Grant monies will help give library a makeover

PALMER — The city’s primary purveyor of periodicals will be prone to its own periodic primping with a springtime makeover.

The city recently received a $19,376 grant from the Rasmuson Foundation to make improvements to the Palmer Public Library. The money will be used for new shelving, electrical wiring and interior paint.

Pat Kilmain, Palmer’s library director, said the grant is a welcome windfall and will provide for some much-needed improvements.

“It really does help with things and we don’t have to spend money out of the budget,” Kilmain said.

With about 50,000 books in the library’s collection, Kilmain said the new shelving will be appreciated.

“Our books are very crowded,” she said, adding that with more shelving, patrons “will be able to see what we have.”

In addition to new shelving, Kilmain said the grant provides money for new furniture, which will replace uncomfortable folding chairs used in the meeting room. A new coat of paint will freshen up the inside of the library, and new electrical wiring will provide a more convenient way to deal with cords and devices throughout the building, Kilmain said.

The library director said the Tier 1 grant, which is a grant that doesn’t exceed $25,000, has been in the works since the beginning of the year. The city and other organizations can apply for Rasmuson Foundation awards once a year. In Palmer, the library doesn’t depend on grants for a large portion of its budget, but it will use grants for physical improvements and for funding programs. The Mat-Su Health Foundation recently gave the library a $5,000 grant to help support a reading program.

Although the Rasmuson Foundation grant provides money for simple items like chairs and shelving, Mayor John Combs said the improvements are important parts of library operations.

“They are tremendously important,” Combs said. “I know the library has a long list of things [it wants to accomplish] and grants are very much appreciated.”