New Experience Passes and More

 

1-31-2025

It’s been a week since I made the tantalizing promise to reveal tangible proof of the generosity of members of the Friends of the East Troy Lions Public Library. I shall proceed to do so as, also as promised, I spent a bit of time this week spending the money. The only question is where to start, with the traditional or new?

New.

On their website, the Friends identify their purpose as supporting and enriching the local library. They do so by providing more for our patrons. It is because of the Friends that we are able to add popular experience passes last year. Unfortunately, our agreement with that particular organization doesn’t allow me to name them in any advertising outside of the building; however, I can write that the two passes to the one location have been checked out 87 times in the past 10 months. Call the library and we can talk about them. That pass will be renewed in March.

The Friends will sponsor two additional passes for 2025. The first is membership to the Friends of the Domes, which translates into three household passes for the Mitchell Park Domes. A household pass allows free entry for all members of a household. This was chosen as the Domes are open all year round with changing exhibits and appeal to a wide age range. As a member of the American Horticultural Society, the Domes has a reciprocity agreement with 360+ other members. What that translates into varies and it is suggested making a phone call before making the trip to another garden or conservatory before arriving expecting free entrance, but there are several within a relatively short drive.

The East Troy Railroad Museum is a much shorter drive and one of the reasons it was selected as the third experience pass funded by our Friends. While I reached out to them this week, I don’t have full details on that pass at this time. We do have time to work out the details as they are open a limited number of months.

As significant as the donation these passes represent, they are actually less costly than the other items they voted to fund. Here I’ll mix a bit of the traditional. Each year they donate a generous amount to sponsor our Summer and Winter Reading programs covering the costs of staff t-shirts, participant prizes, the pizza party, and some of the programs. That will continue.

The largest portion of the donation has me thinking, “That will finish the Lower Level.” I don’t say it out loud, I have done so in the past and then found something else to change/add. My original intention was to keep my request to the items listed above and it was a fair amount of money and they did purchase very expensive furniture last year. However, in the Executive Board meeting, which took place at tables and white chairs rather than the expensive and comfortable blue couches and chairs, someone asked, “Have you thought about replacing these chairs?” Since that answer was yes, that was added to the list. Within the next month all of the seating in the Lower Level will be comfortable.

Thanks to the Friends.

Reading Now: Breath by James Nestor

Listening to Now: An Aura of Mystery by Joy Ellis (The first novel she wrote)