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Elk River Public Library Community Meeting Summary
<br />September 16, 2019 – 8 attendees
<br />Summary of meeting to talk about future of library in the community.
<br />What are the core factors that give life to the Elk River community?
<br />• Volunteerism
<br />• Education system
<br />• Parks and recreation – physical activity, rivers, boating, natural resources,
<br />green spaces available
<br />• Community gathering options – farmers market, Elk River Fest,
<br />Sherburne County Fair, July 4th
<br />• Connection to nature
<br />• Family connections & activities
<br />• Sports – hockey, all organized sports
<br />• Strong first responders – fire & police, live in community
<br />• Industry – manufacturing
<br />• Churches – spiritual component, one on every corner
<br />• Mix of history and new – invested in community, “the pit” gathering
<br />space/sledding hill
<br />• Elk River has 2nd largest homeschool population in the state
<br />Outside of work, what do you spend the most time doing in Elk River?
<br />• Hanging out at library
<br />• Church events
<br />• Outdoor activities
<br />• Sporting events
<br />• School spirit strong – activities, sports, arts
<br />• Commuter community – telecommuting, traffic
<br />• Volunteering
<br />• Dining
<br />• Shopping – retail, grocery, rarely need to leave
<br />• Gardening – 4-H, master gardeners, garden tours
<br />• Student population
<br />What are some personal challenges as a Elk River resident?
<br />• Traffic – holidays, work, road construction
<br />• Getting across town – railroad/70-100 trains go through each day, rivers,
<br />highways
<br />• Parking downtown limited – especially for events like concerts
<br />• Transportation – bus, Uber, taxi, hard for people without cars or with
<br />disabilities
<br />• Restaurants for people with allergy/food issues
<br />• Money – taxes going up, but not enough funds for schools, library, arts
<br />• School has less funding than comparable districts, contributes
<br /> to lack of cultural opportunities especially for lower income
<br /> families
<br />• Cost-burdened families have fewer opportunities
<br />• Activities for teens not in sports – lack of spaces, safe & welcoming like
<br />the community centers in Maple Grove or Monticello
<br />• Lack of live entertainment – poetry, author talks
<br />• Lack of continuity for cultural events, Miss Elk River, art & music
<br />• Sense of neighborhood – don’t know neighbors
<br />• Lack of land availability to add housing – limits Elk River schools growth
<br />compared to neighboring communities
<br />• People do not have close relationships with those who are here – lack of
<br />someone as an emergency contact
<br />• Harder for older adults without kids to connect
<br />It is 3-5 years from now and the Library and Elk River community have
<br />an even more productive relationship. What is different from today?
<br />• Arts, sports, offer programs that are intergenerational and fill culture
<br />gap, reading to grandparent
<br />• Outreach to/visit people who are homebound, limited in some way,
<br />aging, lonely
<br />• Have homeschoolers help deliver books
<br />• Homeschool community
<br />• Education resources, i.e. MNLink, ebooks, test prep, language
<br />• Using library space more often
<br />• Co-ops reaching out, education hour
<br />• Increase on-line access/capability – content, resources
<br />• Library be a safe place especially for people who are homeless or have
<br />disabilities, community asset for both rich and poor
<br />• Connecting library with teens – access to library, going to teens-bus/
<br />bookmobile
<br />• Library services on-the-road
<br />• Contract with a door delivery service
<br />• Events are timed well
<br />• Awareness of the growing diversity in the community
<br />What steps should GRRL take in Elk River to help our community thrive?
<br />• Programs – tons of them, promote to multiple audiences, promote
<br />those already being offered
<br />• Variety of programs
<br />• Library take a leadership role – connecting and organizing
<br />• Use Facebook, newspaper
<br />• Reach multiple target markets
<br />• Saturday programs
<br />• Read with a dog is great
<br />• Expand and promote 1000 Books
<br />• Connect with a parent night, ECFE collaboration
<br />• Clearinghouse of information for all community events, central place
<br />for community events
<br />• Collaboration with parks & recreation, schools to plan and promote
<br />programs/events
<br />• Access to collection and physical space
<br />• Expanded, consistent hours – continue as a priority
<br />• Expand evening or Saturday hours, especially in winter
<br />• What is the plan to meet needs of growing diversity locally – language,
<br />ethnicity, race?
<br />• Might need someone on staff to meet communication needs
<br />• Is there a possibility of having an ASL interpreter on staff scheduled
<br />at certain branches on certain days?
<br />• Reach out to immigrant population to help engage with library
<br />resources
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