It was all fun and games for the Cobleskill and Sharon Springs libraries Thursday.
Both took home awards from the Mohawk Valley Library System’s annual meeting, held in Schenectady.
The Community Library was awarded the 2022 Mohawk Valley Library System Recognition Award for “Trivia Night at the Library,” and the Sharon Springs Free Library’s JoAnn Fralick took home the first-ever Outstanding Library Staff Award.
Libraries from four counties nominated programs for the awards, which also included Outstanding Volunteer, an award that went to Sharon’s Gina Gilbert in 2020.
Ironically, in Cobleskill, the librarian responsible for creating Trivia Night, Don La Plant, was unable to attend because of…Trivia Night; Community Library Trustees Janice Clark and Rebecca Leggieri accepted the award in his honor.
Attendance at Trivia Night has steadily climbed since Mr. LaPlant, the Community Library’s first adult services librarian, kicked it off in March 2022, grouping question topics by Dewey Decimal Classification categories.
“We recognized that a program like this could serve the broader goals of libraries generally by encouraging intellectual curiosity, celebrating knowledge, highlighting materials in our collection, drawing more diverse crowds, and attracting people who may not visit the library regularly,” said Mr. LaPlant.
Trivia Night also created a deeper partnership between the library staff and the Friends of the Library, who provide snacks for participants, receiving donations which are spent on library needs such as new books, he said; local businesses serve as sponsors, provide prizes, and are highlighted throughout the night.
New sponsors are welcomed and can contact The Community Library for more information.
New Trivia Night contestants are also always welcome, Mr. LaPlant said; those who show up without teammates are quickly welcomed by existing teams, “increasing the sense that the library is a place for fun social events and the opportunity to make new friends.”
As the Sharon Springs Free Library’s assistant librarian, Ms. Fralick, a retired teacher, was recognized for developing and growing story hour to include not just books, but a craft and snacks.
Story hour also gives accompanying adults a chance to network and socialize, library trustees said in their nomination, and has increased attendance at the Summer Reading Program.
When the library was closed during COVID, Ms. Fralick recorded her story hour and posted it on Facebook. She also created take-home crafts that parents could pick up at the library.
“Joanne’s work is helping our programs grow exponentially,” trustees wrote.
“We started with a handful of children each week and now generally have 12-14. When you consider our service area population is 1,850, this is a very high number.”