The Kenai City Council passes a pair of ordinances for the Kenai Community Library. Council accepted and appropriated two grants from the Institute of Museum and Library Services for the purchase of an external hold locker for contact-less library visits in the amount of $22,300 and $6,000 for the purchase of STEAM kit shelving, a Chromebook charging station, programming equipment, and additional library materials.
Library Director Katja Wolfe explained to the Kenai City Council the hold locker:
“When the patron places a hold, they can decide whether they want to pick it up in the library or in the hold locker. We get the information and we put the item or the items in the hold locker. They get immediately notified that something is in the hold locker for them, and we haven’t quite decided yet between three days and seven days to pick up the items. They get to the library, they have a code, and there’s even an app so they can just push a button and the door opens up. They pick up the items, it’s a five second deal, they close the door, and they’re done. It’s very, very convenient and very efficient.”
The $6,000 will be divided up for the purchase of several items. $3,500 will be used for the purchase of STEAM kit shelving and programming equipment and $2,500 will be used to purchase library materials.
Wolfe said that the programming equipment includes amplifiers and a canopy tent:
“Voice amplifiers are just little microphones that we can use outside. We’d like to expand and, in the summer, have story times outside, but the more people, the better it is to have those amplifiers. The tents are, there again, for outdoor programming. We have one, we need another one.”
Both ordinances passed the Kenai City Council.