Open house to mark National Library Week

Irene Ingle Public Library will be holding an open house next week, serving up cake as a way of celebrating National Library Week.

On March 13, Wrangell Mayor David Jack proclaimed the week of April 8 to be dedicated to libraries. Institutions of learning available to the whole community, they are not only repositories for books but provide internet access, educational programming and other resources visitors may benefit from. All next week, Jack encouraged residents to stop by their library and maybe say a quiet word or two of thanks.

To mark this declaration, librarian Margaret Villarma said an open house will be held from 1 to 4 p.m. on April 11. Folks can mingle and check out the facilities over refreshments.

“We wanted to do something fun,” she explained.

Among its newest additions will be two laptops procured through an Online With Libraries (OWL) program grant. The state program has a technology reimbursement award institutions can apply for, which in Wrangell’s case ended up being an up to $1,500 award for the laptop computers.

Villarma explained the library currently has five desktop computers patrons can use, one set aside exclusively for university testing. The laptops will add some mobility to this setup as well as additional units. One unit is already available to use, while the second is being set up this week.

The library has already benefited from other OWL programs, in particular the video conferencing services it facilitates. Various workshops and remote meetings are enabled through the program, such as a professional arts development course tentatively planned for Friday at 4 p.m. being hosted by the Ketchikan Area Arts and Humanities Council.

Otherwise, “story time at the library” continues Thursday mornings at 10, and Wrangell’s library staff is preparing for its summer reading program to begin June 1.