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Judy Curran

New River library gets makeover

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New River Branch Library was feeling its age after more than nearly 30 years of service to patrons in Zephyrhills and Wesley Chapel.

But soon, New River will be like new again.

Construction on major renovations and an expanded community garden is on schedule for a fall 2020 completion.

This rendering shows the covered walkway that is part of an expansion of the New River Branch Library. (Courtesy of Pasco County)

“We’re moving forward on it. The (coronavirus) pandemic has not slowed down construction,” said Bob Harrison, marketing program manager for the Pasco County Libraries.

All seven county libraries are slated for “a complete re-imagining from top to bottom,” Harrison said. Funding for the renovations is from the GO, or General Obligation, bonds approved by voters in November 2018.

Centennial Park Branch Library in Holiday also is in the process of being renovated.

When the New River renovation is finished, patrons can enjoy a new look, as well as upgrades in technology, high-efficiency air conditioning, teen and youth adult areas, faster Internet speeds, a covered walkway entry and a makerspace that opens into a shaded “classroom” for the community garden.

Harrison said the covered walkway and garden space will allow for “do-it-yourself” activities. It also can be used to host gardening programs delivered by master gardeners or Pasco County Extension agents.

During the COVID-19 shutdown, the original garden died off, but Judy Curran is ready to dig and plant anew when New River opens in the fall.

Curran, the library’s youth services provider, said the new garden will be larger and will have more activities.

A garden that had about six raised beds will expand to about 26 beds, Curran said. About half will be for workshops and demonstrations. The rest will be open to people who want to grow flowers or vegetables.

“It’s really kind of neat that the library team gave us this opportunity,” she said. “I’m hoping to expand some of my outdoor activities.”

A new employee assigned to community outreach will aid in organizing events.

Curran made the first plantings in 2014 when employees were encouraged to pick a special project to adopt. They could spend 10% of their work hours to make it happen.

Curran got enthusiastic responses as soon as she posted her idea on the library bulletin board. The garden beds soon sprouted with help from a dozen youth and adult volunteers.

New River’s garden was unique not only in Pasco County, but in Florida, as well. Curran said she even received a call from Chicago asking about the library’s garden.

The Land O’ Lakes Branch Library has since planted a community garden, too.

A project to plant fruit trees at New River is expected to continue.

And, a new children’s activity, Story Walk, will allow children to follow a winding path where they will stop at stations and read pages from a storybook.

“I think it’s going to bring even more people when we reopen,” Curran said. “This little idea I had has really expanded.”

For information on New River and video on renovations, visit Facebook.com/newriverlibrary.

Published June 03, 2020

It’s never too early to learn code

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Story time happens every week at New River Branch Library, but the program on Dec. 5 was particularly special because the library was one of 250 public libraries across the country to receive a grant from the American Library Association’s  ‘Libraries Ready to Code’ initiative.

After listening to Ms. Judy (Judy Curran) read two tech-inspired books during story time, 18-month-old Ava Edouard, of Wesley Chapel, sets her attention on the New River Branch Library’s newest piece of technology, a Fisher Price Code-A-Pillar. (Christine Holtzman)

The initiative, sponsored by Google, aims to help implement and plan coding activities during Computer Science Education Week.

The grant allowed the library to purchase a toy called a Code-A-Pillar by Fisher Price, which can be used to teach young children the basics of computer coding.

In recognition of Computer Science Week, the library, at 34043 State Road 54 in Wesley Chapel, also set up coding stations, robots, crafts and cool projects throughout the week to teach toddlers to teens about computer science.

By Christine Holtzman

 

Judy Curran, the New River Branch Library’s Youth Services Provider, far right, adds another segment of code to the Code-A-Pillar’s body as children and parents watch to see what command the Code-A-Pillar performs next. Code-A-Pillar’s commands on each body segment are picture-based, providing an intuitive way for children to learn the basics of computer coding. The children, from left: 2-year-old Madison Kidd, of Zephyrhills; 1-year-old Astrid Banks, of Wesley Chapel; 3-year-old Austin Banks, of Wesley Chapel; 2-year-old Emma Maxwell, of Wesley Chapel; and, 2-year-old Penda Pavon, of Zephyrhills. The adults in the back, from left: Kathy Doss (Emma Maxwell’s grandmother) and Elisa Kidd (Madison Kidd’s mother).
Judy Curran, the Youth Services Provider at the New River Branch Library, gets a high-five from 2-year-old Emma Maxwell, of Wesley Chapel, at the beginning of Story Time with Ms. Judy, also known as Judy Curran, on Dec. 5.

 

Diggin’ in the dirt at the library

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Judy Curran enjoys seeing people having fun outdoors.

So, when the chance came her way to get library patrons — young and old, digging in the dirt — she seized the opportunity to put her passion for gardening into motion.

“I get so much peace and joy from it,” said Curran, the youth services provider at the New River Branch Library in Zephyrhills. “It’s my hobby, and I want to share that,” she said.

A Pasco County work policy made it possible.

Marigolds fill the foreground as Judy Curran checks the variety of plants, vegetables and flowers planted in the community garden of the New River Branch Library. Curran, and about a dozen adults and children, tend the garden. (Fred Bellet/Photos)
Marigolds fill the foreground as Judy Curran checks the variety of plants, vegetables and flowers planted in the community garden of the New River Branch Library. Curran, and about a dozen adults and children, tend the garden.
(Fred Bellet/Photos)

A few years ago, employees were encouraged to choose a project that excited them. They could then devote 10 percent of their work hours to making it happen.

This “10 percent initiative” of the county was Curran’s signal to step forward and organize a community garden at the New River branch. It is the only community garden in Pasco sponsored by a library.

Curran put a flier on the bulletin board and got the kind of feedback she needed.

Nearly a year ago, the first sprouts in the garden were small, and so were her first volunteers.

Daisy Scouts planted herbs in a handful of rain barrels that were cut into two halves. The barrels – painted by the Scouts – flank the parking lot and walkway leading to the library’s entrance.

“To me that adds charm,” Curran said. “It’s obvious kids painted these barrels.”

Over time, these first plantings gave way to dwarf fire bushes that now drop their roots into the soil of the rain barrels, and attract butterflies and hummingbirds.

Judy Curran, youth services provider at New River Branch Library, shows off bouquets of lantana.
Judy Curran, youth services provider at New River Branch Library, shows off bouquets of lantana.

And the garden grew again, but this time as a memorial to a friend of the library – Samuel Smith. The teenager died in 2011. He came to the library nearly every day after school.

“He was a volunteer and helped with troubled kids,” Curran said.  “It was heartbreaking when that happened.”

One weekend, his friends planted a flowering garden that blooms with lantana, firecracker bushes, ginger plants and 4 o’ clocks.

Nearby, community gardeners tend raised beds filled with pepper squash, oregano, sorghum and carrots, and a cluster of marigolds. A Japanese plum tree and a peach tree stand tall as stand-alones planted inside more half-size rain barrels.

About a dozen people tend these garden beds. There are individuals, a mother and daughter, and friends.

There is no fee, and Curran hopes to enlist more gardeners.

“I want it to be all inclusive,” she said. “I want families to come and 4-H gardeners. I don’t want anyone to think ‘Oh, I can’t do that’.”

A spider inhabiting a Japanese plum tree fends off an invading insect.
A spider inhabiting a Japanese plum tree fends off an invading insect.

Three plastic swimming pools filled with dirt, rest next to the raised beds, ready for children to try out their green thumbs.

“I have a lot of seeds,” Curran said. “They can come in and plant seeds, and see what happens.”

Curran said books and gardening go together naturally.

“It’s about sharing information,” she said.

Seeds and plants also are shared at plant exchanges.

At the rear of the library, two cisterns catch rainwater.

“That was all the water we used during the dry season,” she said. “We’re trying to go as natural as possible.”

In the future, a compost tumbler is on the wish list.

A mound of mulch is piled next to the garden beds.

A small grant helped seed the garden, and pay for lumber. County employees built the raised beds, including one high enough for disabled gardeners to use. Master gardeners and the Pasco County Cooperative Extension provide expertise and teach classes at the library.

A small sign identifies Nancy G., as the community gardener for one of several raised beds at the community garden at the New River Branch Library.
A small sign identifies Nancy G., as the community gardener for one of several raised beds at the community garden at the New River Branch Library.

“It’s a very cooperative effort between the library, the county’s cooperative extension, master gardeners and the facilities department,” Curran said.

Curran herself is not a master gardener, but gardening is a tradition in her family. She worked side by side in gardens with her father and grandfather.

“I want people to see that they can grow their own food,” she said. “Everywhere I’ve lived, I’ve always had a vegetable garden. There’s a lot you can grow in small spaces.”

The library hosts community garden meetings every third Thursday of the month. The next meeting is Oct. 15 from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

For more information, call New River at (813) 788-6375, or email Curran at .

Published October 14, 2015