SPL News

Syracuse Public Library received a grant from the American Conversation Project! Through this grant, Syracuse Public Library plans to hold a series of community conversations about Syracuse’s past, present, and future.

Conversations occur at 6:30 p.m. on Thursdays, Sept. 24, Oct. 8., Oct. 22, and Nov. 5, with Executive Director Jon Gaskill in the library’s downstairs meeting room. Nobody is required to attend all four conversations. The library plans to provide food and light refreshments.

To preserve these conversations, we will record their audio.

For more information about the American Conversation Project, visit www.americanconversations.org.

The Kosciusko County Council voted to reaffirm its prior January vote on a resolution for the Syracuse-Turkey Creek Township Library's bond issue during its Thursday, June 10, meeting in Warsaw.

With the council's reaffirmation, Syracuse-Turkey Creek Township Public Library can continue with its ongoing building project. The library cannot express its thankfulness enough for the support Syracuse and Turkey Creek Township residents have shown the library in the last two days. The library also thanks the Kosciusko County Council for its due diligence in this matter.

We aim to provide the Syracuse-Turkey Creek Township community with a resource that will continue to serve it for decades to come. The new library building, located at 705 N. Dolan Drive, will open numerous opportunities, from much-needed meeting spaces to business resources to a makerspace to more varied programming options. We look forward to sharing some architect renderings soon.

We love our Carnegie building. It has served us well for over 100 years, but our community has outgrown it. While we may leave behind the bricks and mortar, Syracuse-Turkey Creek Township Public Library strives to carry on Mr. Carnegie's legacy by creating a community hub focused on lifelong learning that welcomes everyone.

We welcome questions that residents have about this project. We are only a message, email, or cal. And, of course, the library encourages everyone to stop in; we do have copies of the feasibility studies available for viewing.

Hi everybody! This is Jon, and I’m excited to celebrate six months as your Syracuse Public Library Director. Thank you for the opportunity to serve this amazing community.

The library is a place for everyone — a welcoming space to learn, explore, and connect. One of the best parts of my job is seeing people coming and going, borrowing books and movies, and enjoying all we offer.
We’re especially excited to introduce our upcoming Library of Things! Cardholders, including Evergreen Indiana users, will soon be able to borrow items like a metal detector, adventure backpacks with an Indiana State Parks Pass, and a pass to Science Central in Fort Wayne.

We’ve also upgraded our technology, including computers and a new upstairs copier for printing, scanning, and faxing. Our previous copier is now downstairs for easier access, especially for families.

Children’s programs will pause in May as we prepare for our Summer Reading Program, which runs June 8 through July 18 for all ages. There are still plenty of activities happening, so be sure to check them out.
Libraries remain vital to our communities, but they face potential funding challenges in the coming years due to recent state legislation.
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If you’re able, please consider supporting the library through a donation to our Summer Reading Program or upcoming building project. Every bit helps, and we truly appreciate your support.
See you at the library!

Library patrons can check out the Science Central pass for a period of three days. It allows two adults from the same address and six children under the age of 18 to enter Science Central for free. The pass connects families with an all-ages, hands-on science center that has more than 200 permanent exhibits.
 
nother hands-on experience for patrons of all ages is the library’s returning seed library. Community members ­— no matter their library card status — can “check out” 10 seed packets to plant at home. The best part? There are no returns. Patrons can enjoy whatever produce they grow with friends and family.

​When browsing the seed library, the Syracuse Public Library asks that community members take no more than one packet per seed type, such as a single packet of carrot seeds. The seed library is possible through the generosity of our seed providers: Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, Merry Lea Environmental Center, and Territorial Seed Company.

These affected services include Evergreen Indiana. This means library patrons will be unable to use their Evergreen Indiana apps to browse materials or place holds, or be able to access SPL's catalog in a web browser.

SPL will still be able to check out materials to patrons on Saturday, Jan. 31, but we will be unable to look anyone up in the system. This means patrons will need to bring their library cards. If you use the Evergreen Indiana app's digital library card, you might want to screen grab it, just in case.

On Saturday, we'll also be unable to create new library cards without the Evergreen Indiana system. 

Hoopla and Libby should still be accessible during this time, but there is the potential that they might be impacted.

We appreciate everyone's patience this weekend!

Adults can sign up now to participate in the Syracuse Public Library’s adult winter reading challenge, which runs from Sunday, Jan. 4, to Saturday, Feb. 24. Unlike other reading challenges, this one simply encourages daily reading habits rather than the number of pages read.

For every seven days read, participants receive a ticket that they can add to win one of three prize baskets: the reading basket; the family game night basket; or the technology basket. During the reading challenge, readers can earn extra tickets by completing weekly activity packets, which are available at the upstairs desk, or by attending adult programming at the Syracuse Public Library.

Interested participants can sign up for the challenge through the Beanstack app or by visiting https://syracuselib.beanstack.com. Readers can sign up at the library’s upstairs desk and receive a paper log if they don’t want to use Beanstack.

Once registered, participants can start logging reading on Sunday, Jan. 4. Just log that you read; it doesn’t matter if it was only a sentence or a paragraph. All logs and tickets must be submitted by Saturday, Feb. 28.
For information, contact adult services librarian Hanna Kunkel at [email protected].

Firstly, staff at Syracuse Public Library will still be able to check materials out to you during our Saturday hours of 10-2 p.m.; however, you will need your library card handy since we'll be unable to look anyone up with a photo ID while Evergreen is down. If you use digital library card in the Evergreen app, you may want to screenshot it if you plan to visit the library on Saturday.

Additionally, we will not be able to open new library accounts until Evergreen Indiana's upgrades are completed.

During the Evergreen's downtime, you will also not be able to place holds on materials.

October marks a major transition at the Syracuse Public Library as its executive director of almost 11 years, Kim Blaha, retires and Jon Gaskill steps into the role of helming the library.

Blaha became Syracuse Public Library’s executive director on Jan. 2, 2015. Previously, she had worked at eight different libraries in four different states, including in Illinois, Oregon, Wisconsin and Indiana. Libraries have served as a passion in Blaha’s life, and she received her master’s in library science in 1987.

“I loved most everything about (being a director),” Blaha stated. “The creativity and problem solving the job required were the best. I grew beyond anything I ever did before. The job required my whole self.”

During her tenure at the Syracuse Public Library, Blaha helped conclude its ongoing remodel that had started prior to her arrival. She would also beautify the library’s front landscaping, creating a more inviting entrance. In 2020, Blaha steered the library through the unprecedented challenges posed by COVID-19 shutdowns, during which the library pivoted to curbside pickups, ensuring patrons could still access materials while following social distancing mandates. Among her many accomplishments were the creation of the Community Roots outdoor space, for which Blaha had secured a grant; the addition of the Indiana Legal Kiosk; and helping direct feasibility studies for a new library building.

However, Blaha noted, “The most important thing to me was helping staff grow as people and become confident in themselves and in their work. Physical things like remodels and building projects are great and look good but helping the library serve the community and seeing people belong to something larger than themselves, learn and discover new things is the greatest thing I could have facilitated.”

Gaskill began his role as executive director on Oct. 13, bringing years of library experience. He noted, “I have been working in libraries for over 15 years and have been an administrator for about 10 of those years. I have done adult programming, taught computer classes, worked a reference desk, ordered materials, handled genealogy research and requests, worked the desk, messed around in makerspaces enough to be dangerous — I have been a director, assistant director.”

Gaskill participated in the Indiana Librarian Leadership Academy 2013 cohort and the ALA Leadership Institute. He has also successfully written many grants. Most recently, he served as the executive director of the Wabash Carnegie Public Library.

“I was drawn to be the director at Syracuse as I heard through the grapevine that Kim was retiring, and I was looking for an opportunity closer to home, so I took a leap of faith to apply and interview,” Gaskill said. “I was happy to work in Wabash, and they were happy with me, but this position just makes sense and allows me to make a difference in my community. I consider myself lucky to be able to work in my hometown.”

In his new position, Gaskill hopes to bring in more people to the library and expand access to library cards, focusing on children. His third goal is to increase circulation and participation in library programs.

“A reading community makes a huge difference in so many things, especially economically,” he said. “(It gives) people the opportunity to stick and stay, not just move away for big towns. I love Syracuse — it has heart, and people are so welcoming and kind. I want to foster that feeling.”

Gaskill resides near Lake Wawasee and Papakeechie Lake with his wife, Ali, two sons and a stepdaughter.

As for Blaha, she shared, “I look forward to being with my grandson and seeing him grow. Babies make you live in the moment. That’s refreshing!”

There’s nothing like a Halloween spent visiting the Syracuse Public Library.

We’re bringing back the Halloween Party from 6-8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 31, in our outdoor parking lot. Come for candy and delicious monster munch (trail mix) and stay for the dance party and games! Or come and go as you trick-or-treat through the neighborhood. (We understand! You need all the sweets!)

​This year, we’ll have a duck decorating contest, where children will decorate rubber duckies. Pick up ducks on or after Monday, Sept. 29, and return the finished ducks to the library by Oct. 24. The ducks will be judged in two separate age brackets — bigs (ages 7-12) and littles (0-6) — with prize baskets!