Busy times at the Library

It’s always a busy place, but he Soda Springs Library is the middle of an especially busy stretch this week.  Last week, the fifth annual Stuffed Animal Sleepover took place, and next week Mini Golf at the Library will be in full force.  Both events are put on and supported by the library staff, Friends of the Library, and a number of sponsors.

The Stuffed Animal Sleepover was sponsored by Soda Smiles and Guardian Realty.  At first blush, it is an event that provokes a certain amount of sincere confusion, followed by an uncontrollable urge to smile.  A basic description of the event might read: “Kids drop off their stuffed animals at the library, and then pick them up the next day to find out what they did overnight.”  But nothing about that minimal description captures the whimsy and energy of over a hundred excited kids gathering to eat breakfast and watch a comical slideshow of their friends going crazy overnight at the library.  It should be noted that setting up, managing, and executing an event like this is a big task and takes just the right kinds of personalities to pull it off.  

Children’s Librarian Dorajo Messerly is Exhibit A of the right person for the job, and piloted this year’s “space adventure” themed event skillfully through its journey.  After the library closed for the evening and the stuffed animals were on their own, cameras manage to record exactly what they got up to over the night.  As stuffed animals are known to do, they “got up to” a lot of fun, nonsense, and goofballery.  

When the children gathered in the library for breakfast later, they were treated to stories, activities, and a slideshow of their animals’ antics, which they watched while snacking on items from their “space adventure breakfast bag.”  

Kate Lauck, whose children attended the event, said “My kids had a blast at the sleepover.  So much so that my daughter last night pretended to be Miss Dorajo and hosted her own stuffed animal sleepover.”

The event was that level of popular with many kids, as Alana Burns explained.  “This year we had more than 100 kids in attendance during the two sessions we offered, one at 9:30 and another at 11:00 a.m.  It was our biggest year yet!  This was our fifth year hosting the event.”

Kate Lauck was also recently elected to the Vice Presidency of the Friends of the Library, and notes that the library in Soda Springs serves as a defacto community center.  “The library has served as the best place in town my kids and I can go to meet with friends, learn new things, and have fun.  The crucial role the library plays in our town cannot be stressed enough.  For many the library is the only place they can access the internet, print off a document, make copies, play video games with friends, or bring their kids to story time and music class.”

The sleepover event is one that Lauck believes typifies the kind of outreach to younger patrons the library excels at: “Miss Dorajo and the entire library staff works so hard to make the library a fun and special place for everyone, but especially for kids!  The stuffed animal sleepover especially highlights this objective.  My kids look forward to this event each year and the event just continues to grow.  My daughter especially loves to hear what her stuffy was up to in the middle of the night.”

Tasha McClatchy, whose children have attended the event for years, agreed. “We love the library and the stuffed animal sleepover!” she said.

On March 10, the library will host a “Mini-Golf at the Library Day” with tee times from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.  The library will be closed early in order to accommodate the event, and it has been reported that tee times are filling up fast.  

Courses on the library floor are being put together around literary themes by a number of local sponsors and designers.  Admission is “by donation” at the door, and the event is both an entertaining time out for members of the community as well as a fundraiser for the Friends of the Library.  The event is sponsored by Ireland Bank.  

Volunteers and donors can reach out to Friends of the Library president Beth Cheirrett at  [email protected] or (208) 547-2606 to get involved. Registration can be done by visiting the library, using the sslibraryfriends.com website, or calling the library at the number above.