What's New at the Library?

Written by
A J Gooden
Published
10 September 2020

At the end of May, after a week of intensive training, Renae Zackar and Martha Crow replaced A.J. Gooden as the on-site librarians for the Igiugig Tribal Library. Through the internet and cell-phones, AJ continues to work for the Library from Kansas, helping with training and administrative paperwork.

Thanks to Martha and Renae, library activities have continued throughout the summer despite the challenges and facility-closures due to covid-19. Patrons are able to check-out materials and use the internet from outside the building; children have participated in outdoor reading activities; adults participated in cooking and yoga classes; the Big Readers’ Book club continues, with discussions on the beach; and summer readers logged books using the State-sponsored website, Beanstack Summer Reading Challenge. The Challenge ended on August 31, and those who completed it will receive banana split ingredients to celebrate their efforts in their own homes.

With the start of school, the Library will change its hours to sometime after 3:30 pm, as per the agreement with the school district. Once determined, the new hours will be posted on the InfoZone. The Librarians are glad to help students and adult patrons find the information and resources they need for school and recreational reading, so do not hesitate to contact the Library with all of your reading needs. You can now call the Library at its new number: 907-533-3059. As a reminder, if our Library doesn’t have what you’re looking for, books and movies can be borrowed from other libraries through the Inter-Library Loan service. Ask Martha or Renae for more details.

In bigger libraries across the country, there are people who share every aspect of a library’s operation. There are individual librarians for circulation, reference, interlibrary load, children’s programming, youth programming, technology programming, cataloguing, community outreach, and grant-writing. In our small, remote library, the bulk of these responsibilities fall on just two people, Martha and Renae. As the previous on-site librarian, I can say that Renae and Martha have done a dedicated job of navigating the myriad responsibilities related to library work during these challenging first few months on the job. They continue to receive training and desire to develop activities that meet the community’s needs. Thanks also to Sandy for keeping the Library’s accounts in order, and to Levi for providing tech support. And thanks also to the Igiugig Tribal Council, whose members support the Library’s efforts with funds and advocacy.

Just as a heads up, the Library now has all of this year’s Battle of the Books on the shelf and ready for check-out, in addition to the available Kindle and Audible versions of the books. Stay tuned for more information regarding this year’s Battle Books Club for young readers. As ever, the Library’s goal is to provide “quality materials and services to the community in a welcoming and respectable atmosphere to meet community educational, informational, cultural, health, and recreational needs” (Igiugig Tribal Library Services Plan). If you have suggestions for the Library, please submit them in writing to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., leave a note in the Suggestions Can on the Library desk, or talk with Martha, Renae, or AJ in person.

Kenkamken, Igyararmiut!

Contact Us

email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
tel: +1 907-533-3211

Igiugig Tribal Village Council

PO Box 4008
Igiugig, AK 99613


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