KLTA > Mini-Tree Festival

Tonganoxie Library's Mini-Tree Festival

During July, many Northeast librarians and members of their board of trustees attended workshops sponsored by NEKLS (Northeast Kansas Library System) and given by various members of the Kansas Library Trustees Association (KLTA). One of those was a presentation by Sandra Thomas, both a member of the KLTA Board and the Bonner Springs Board of Library Trustees, on “How We Marketed Our Library.” Thomas presented a Power Point illustrated discussion of the successful campaign to get a new library built in Bonner Springs. The 3.5 million bond issue passed in the fall of 2006 with an eighty percent margin of approval by the public.

Tonganoxie Public Library Director Sharon Moreland and the President of Tonganoxie’s Board of Trustees Janet Hofmeister attended that workshop. With the assistance of NEKLS Library Development Consultant Mickey Coalwell, the Tonganoxie Board had approved a Strategic Plan for the future of the library in July, 2007. Tonganoxie Library Board members had been exploring the need for a new Tonganoxie Library and after viewing the marketing presentation, Moreland and Hofmeister asked Thomas if she would be willing to attend a board meeting and give her presentation and answer questions about the process. After being invited to the September 26th board meeting, Thomas gave her power point presentation and discussed the possibilities for an expansion of the Tonganoxie Library.

Moreland said after the presentation, the Tonganoxie Library Trustees extended their timeline for building a new library. She said, “From Sandra’s ‘Marketing a New Library’ speech, the board came away with a better understanding of the need for programming outreach and creative fundraising.”

The board decided to begin increasing the presence of the library in the community. They noted the many programs and events sponsored by the Bonner Springs Library and realized the importance of door count and circulation in promoting a new library. After hearing about other library fund raising events such as Bonner Springs Library’s Jazz on The Lake Gala and Paola’s Wine Tasting event, the Tonganoxie Trustees organized a Festival of Trees to coincide with the

dedication of the Mayor’s Christmas Tree dedication. Volunteers decorated small holiday trees which could be viewed at the library and purchased by silent auction. More than 100 viewers came to the library to drink hot chocolate and place bids on every tree. The resulting funds are marked to purchase books on cd’s for patrons to check out and listen to in their cars or homes.

Moreland pointed out that another bonus of bringing the presentation to the board meeting is that they will receive points toward accreditation in the new Kansas Trustee Education Program (KanTep) developed by the Kansas State Library Board and the Kansas Library Trustee Association.

Page last modified: January 10, 2008

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