English 2040

Public Library
Volunteering
Cedar City Library

Emily Hanks

Table of Contents

Introduction--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2
History and Background of Organization----------------------------------------------------------------- 2
Projects and Planning---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4
Bookshelf Card Project-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4
Bookmark Project-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5
Project Success------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 5
Conclusion----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6
Works Cited--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7
Appendix A---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8
Appendix B---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9

Introduction
Every story [a] child hears [there] is a seed planted. Its simple a matter of the more exposure,
the more payoff down the line. With the use of big books, children can climb onto stories
getting close to shapes of letters, words, and pictures. Reading picture books helps stimulate preliteracy recognition of action, vocabulary, sounds, colors etc. (Celano& Neuman, 2001).
With these quotes in mind, libraries are looking for many ways to help parents of children get
excited about reading, and making it fun. Working closely with the childrens librarian at the
Cedar City Public Library, I completed two projects. These projects were mainly focused
towards the childrens section. This report provides information containing the planning process
of the projects and how they were completed.
History and Background of Organization
There are many public libraries all over the country that provide an overwhelming amount of
resources. Public libraries are in place for the public, rich or poor, big or little. These libraries are
used for books, media, programs, and events. The Cedar City Library was not always known as
the Library in the Park, nor was it located where it is today. In 1909 when there was first talk of a
library the city council sat down and tried to figure out where the best location for the library
would be. If we as a community expect to improve and advance, it must largely be brought
about by education, and the public library seems to offer good results in this direction (Decker,
2009).
A Centennial History of the Cedar City Public Library shares that while the council met, they
decided a Free Public Library Committee
needed to be formed. Six members were
contacted and appointed to this position on the
committee. Soon after the committee was
formed, members asked if a portion of the city
hall could take place as the library until a
building could be dedicated as a library. While
the library was located in the city hall, library
rules were published. These rules included:
Courtesy of Steven Decker
operating hours from 3:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m.,
items overdue were charged five cents a day, and books could only be checked out for one week.
It is said that the librarys opening inventory was 250 volumes. Some of the 250 volumes were
donated by Andrew Carnegie As a result of his donation the committee thanked Andrew
Carnegie by naming the library after him; The Carnegie Library.

Soon after the library was named, the committee put in offers and location ideas for the library
and the building. There was difficulty in getting bids that were submitted. After a couple of years
the bids were accepted and a building was set to be built. When the new library was finished the
name changed to The County Library. By 1922 the library had a count of six thousand books,
thirty seven magazine subscriptions, and one thousand three hundred borrowers (Decker, 2009).
Many years later the library building was condemned
and again a new library, The Cedar City Memorial
Library, was to be built. This library was built on the
property of 100 West and Center Street. The library
sat at this location until it was sold to Premium Oil
and Elks Clubs. Again the time came for a new
location and floor plans for yet another library. The
committee purchased land on 100 East and 200 North,
where The Library in the Park sits today.
As of the year 2009 The Library in the Park occupies 73,686 volumes, 362,472 circulated items,
25,026 borrowers, and 600 programs with 5,764 attendees (Decker, 2009).Cedar Citys libraries
have progressed since 1909, not only with volumes but with public users. It took many years and
a lot of money to get the library to its operating facility and public use.
From the Lib-Web-Cats 2013 statistics, today the library serves 22,224 patrons, 55,579 volumes,
and 240,324 circulation transactions. The Library in the Park mission statement states, The goal
of the Cedar City Library is to provide prompt and friendly service to all patrons while realizing
the commitment to collect and dispense information. As a center for recreational reading
community research and public service, the library serves as a source of self-education, personal
enrichment and as a repository of local history (You See More 2013).
With the mission statement supporting recreational reading, and this report focusing on children,
the library is filled with many resources to help children read. The library feels it is important for
children to start reading at a young age. One of the many programs the library offers is a weekly
story time for children.
On Tuesday evenings from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Southern Utah University students volunteer to read
children stories. The library also hosts story time on Wednesday and Thursday from 10:00 to
11:00 a.m. During each story time the parents are given information about early literacy and how
it begins with the parents. When story time begins the children are encouraged to be involved
with the interactions, songs, and movements of the books that are read.

Projects and Planning

3

I chose to complete my service hours at the public library. I understand the importance of helping
children and hope to make a difference in their lives. While volunteering at the library I
completed two projects. For the first project I was assigned to create directed cards for the end of
the bookshelves in the childrens section of the library. The second project I had the option to
create bookmarks for the age group of 7th9th graders or picture book authors for children. I
chose the picture book authors. When I was deciding what age group I wanted to work with I had
so many ideas for the childrens group, so I decided I would create bookmarks for little kids and
their parents.
Bookshelf Card Project
The first project I completed was for the bookshelves in the childrens section. My mentor
Crystal Bilyeu, head librarian of the childrens section, felt that pictures and colors needed to be
included on the five by seven cards. These cards placed on the shelves so if someone had a
question about where the books were located, the cards would be able to help them.
Before I could get started on this project I had to walk
through the bookshelves and determine where each
section was located, and collect the numbers of the books.
At one point this became difficult because one side of the
shelf was Juvenile fiction section with the letters of the
authors last name; the other side of the shelf was the
Fiction section with book numbers. At times it was
confusing, so to make this less confusing I organized an
outline of the shelves and wrote down where each of
these sections sat on the shelf.
Another difficulty I encountered was trying to find pictures to put on the cards. I could not put
any random picture on the card. The pictures needed to incorporate the books within each
section. To make the process somewhat easier, I took the opportunity to look at and browse many
books. Once I gathered all the information needed it was time to put everything together. When I
started to look for appropriate pictures I encountered another challenge; the pictures I found did
not fit with the books and some were not appropriate for children. Eventually I found coloring
pages that worked for these cards. When the cards were printed I had another opportunity to be a
child again because I got to color the pictures. I showed these pictures to my mentor and she
liked them enough to hang them on the book shelves and this project was finished.

Bookmark Project
The second project I completed was six different bookmarks. At the beginning of this project I
had to look for many different childrens authors and make a list of which authors to include for
the bookmarks. The childrens section is big and there were many authors to pick from. I decided
to use the most popular authors and books children would recognize. This decision led to a very
easy step of finding popular authors, which then led to a difficult situation.
By choosing popular books, I had to search the provided
database system to make sure the books were at the
library. This took longer than I anticipated. I spent more
time on this project than the bookshelf project because of
the research I did. After the process of finding authors I
finished and started creating the bookmarks.
As I created the bookmarks I looked for pictures that
would coordinate with the books so the bookmarks would stand out. I included a picture along
with the first and the last name of the author and a few of the authors popular books. Putting the
bookmarks together was a challenge because I did not have a format to follow, nor did I have a
size or a length restriction. With this freedom, it led to many possibilities for the bookmarks.
I took the time to experiment with placement and eventually found a way that worked. I was able
to get a set of four bookmarks to fit on one page. Each bookmark had a title, a border, a picture,
the authors first and last name, and the authors books. I made six sets of bookmarks with four
on a page for a total of twenty four bookmarks. When I was finished, I printed off a master copy
for my advisor so she could make her own copies to give to the parents and children that visit the
library.
Project Success
When preparing these projects, I did not understand how they would help the library or be
successful. As I looked at books I realized just how helpful these projects could be. I feel they
were a success because I got the projects completed in a timely manner. As a child I did not
know how to find books at the library and I feel that the projects were successful because
children will see the illustrations and picture which will help them to learn to find books. If I had
to change something from these projects, I would change the five by seven cards so they are
easier to see and I would also make more than twenty four bookmarks.

Conclusion
5

These projects will help the library in a positive way. The colored cards on the bookshelves will
get the attention of children and the cards will help direct parents and children in the direction to
find the books they are looking for. I hope the bookmarks help the library in a tremendous way,
by helping the kids get excited about reading. The bookmarks are also a way to help children
find books to read. With the bookmarks at the library children will have an idea of how many
books there are for their age group.
From this project I learned that not all businesses are the same. I learned that sometimes you
have to step back and let someone else take the lead and other times you have to be the one to
stand up and take charge. In the business world I have learned that whatever work you do, good
or bad, you have to take the credit for it. If it is your work no one else can take that away from
you. I feel these projects were well created and will be helpful for the library. These projects will
help children get excited about reading and encourage children to start reading at an early age.

Works Cited
Celano, D., & Neuman, S. B. (2001, February). The role of public libraries in children's literacy
development. Retrieved from http://www.ifpl.org/Junior/studies/Role of Libraries.pdf
Decker, S. D. (2009, November 30). The first 100 years: A centennial history of the cedar city
public library. Retrieved from http://www.cedarcity.org/DocumentCenter/View/7581
You See More, T. L. C. (n.d.). Cedar city library in the park. Retrieved from
http://www2.youseemore.com/cedarcity/about.asp?p=1

Appendix A
Example of Completed Work

Appendix B
Example of Completed Work