Denison Community Building hosts new city library

A group of volunteers have opened a public library at the community building in Denison.

A grand opening for the library was held on Friday, and volunteer Vickie Wold said that, to start, the new facility will be open to the public from 9 a.m. to noon on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

Wold, who serves on the city council in Denison, said a family approached the council about the possibility of utilizing the community building, which is located at 203 Central Ave., for family-oriented activities.

“We decided to start with a very primitive library,” Wold said. “There’s no dewey decimal system, and it’s not even in alphabetical order right now, but we’ve received several donations of books.”

The community building previously served as a senior center for the town. In January, the Jackson County Commissioners decided to no longer provide meals to the seniors at that center due to low participation numbers. Denison seniors were encouraged to attend the center in Holton.

The Denison Community Association previously owned the building, but after the senior site closed, it was given back to the city. The building is also used as a polling location during elections.

Wold said she and volunteers have been cleaning up the building and the books prior to the opening of the library.

“We just want a place where people of all ages can come,” she said.

The library includes books for primary ages to adult, she said.

“We have a lot of books for high school students and young adults,” she said. “We need more donations for preschool-level books, but it’s just a start.”

Currently, the library offers books and movies to check out, as well as a selection of board games to play. Wold said that volunteers have also developed a “wish list” of items for the library.

Those items include beanbag chairs, games, books and more shelving.

“We’d also like to get the Internet to the building and have a computer or two,” she said.

The needs of the community will also be better determined once the public visits the library.

“We want to find out what people like, and we’re open to suggestions,” she said. “I want to see the senior citizens come back to interact with other people.”

Wold said that a volunteer library was established in Denison in the late 1980s into the early 1990s when her adult children were younger.

“We’re going to also try to provide activities, like crafts, once or twice a week, especially in the summertime,” she said. “We want to give kids some place to go and something to do. We welcome anybody and everybody.”

Experts say that children who continue to read during the summer months while school is out can reduce some of the “summer slide” that occurs when students head back to the school in the fall.

Wold’s team of volunteers have included Sarah Phillips, Mary Phillips, Jim Dodson and Mary Montgomery.

“They’ve been very instrumental in getting the library ready,” she said.

Donations of books and other items can be dropped off at the community building during library hours or contact Wold for more information at (785) 935-2223.