tax credit in addition to the regular tax deductions for charitable
contributions.

As mentioned in
previous articles and statements, we are so close to meeting our overall
goal to fund this exciting expansion! About $60,000 is needed to fund
Phase 4. Following Phase 4, we will look at the furnishings and details
to finish and wrap up the project.

In
looking back, to think that our groundbreaking occurred just 2 1/2
years ago is almost unbelievable! I hope, you have kept up with the
weekly notices of money raised, which is in each issue of news. We will
continue to keep everyone abreast of our progress until we are ready to
have our Grand Opening! 

Your contribution can be mailed to: CMPL Foundation, 139 High Country Lane, Ahsahka, ID 83520. Thanks to all our supporters!

By Jo Moore




Memorial Fund Continues to Grow with Doug Crockett’s Name

Since establishing the Memorial Fund to honor the important people in our lives, the list that Clearwater Memorial Public Library (CMPL) maintains on its website continues to lengthen, with the latest being that of Doug Crockett, a well-known figure and an important asset to the library itself. Doug used his computer skills to keep the internet system going for the library staff for many years, and he could be seen often working on one problem or another to keep CMPL operating in its new technological age. Doug’s name will live on in the appreciation of his volunteer work there.
Along with Doug Crockett, the Memorial Board will include many citizens who lived and contributed to the life of the the Orofino community, including the following:

Memorial Honor Roll
Dave Braun,
Lois & Carroll Brock,
Lynn Card,
Alice Colfer,
Harry Cummings,
Shirley Finke,
Roger Fisk, Sr.,
Harry & Agnes Freeman,
Jeanette Gorman,
Keith Gwinn,
Eve C. Harber,
Richard, Jack & David Hathaway,
Gean Kilroe,
Lois Looms,
Mike McNichols,
Ray & Judy Mitchell,
Stan Pearce,
Ruth Pearce (early Librarian),
Harriet Reese,
Verdia Reggear,
Brent Richardson,
Pam Seiss,
Larry Sharrai,
Julius & Florence Shubach,
Gail Underwood,
Harry Walrath,
Robert & Vera Werner

Honorees

Those who have contributed greatly to the welfare and success of CMPL and are being recognized by others include:

Kitty Geidl,
Jo Moore,
Ginger Rowland

Memorials/Honorary donations are gladly welcomed by the CMPL Foundation to honor those respected citizens and loved ones. Supporters and friends of Clearwater Memorial Public Library are finding this an excellent and comforting way to extend their regards and also place in perpetual memory those who lived/are living a good life. If you would like to remember someone special, just send your donation, name of the person to honor, and your name to CMPL Foundation at 139 High Country Lane, Ahsahka, ID 83520

(Added Note)
The CMPL Foundation volunteers are currently working to raise the funds for Phase 3! The goal of $221,000 was reached for Phase 2 with the generous gift of $50,000 recently from the J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Family Foundation. Help is now being solicited from local contributors in the way of labor and/or supplies, as well as with grant applications. Danielle Hardy, the foundation volunteer grant writer and project manager, is busy filling out applications and inquiring about additional help to accomplish our goals for Phase 3 and Phase 4. We are working hard to keep the entire expansion project under budget, and saving as much of our donated monies as we can, to make this new library a state of the art institution for Orofino’s future

Jo Moore, Chair, CMPL Foundation!




Oktoberfest Featured Artist Larry Boyd

Clearwater Memorial Public Library Foundation is pleased to introduce Larry Boyd
who is our featured artist for the Oktoberfest to be held Saturday, September 29 at
the High Country Inn. One picture per seating will be auction off during the event.
Larry and his wife, Charlotte of over 35 years live in Eagle, Idaho. They have three
grown children. A graduate of Boise State University, Larry earned his Master of
Arts degree in behavioral science from California State University. He recently
retired from a 43 year career with CH2M in engineering management.
He is principally a self-taught artist but has taken workshops by several famous
artists. Perhaps the most influential teachers have been Tony Couch, Frank Webb,
Sterling Edwards, Don Andrews, and Stephen Quiller. Larry has been awarded
“signature status” with the Idaho Watercolor Society (IWS) and in 2014 and 2016
he received the Jack Richeson Art Award for outstanding achievement as a
watercolor artist in the IWS annual juried exhibition.
Larry paints in multiple mediums—watercolor, pastels, acrylics, and pen and ink,
and primarily paints landscapes. Living in Idaho and the Northwest, the subject
matter for his art is virtually limitless. As an artist, he moves from a
representational rendering to a more impressionistic communication of the essence
of the subjects of his art. Larry recently paid a visit to Jo Moore’s High Country Inn
and while there he hiked and drove around the area, shooting scenes with his
camera. On his return home, he used some of his photos to create his impressions
on canvas. Two of these renderings, which he created specifically for Jo’s library
foundation, will be presented at the OKTOBERFEST dinner, along with another he
created from a photo he took in Arizona. These paintings are originals, and will not
be copied.




Clearwater Tribune: So You Want to Be a Star?

The purpose of the video will be to acquaint the community and others with the need for more space in our library, as well as the need for new programs to bring Orofino into the technological demands of the future.

The first phase of the filming will be during the Story Hour to be held on Wednesday, Nov. 9, and possibly on Friday, Nov. 11.  Children will be shown listening to a cute story in a BIG book, read by the Children’s Librarian.

In order to depict the children in this vignette, permission slips will be signed by the parents, which will authorize showing of the video to the public.

Adult patrons who support the expansion project of the library are also being sought to “star” in little segments which will show the need for wider aisles, shorter book stacks, more computers, etc.

If you are interested in helping us with the fun project, please leave your name with any of the library staff, or call Jo Moore at 476-7570.

The Clearwater Memorial Public Library Foundation, Inc. (CMPLF. Inc.) Board is presently researching ways to raise funds to carry out the initial phase of the expansion of the present library, and looking for anyone with ideas or who is willing to help with raising of funds.

The cost of the initial phase of erecting the new building shell is approximately $225,000. and this amount needs to be raised before construction can begin. The total amount of the completed project and ensuing maintenance will reach over one million dollars.

The Foundation members appreciate very much the help and support of this community to help depict the library’s many needs. Please call this week if you or your children would like to help!




Hootenanny Fundraiser – August 13, 2016 at 5:30pm

Merc Cannell, Ray Jones, Ted Leach, Susan Larson, and Mike Riccomini (l to r) and Julie Hutchinson (not pictured) will provide the wild entertainment for this year’s CMPL Friends library fundraiser.

Merc Cannell, Ray Jones, Ted Leach, Susan Larson, and Mike Riccomini (l to r) and Julie Hutchinson (not pictured) will provide the wild entertainment for this year’s CMPL Friends library fundraiser.

From the Clearwater Tribune, July 20, 2016:

Five entertainers, seven or eight musical instruments, including a washboard, tambourines, kazoo, banjo, and two guitars are preparing a rip-roaring, toe-stomping program, interspersed with lots of corny jokes and wisecracks written by Susie Larson, promises that the CMPL Friends’ 7th annual summer fundraising event will be a rousing success!

Entertainers at this year’s event, which will be a Hootenanny, include Mike Riccomini and Julie Hutchinson, and the Big Guys and One (Ted Leach, Merc Cannell, and Ray Jones). Lots of audience participation will keep everyone on their toes to see who pops up next with a joke. Over 20 songs are planned, some of which will call for the audience to also sing along.

The Hootenanny is to be held Saturday, Aug. 13, starting at 5:30 p.m. in the Sunken Garden of the High Country Inn. Dinner tickets are $30 each. A no-host beer and wine bar will be open with complimentary appetizers and some background country music to get everyone in the party mood.

A full buffet barbecue dinner will be served about 6:45 or 7 p.m., featuring three kinds of smoked meats, a beautiful array of salads and sides, garlic bread, and beverages (iced tea, lemonade, and coffee).

There’ll be a program of music while dinner settles, then the third annual famous homemade pie auction will take place. Following the auction, dessert will be served, and the musicians will really get down to business!
Table sponsors from businesses and patrons alike are encouraged, all proceeds from the Hootenanny will go toward improvements for the existing library.

CMPL Friends, who are sponsoring this annual event, are a volunteer group with the best interests of the library at heart.

They work towards not only raising funds to help the library along, but also oversee the landscaping and any additional purchases which are not available on the library’s budget.

For more information about sponsoring a table, or for group reservations, please contact Jo Moore at 476-7570. Ticket purchases and/or donations and sponsorships may be left at the library, or mailed to 70 High Country Lane, Ahsahka, ID 83520. Checks are to be made out to CMPL Friends.

CMPLFriends-7th-annual-fundraiser




CMPL Foundation’s new website launches this week

By Jo Moore

Although a work still in progress, the newly-formed Clearwater Memorial Public Library (CMPL) Foundation, Inc. plans to launch its new website this week.

It will be a means to let our readers gain more information about upcoming plans for library expansion; as well as news on what is happening at that copper-roofed building on the corner of A Street and Michigan Avenue!

For instance, we would like to make our website user-friendly and interactive. If you are an avid reader, we’d like to know what you are reading, if you belong to a book club already, or if you’d like to form one, as well as what kinds of books you are most interested in.
If you are a teacher, please recommend books to read aloud at home.

We will be publishing a survey by mid-March, in order to help determine the most important needs for our library of the future. We would like to have everyone as involved as possible, so be watching for it.

We hope, through our website, to let readers know what new books have arrived at the library, and which ones have been ordered and will arrive soon, as well as what the staff at CMPL are themselves reading these days.

There is already an established website for CMPL, but we hope to get our readers interested in both, as they will not be identical.

The one for the library publishes a monthly newsletter with its upcoming activities posted, plus its hours, and lots of other very important information telling what is available at the library. This website has been in existence a long time and is very easy to use!

We hope to let our readers know about new goings-on each week that are now available at CMPL.

The website for Orofino’s library: www.orofinolibrary.com

The website for the Clearwater Memorial Public Library (CMPL) Foundation is: www.messy-lunch.flywheelsites.com. You will see our new logo on each page. This new website is just in the formative stages, and will develop as it is used. Send us your ideas!

Forty-nine libraries

Did you know that our library is connected to 49 other libraries, and when you want to search for a book title, if our library in Orofino doesn’t have it on its shelves, the title may be found in any one of 49 other libraries across our region? Even better, it can be ordered free of charge and delivered to CMPL here in Orofino.

The only stipulation is that you must have a library card, but the card is free! Just go to the library’s front desk and ask for one.

This article was published in the Clearwater Tribune: http://www.clearwatertribune.com/news/community_news/cmpl-foundation-s-new-website-launches-this-week/article_a358d33e-e0a2-11e5-9a74-9770e9391dcc.html




Orofino library expansion overdue

By Jo Moore

Last week’s splendid article featuring Ellen Tomlinson’s tenure as CMPL Director elicited many responses, such as, “I didn’t know our library does all that!”

It is true that in the six or so years since Ellen took over as Director, so many advances were made that the library has certainly outgrown the space it needs to accommodate the expanded and new many services that are provided.

When Chris Ashby, former director until 2009, commented to our citizens that the library “must be continually supported by the community and nurtured like a good garden,” he alluded to the fact that times were changing, and like a good garden must be tended, so must the library.

With programs expanding the need for more “people space” has become a reality. The Board of Trustees in its study has determined that library expansion is overdue, and plans are now being made to create more physical space for its patrons in the near future.
A survey is in the works for the community to have an opportunity to decide what is most needed to make our library the “go-to” place for information, education, recreation, or entertainment.

A good library is more than just books anymore! This survey will help the Board of Trustees determine how to meet community needs and desires.

The activities of the new CMPL “Friends” since 2009 have been able to raise over $25,000 with their annual summer fundraisers and semi-annual book sales.

These monies have gone toward many improvements for the library, some of which were mentioned by Ellen in her interview last week.

However, it has become clear that a much bigger effort must be made in order to keep up with the times, hence the need for a non-profit foundation, which can hopefully accomplish bigger goals. The active support of the community of Clearwater County will be essential to meeting these bigger goals of expansion.

Ways to be involved and show support will be, first, to participate in the survey when it is published; second, to indicate your desire to help on the survey form, and/or join the membership of the CMPL Friends, or of the new CMPL Foundation, Inc., which will be seeking members soon, under the direction of Jo Moore and her Board.

This article was published in the Clearwater Tribune:
http://www.clearwatertribune.com/news/community_news/orofino-library-expansion-overdue/article_9becceda-db1a-11e5-a744-b32ab192d7b4.html




Farewell to another excellent librarian

farewell
By Jo Moore

In 2009 Ellen Tomlinson took over the reins of the Clearwater Memorial Public Library (CMPL), succeeding Chris Ashby.

Ellen’s tenure has been almost exactly the same length as that of Chris: six and a half years. During Ellen’s time as director, a whirlwind of modern developments and improvements have taken place, and Ellen has always been at the helm.

From her stint as assistant director and then director, Ellen oversaw the reorganization of the Friends of the Library, who have become a leading force in raising funds for library improvement.

E-Audio books became a reality through VALNet, and an email newsletter was developed by Ellen. The Annex was spiffed up and became a combination meeting room, lunch room for library staff, and most importantly the RIF (Reading is Fundamental) Distribution Center.

The library was nominated for a rural library fund award and received $18,000 worth of books for CMPL. In 2010 Ellen was awarded RIF Ambassador for Idaho.

From 2010, under Ellen’s guidance, the library has accomplished a lot of maintenance and improvements, with the help of the Friends’ fundraisers.

The library also acquired a new telephone system, then joined the State of Idaho BTOP grants, which allowed high speed, wireless internet 24/7 for library and patron use.

This grant updated the library’s computers and added more, and epads and e-books for training were also provided. The library has continued to advance in its technology, and has now in its possession over 38,000 items for loan or use.

Being a member of ValNet with 49 other libraries as members provides an addition 664,000 items available to our patrons.

In 2009, when Chris Ashby retired, he directed some important comments to our local citizens, and I quote:

I wish to direct my comments to you, the citizens of Orofino and Clearwater County. I have been around libraries all my life and professionally so for the last 36 years. Thus said I want to impress upon you the worth of your local library.

Clearwater Memorial Public Library is one of the best small town libraries that I have seen…and I have seen a lot. It is definitely a library that its community can be proud of. But if it is to remain so it must not be taken for granted. It must be continually supported by the community and cultivated and nurtured like a good garden.

In this time of economic uncertainty the local library must not be allowed to become a whipping boy…because if Peter is robbed to pay Paul he won’t be giving it back anytime soon.” (Clearwater Tribune, July 23, 2009).

Chris would be proud to know that the two properties adjacent to the library have been acquired by the CMPL Board of Trustees with the aim toward expansion.

The Board consists of Margaret Cook and Jo Sharrai, co-chairs; and Lynn Card, Tammy Gilmer, and Betty Burnham.

The library is seriously cramped in space and needs to provide more services. Studies are being undertaken to see how best this expansion can take place, and how the community can help. Please watch for further news on this front!

Clearwater Memorial Public Library is one of the best small town libraries that I have seen…and I have seen a lot.
– Chris Ashby, past director

This article was published in the Clearwater Tribune February 17, 2016
http://www.clearwatertribune.com/news/community_news/farewell-to-another-excellent-librarian/article_ce35d784-d592-11e5-9f2e-c3717f11abd4.html




Service is Our Middle Name

ellentomlinson
Ellen Tomlinson
Ellen Tomlinson, retiring director of Clearwater Memorial Public Library, is holding a book about guns that was recently replaced for the third time, because the book is so popular. This has led to the book being moved to reference, which means patrons can no longer check it out. They can, however, come in and look at it all day.

By Andrea Dell

Every so often, you meet someone who is so passionate about something, you can’t help but get swept up as you listen to them talk about it.

Such was the case last week when I interviewed Ellen Tomlinson, current Director of Clearwater Memorial Public Library in Orofino.

Just a few minutes into the interview, her love of and pride in the library was obvious. “I could probably talk for 12 days just about the library and the stuff they’re doing,” she remarked at one point.

Ellen has been the Orofino library’s director since August of 2009. Her last day as its director is Feb. 29. I’m sure many will be sad to see her go.

“The reason I’m retiring is not because I don’t love the library,” she explained.

Ellen’s reason for retiring is probably not what you’d expect. “It’s just time, I think, for new blood, and new people with new ideas,” she says. “I have looked back at previous directors, and everybody brings something.”

Ellen and her husband, Norm, moved to Clearwater County in the early 1970s. They were fresh out of college from the University of Idaho in Moscow. Norm was employed by Potlatch (and later, C-PTPA), so they first ended up in Headquarters. After that, it was Pierce.

Ellen taught kindergarten and pre-school. Not long after moving to Headquarters, she began driving all the way to Orofino to visit its library. By 1977, she and Norm had moved to Orofino, and Ellen continued teaching kindergarten and pre-school. Her sons, Jonathan and Benjamin, were born in Orofino, and attended Orofino schools. Jonathan now works for Boeing, and Benjamin is an architect.

The first person Ellen met in Orofino was Ginger Rowland (who, 40 years later, is still involved in the library, and has seen 16 directors come and go).

Ellen applied for a position at the library in 2002, after retiring from teaching. “I’ve always wanted to work in the library. I love books. I was a voracious reader, so I had a knowledge of books,” Ellen says. She described working at the library as one of her “dream jobs.”

She began as a substitute, and hadn’t been there long when the library lost several staff members. At that point she was asked to join the staff as a library assistant. It wasn’t long before she was named the children’s librarian. Given her career in teaching, it was a natural fit.

Chris Ashby was the library’s director at that time. After Ellen became children’s librarian, he appointed her assistant director. When he got close to retirement in 2009, he approached her and asked her to be the next director.

Ellen’s response? “I’ll have to think about it.” That same year, she accepted the position.

Changes

Ellen has witnessed a lot of change within the library since first joining.

When she started, “cubbies” for the computers had just been added. The library had only three computers, initially. Since then, the number of computers has tripled (as has the number of people coming into the library).

In 2002, computers were common in businesses and offices, but not everyone had one in their home. Nowadays, almost everyone has a computer—if you have a smartphone, you have a computer.

This inspired one of the library’s most popular offerings: Free public Wi-Fi. Even people who don’t have a library card can go to the library and hook up to the Wi-Fi with their own device.

“We’re indiscriminate. We want people to use it, because we got it through a grant, and we want to share our good fortune,” Ellen says.

The Wi-Fi is so popular that you can drive by the library at some pretty strange hours and see people standing around using the library’s WiFi, which is on 24/7.

“Sometimes they’re just sitting out in their car, with the car running and the movie streaming,” she says.

If you don’t have a smartphone, tablet, or laptop, the library’s computers are available.

More than books

Clearwater Memorial Public Library is in a district. This means you don’t have to live within Orofino city limits to be a patron.

You do have to live in Clearwater County, and if you do, you are considered a library patron, and can obtain a library card. The first one is free, and if you ever need a replacement, they are just $1.

The library is funded by patrons, so library staff work to give back, and to make coming to the library a joy for patrons.

Patrons get access to a whole host of services. I could fill up a whole newspaper page describing everything. Here are a few of the highlights:

In addition to books—and plenty of them—Orofino’s library has DVDs, newspapers, magazines, one on one computer and device classes, audio books, children’s and young adults’ sections, and so much more.

They even “purge” books that haven’t been checked out in three years, and leave them in the foyer for anyone who wants them.

Library patrons may use the library’s Ancestry.com account, free. You do have to be using the library’s Wi-Fi in order to access it, but you can do on your own device.

Library computers are available for an hour at a time. These computers “clear” at the end of every day, so that anything you typed will be erased. They also have profanity filters in place, as required by state law.

The library offers a free online book check-out service called Overdrive. You can check a book out online and keep it for three weeks, stored on your device or computer. (It self-deletes after three weeks.)

Because the library is part of VALNet, you also have access to 49 other libraries. If Orofino’s library doesn’t have something you want, odds are one of the others do, and you can have it delivered to Orofino in a week or less. You can also check a book out at one VALNet library, and drop it off at another when you’re done with it.

You may recall hearing about the summer reading program. Under Ellen’s guidance it’s become enormously popular, with anywhere from 80 to 150 children enjoying it each summer. There’s an adult version, too.

If you need to take an online test, the library can set you up somewhere quiet. And if you’re taking online classes, the library can proctor for you. Again, it’s free.

Patrons and visitors

Ellen shared several entertaining anecdotes about experiences with patrons and visitors, and even stories about Orofino’s rampant deer population.

She says she’ll often talk to members of community groups about the library, and inevitably someone ends up asking, “The library does that?” It’s a common refrain from patrons, too.

Summertime brings a lot of visitors from other countries, because they know they can check their email. Ellen mentioned a French couple who visits Orofino, because he likes to fish and she likes to hike. A lot of Swedes show up as well.

Ellen says these visitors have learned that the U.S. has a lot of free, public WiFi, and that one of the first places to look is the library.

She told me that someone will come in and tell library staff that there’s a book they just love, and it’s their favorite, and they’d like to read it. But, they can’t remember the title or the characters’ names.

Staff are often able to figure out which book is sought, by asking about the plot, and for other details. Occasionally they will hand the “favorite” book to the patron who requested it, and the person still doesn’t recognize it, until they open it and read a page or two.

The local deer may be smarter than we give them credit for. Ellen tells her staff to ignore the flowers they plant, and also not to carry any around. She says if the deer see someone bending down to smell the flowers, or see someone carrying them around, they figure out something tasty is there.

Ellen orders new books every week, and about 20 percent of these are replacements. “We all know that water and books are not a good combination,” she says, “but we often find that they meet. Not in a good way.”

Books being chewed up by animals is another common cause of destruction. Books will be left on the floor or someplace low, and when they’re found again, there might be some damage to the corners, or half the book might be eaten.

Lost and misplaced books aren’t uncommon. Ellen says library staff try to give people an opportunity to locate the book, especially during the summer. Oftentimes people have left the book in their camper. Sometimes it ends up in places like the children’s toy box, or under the bed.

The library’s future

Library staff are constantly looking for ways to improve and add to the library’s services. They welcome suggestions from patrons.

“We love our patrons. We want them to enjoy and feel that their library is a vital, changing, friendly, happy atmosphere,” Ellen explained. “I want the library to be a place that people say, ‘Let’s just go to the library! They’ll know.’”

Her first year she was children’s librarian, she was standing at the circulation desk. It was near closing time. A gentleman walked by with his child, who was probably about eight.

Ellen says this man “just turned to me and said, ‘what are all the continents?’ He wanted the names of all the continents.”

She rattled through the ones she could remember, and the man said, “Antarctica! That’s the one we forgot!” Then, he turned to his child and said, “And so that’s why we come to the library.” And Ellen thought, “Hoo-rah!”

In the future, Ellen sees the library “as being more of a community center,” a social hub. She added that, because people today are used to getting instant answers (thanks to information readily available online), library staff will need to adapt to provide answers this way.

Several imminent changes are in the works, too. The library has acquired the two houses next to it, and plans to absorb the nearest one to provide more body space. Ellen told me that, at last year’s summer reading party, 160 people managed to cram into the library.

The house of the two that is farther away from the library will be torn down to make room for more parking.

The VALNet Board of Directors recently decided to add the music programming called Freegal. I checked it out at freegal.com, and it seems Freegal streams movies as well.

Library patrons will be able to download a few songs once a week, as well as stream music. Because Orofino’s library is part of VALNet, patrons will soon get to enjoy this benefit, for free.

Help from the community

Friends of the Library has been an enormous help, Ellen says. They hold fundraisers every year, and have used funds from those to: put up the library’s landscaping; have the tree in the library’s front lawn removed; buy the library a new copy machine; and even get some new windows put in. All this has saved thousands of dollars of the library’s budget.

Ellen spoke very highly of the Friends during our interview; and about the generosity of Orofino in general. The library sends out letters looking for summer reading sponsors, and Orofino never fails to deliver. It was clear she loves living here, and loves the people.

And she’s confident that her replacement, whoever it is, will do a fantastic job. “I just know that the next person is going to be great, too,” she says.

In her retirement, Ellen looks forward to spontaneity. Gardening, and reading until her eyes bleed, are two of her favorite pastimes, and she is excited to do more of both. (As library director, most of the reading she does is book reviews.)

The library is hosting a farewell party for Ellen next Friday, Feb. 26, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Stop in and wish her all the best, and thank her for all she has helped bring to Clearwater Memorial Public Library.

Lastly, no matter where you live, drop by your local library and see what they have to offer. Odds are they’ve got something going on that will make your day.

This article was posted in the Clearwater Tribune February 17, 2016
http://www.clearwatertribune.com/news/top_stories/service-is-our-middle-name/article_c7eedfb6-d596-11e5-8c16-ab92bdff110b.html




Library Lines for the week of Nov. 19, 2015

By Jo Moore

This is the Britan house in the early years. It would eventually become the “new” library. Note the railroad tracks!

This is the Britan house in the early years. It would eventually become the “new” library. Note the railroad tracks!

As Clearwater Memorial Public Library (CMPL) moved into the 21st century its purpose and motivation moved more towards involvement of the public, emphasis on computer education, reading discussion groups, and exciting summer reading programs.

It was forward-looking thinkers and librarians like Peggy Flowers, Pam McBride, and Chris Ashby who could see the coming importance of technology melding with the quest for good reading, research, and information.

W.T. and Mrs. Bennell, pictured here in 1945, were the first owners of this home at 402 Michigan Avenue, where the Clearwater Memorial Public Library would eventually be built. The house was built and first occupied in 1909.

W.T. and Mrs. Bennell, pictured here in 1945, were the first owners of this home at 402 Michigan Avenue, where the Clearwater Memorial Public Library would eventually be built. The house was built and first occupied in 1909.

From gardening clubs to Arbor Day celebrations, visits by local authors and the popularity of book discussion groups, to partnering of Clearwater Valley Hospital and Clinics (CVHC) with Clearwater Memorial Public Library (CMPL) to provide access to medical technology and research via computer to the public, all have helped move this community forward.

Depicted here is the Clearwater Memorial Library’s 1965 expansion plan.

Depicted here is the Clearwater Memorial Library’s 1965 expansion plan.

Through all of this, certain names and organizations have continued to stand out in support, such as volunteer Boards of Library Trustees, the American Association of University Women (AAUW) who organized book discussion groups and started the annual affair known as the Patchwork Bazaar, and Friends of the Library, now known as the CMPL Friends.

Peggy Morrison checks out books to library patron, Mrs. Mildred Woods, in the 1970’s. “Did we really wear our hair like that? Yes, we did!” says Jo Moore.

Peggy Morrison checks out books to library patron, Mrs. Mildred Woods, in the 1970’s. “Did we really wear our hair like that? Yes, we did!” says Jo Moore.

Next week we hope to spotlight the group of Jaycees (now long-disappeared) and its leaders who did so much to help make the library expansion of 1965 a reality, and to recognize those who are now working hard to enable much-needed expansion of the present library facilities.