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At the Dunkirk Public Library, this year has been a productive period of facility upgrades and project completion, much of which was made possible by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, New York state Library Construction Aid, the Rural Library Grant powered by the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation and coordinated by the Western New York Library Resources Council and Rochester Regional Library Council, along with various local individual and organizational donors.
State construction funding allowed for the installation of the new Central Ave facing digital sign. Put in place over the summer, the display has already been used to publicize author visits, family events, holidays, teen activities, and more.
Earlier in the spring also marked the final step in wrapping up the construction grant for the
building-wide window replacement project, an undertaking that began way back in 2020. Finally, each one can be opened and closed without having to hop up and down on the sash.
Speaking of Windows, the library also has upgraded all of our computer hardware to be compatible with the latest Microsoft operating system. This change brought ten gaming quality PCs to our Public Computing Center, an improvement that the members of our Teen Program enthusiastically enjoy.
In addition to funding the new computers, the Carnegie and Wilson grants also helped provide for new library furnishings. Both the Meeting Room and Reading Room received new tables and chairs better suited to their purpose: a reconfigurable conference table for the former, and reading/work tables on casters for the latter. The ability to easily shift the furniture allows the library to more easily accommodate a wide range of uses for our public space.
Local support from the Rotary Club added some finishing touches to last year's Children's Room remodel by providing computer tables that match the color of the new paint. The Children's Room also underwent some major staffing changes when Pam Czarniak retired after 25 years of service in the library. Following her departure, library clerk Alison Polisoto was promoted to become our new Children's Program Coordinator.
The same series of candidate interviews that selected Polisoto as the successor also allowed for the introduction of Geoff Felt. Felt joined the library as a clerk and has been eagerly helping to expand the range of activities offered by our Teen Program.
The library was also the recipient of an Archival Supplies Grant from the Western New York Library Resources Council, the materials from which will be used to preserve and make publicly available a number of documents as part of the local history and genealogy collection.
"As the year begins to wind down and we anticipate the approach of 2027, the Dunkirk Public Library looks forward to pursuing additional enhancements that will further improve the service and resources that we are able to provide to our patrons," the library noted. "We encourage those who have not visited recently to stop by and take advantage of all that we have to offer."