Arapahoe Public Library

The Hillbilly Scientists were our very first program in our new community room! The design of our new space has worked perfectly for the kick-off of our Summer Reading Program. The kids enjoyed some silly science and it was great to hear their laughter! We had not had any in-person programming for 15 months due to Covid-19 and our move into a smaller location while we awaited the completion of our renovation. Our last program had been in March of 2020. We had our weekly Lego Club scheduled the week of St. Patrick’s Day of 2020, but had to immediately bring things to a halt with the international health crisis that affected us all. We’re so happy to be in this new space!

From the end of May throughout June, work continued to empty all of those boxes and sacks of books. Many hands made light work at times; we couldn’t have done it without the help of our volunteers! We filled the recycling bins with all of our cardboard boxes. The books are going on the shelves and the last of the to-do list items for the renovation are being completed by our contractors.

How do you shelve nearly 20,000 items? You call in the experts! Jill Snyder (front), Benita Adams and Cheryl Ahrens spent several hours and days helping to organize the books after our move. We still have much to organize, but we’re ready to serve our patrons once again!

The renovation project is nearing completion! After nearly a year of moving out of the library and nearly eight months of demolition and construction, the project is nearly done. Paulsen Inc and Adams Construction have been busily working to complete the outside work of pouring sidewalks, prepping the ADA parking area and completing the drive-up service lane. Meanwhile inside, finishing touches like the flooring, painting, ceiling work and electrical and mechanical are being completed. The library hopes to start moving into their refurbished building starting later this month.

The Third Annual Arapahoe Gala was held on April 24^th, 2021 at the Ella Missing Community Center and became one of our greatest fundraisers to date! The organizers set a fundraising goal of raising $40,000 and due to the generosity of our local community and beyond, this goal has been met.

Work for this fundraiser began last summer, when a determined team of volunteers began garnering donations for the auction event. This year’s Donor Team had an especially daunting task ahead of them due to the pandemic, but they persisted. Nearly 190 donors gave to this particular fundraiser. The people and businesses of the small towns here in Furnas County played a huge part in this giving and were some of our biggest donors. Our donor team reached out to donors all over SW and Central NE and beyond, and the auction items given made this year’s event especially unique.  

Another challenge was for the Gala Committee volunteers who debated on whether or not an in-person event could even be held this year. Last year’s 2^nd Annual Gala was abruptly moved from in-person to an online auction due to the health crisis. Health protocols were considered and carried out.

The proceeds made from this event will go directly to match grant funds for the renovation of the Arapahoe Public Library. The Arapahoe Public Library Foundation manages these funds. The library was the recipient of challenge grants from the Peter Kiewit Foundation and the NE Department of Economic Development. The proceeds from these fundraisers are a part of the match for these grants.

The Third Annual Arapahoe Gala was held on April 24^th, 2021 at the Ella Missing Community Center and became one of our greatest fundraisers to date! The organizers set a fundraising goal of raising $40,000 and due to the generosity of our local community and beyond, this goal has been met.

This year’s event was a hybrid of both mobile bidding and an in-person event. Ticket holders had the option of attending the dinner and dance event in person, or bidding from home. 154 people attended the April 24^th event which began with a social hour with raffle games, then a catered dinner prepared by Marlene’s Kitchen and served by the Arapahoe HS Speech team. A live auction for exclusive items was held under the direction of Mark & Linda Hamel of Heartland Partners. George Probasco was the EMCEE who kept the night rolling.

All ticket holders bid on over 100 auction items through a mobile bidding event that began the morning of the 24^th and closed that evening. People from home and people at the EMCC were bidding on the same items through this mobile bidding platform.

What an honor to have Lt. Gov Mike Foley, Andrea McClintic and Ashley Gerlach visit our renovation project! The group heard details about the project during their visit at the library’s current location, the American Legion Hall. The group then toured the renovation site and looked at the work in progress. Our project has been made possible with the help of a matching grant from the NE Dept. of Economic Development’s Civic and Community Center Financing Fund.