corfu free library

The Corfu Free Library is now a school district public library, after the vote passed by residents of the Pembroke Central School District on May 16.  

Diana Reding, the library director, said the school will collect and levy the tax for the library, but the library will remain a separate entity from the district.

“Now, we will no longer be asking the Village of Corfu, the Town of Pembroke and the Town of Darien for the funds that previously supported the library,” Reding said.

Tony Kutter, a member of the board of directors at the Corfu Free Library, said he is amazed at what it offers.

“Every small community is losing their businesses, but we don’t want to lose our library,” Kutter said. “Now things have changed, with social media, but you still have to go to the library.”

The Corfu Free Library has fiction and nonfiction books, books on CD, magazines, DVDs, video games, printing, copying and faxing. The library is free to residents of Genesee, Niagara and Orleans counties. Nonresidents can also obtain library cards if they are employed or attend school in Genesee County.  

Kutter said he has lived in the area all his life and the library has always been a part of the community where people always go.

“As I raised my children, they were exposed to Sesame Street and story hours at libraries,” Kutter said. “I think it’s very important for these children to have a library to go to.”

Reding said the story hour program has been around for many years.

“It’s great because we have grandparents bringing their grandchildren and parents whose children aren’t old enough to go to daycare,” Reding said. “The kids get a chance to come here and socialize, and see their peers. The parents also get a chance to socialize. It becomes a community social.”

The mission of the library is to provide everyone in the community with a welcoming environment where there is equal access to knowledge and technology to inspire learning and personal growth.

“Once you retire, I find a lot of people don’t have the motivation to read,” Kutter said. “If you just stop when you retire, that’s not healthy mentally.”

The Corfu Free Library started as the Franklin Library Association 1819.

Twenty residents from the towns of Alexander and Pembroke formed the association in honor of Benjamin Franklin. The Corfu Ladies Library was then organized in 1872.

The Corfu Library was formed in 1920, after the Corfu Study Club was granted a provisional charter as The Corfu Free Library Association. In 1927, the library was moved to its current location at 7 Maple Ave.

Reding said she has seen lots of changes in the library over the last few years.

“Even in the last few years that I’ve been here, we’ve introduced two new digital services,” Reding said. “For me, it has been a balancing act between having our typical New York Times bestsellers versus trying to introduce the new platforms.”

Kutter and Reding both said they hope to see an increase in members of the library in the future.

“Life is more stressful nowadays,” Kutter said. “There’s only so many hours in a day. We’re competing against a lot of things.”

Press release:

Residents of the Pembroke Central School District are being reminded to vote on Tuesday, May 16, at the Pembroke High School from 12  to 9 p.m. Posters and signs about the Corfu Free Library vote featuring local residents who are library patrons can be seen throughout the area. The signs and posters are a reminder for residents that their votes will determine the future of the Corfu Free Library.

About 45 people attended the April 18 public meeting held by the Corfu Free Library Board of Trustees at the Pembroke Community Center to learn about the proposition. The Trustees also hosted two small group sessions at the library in late April for residents.

At these meetings, Kristie Miller, president of the Corfu Library Board of Trustees, and Diana Reding, Library director, provided information about the May 16 vote that proposes to transition the Corfu Free Library to a school district public library. The library would remain housed in the same building with the same staff.

The school district would have no direct control of the library but would collect funds for the library. This transition would stabilize the funding needed to operate the library and provide elected representation to the taxpayers, as library trustees will be elected rather than appointed.

According to Board President Miller, “We hope that residents remember to vote on May 16. At our meetings, we have explained that library usage has increased steadily while our funding has not. With this vote, the proposed level of community-based funding would amount to 24 cents per $1,000 of assessed values on properties in the Pembroke School District.

"Without this transition, the future of the library is uncertain. We have been encouraged the positive comments we have received from the community who believe that the library is important to all of us.” 

Slides from the presentation at the April 18 public meeting and additional information about the upcoming library vote are available online at the library’s website atwww.CorfuFreeLibrary.org. Residents with questions can also contact Miller at 585-599-4266.

These pictures are a few days old. Glenn Adams just sent them in and they're too good not to share.

They are from Thursday. This is Mike Randall playing the part of Charles Dickens as he re-enacts a reading of "A Christmas Carol" at the Corfu Free Library.

Press release:

Residents with questions about computers and other electronic devices can come to the Corfu Free Library for answers and assistance at this month’s Technology Tuesday help session from 7 to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 27.

This month the theme for Technology Tuesday is “Fun with Scanning,” and there will be hands on scanning with one of the latest scanners available. Residents with items they like to be scanned can drop in and learn how to scan their items, and they are encouraged to bring in a thumb drive or an SD card so they will be able have their scans on their own storage device. Scans can also be emailed to their email address if they have one.

Of course residents can ask questions about other technology topics, and they are encouraged to bring in their own devices such as an iPhone, Kindle, Nook, iPad, flash drive, or laptop computer (including charging cords) to be able to work with them that evening.

Attendees can also ask for help to learn how to download digital items from Hoopla as well as eBooks from Overdrive and eMagazines from Zinio right at the session so they will know how to use these services provided free to library patrons through the Nioga system.

The Corfu Free Library periodically offers sessions like Technology Tuesday and residents are encouraged to check the library’s website at www.CorfuFreeLibrary.org or stop by the library at 7 Maple Ave. in Corfu for program information, or they can call the library at (585) 599-3321.

Press release:

More than 400 people voted for the new logo for the Corfu Free Library. While the decision was a tight one as all three designs were very professional, only one logo was chosen as the winner by community members.

Residents can get the first look at the new logo at an unveiling ceremony that will take place on Friday, March 11 at 7 p.m. at the library, 7 Maple Ave. in Corfu.

Entrants in the contest were asked to design a logo around the library’s slogan, “Rooted in our past, growing our future,” and 19 entries were originally submitted. Of these, the Board of Directors selected three logos for the community vote. Voting was done online and on paper ballots that were available at the library during the month of February.

“The response to our logo vote was fantastic,” says Diana Reding, Library director. “We heard over and over how hard it was for people to choose just one as a favorite because all three of the logos were exceptional.”

The winning logo artist will be named during the unveiling ceremony, and they will receive a $50 gift card and many thanks for their hard work.

Light refreshments will also be served at the unveiling ceremony.

“We are so lucky to be able to feature a new logo that was created just for our library, and chosen by the community on our Web site, Facebook page, newsletter, and on all of our information materials,” says Kristie Miller, Board president. “We love our slogan and the new logo illustrates the deep ties that the community has to our library.”

To learn more about the Corfu Free Library, visit online at www.CorfuFreeLibary.org. The new logo will be featured on the Web site after the March 11 unveiling celebration.

Press release:

On Tuesday, Feb. 16, a representative from the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance will be at the Corfu Free Library from 2 to 8 p.m. to assist residents in learning how to file their income tax returns online for free. Anyone interested in signing up for this assistance should contact the library to schedule a time slot.

The Facilitated Self Assistance (FSA) program, coordinated by Assemblyman Steve Hawley, will be held at the Corfu Library, 7 Maple Ave., Corfu, will focus on showing how residents can file their taxes electronically. 

According to Hawley, “Filing taxes electronically saves residents time and money and also yields a considerably quicker refund.”

This FSA assistance at the Corfu Free Library is free service for taxpayers. When residents come to the library for help completing their tax return, they’ve potentially saved hundreds of dollars in preparer fees, and can learn how to prepare them on their own next season.

In addition to the Feb. 16 date, this free tax help can be scheduled for other Tuesdays if needed. Patrons need to call the library sign up. Materials with everything needed to bring to an appointment in order to file online can be picked up at the library.

Residents are encouraged to call to schedule a timeslot. They can also learn more about e-filing online at www.tax.ny.gov. For more information about this program, call the Corfu Free Library at (585) 599-3321.

Press release:

Anyone with an artistic calling can enter the contest for a new logo for the Corfu Free Library. The Board of Directors will be accepting entries for a new logo for the library that goes along with the library’s slogan, “Rooted in our past, growing our future.” The contest is open to all ages.

The winner will be voted on by the community after the semi-finalists are chosen by the Board of Directors. The winning design will be unveiled at a future date and the winner awarded a $50 gift card.

“Since the library is on Maple Avenue and our slogan mentions roots, a logo that somehow incorporates a tree in its design is what we have in mind,” says Diana Reding, library director.

“The Corfu Free Library has been a part of the community for nearly a century, and now includes many of the new electronic services like electronic books, audio books, and e-magazines, but we still have books for all ages of readers,” she adds.

Tony Kutter, local resident and a member of the Board of Directors, thinks that the old gas lantern that has flickered for a century by the library would be a nice addition to a design, too.

“We are open to all ideas for our new logo that would illustrate our slogan,” says Kutter. “It will be exciting to see what entries we receive from our talented residents.”

Entries will be accepted until Jan. 10. Residents will then be invited to vote on their favorite. Once the new logo is chosen, there will be a special celebration in late January to unveil the new design, and all residents will be invited to attend.

Entry forms are available at the library, 7 Maple Ave. in Corfu, and on the library’s Web site at www.CorfuFreeLibrary.org. For more details, stop by the Corfu Free Library circulation desk or call (585) 599-3321.

(Photo courtesy of Corfu Free Library. Pictured is Library Director Diana Reding.)

Press release:

The staff and Board of Trustees at the Corfu Free Library would like to have the community’s input about what they think about the library.

Community members are invited to share the types of library services they use, how often they use them, and rate the library on a variety of items.

“Now that the Corfu Free Library has so many electronic services, we would like to know what people prefer to use. We also want to know what people like about our library and what we may want to improve on,” says Diana Reding, Library director. “Over the next few weeks, we hope that as many community members as possible will share their opinions.”

The survey is available at the library, located at 7 Maple Ave. in Corfu, at the Village office, and on a Survey page on the library’s Web site at www.CorfuFreeLibrary.org.

“There are also fliers up in various local stores with tear off tabs with the web address of the survey so that people can go online to share answers,” Reding said.

The survey is anonymous. Anyone who takes the survey can enter to win a $25 gas card. To enter, people can fill out a ticket at the Circulation Desk when they drop off a completed survey, or follow the directions on the online survey to enter.

The survey will be available from now until Sept. 15, and the winner of the $25 gas card will be announced at that time.

For a copy of the survey, stop by the Corfu Free Library circulation desk or call 795-3344. Residents can also vote online at www.CorfuFreeLibary.com.