Paul Szmal: And welcome back to FLX Morning. It is 8.40 and we're joined by Frank Seiss from the Geneva Public Library for our monthly visit. Good morning, Frank. How are you today, sir?
Frank Sykes: Good. How about yourself?
Paul Szmal: Thank you so much for having us. Yeah. Doing well. Doing well.
And I know we're counting down. The annual basket raffle is going to be coming up soon, right?
Frank Sykes: Oh, yes. Yeah. The basket raffle is hugely popular. We have lots of donations come in throughout the community. And I think the drawing will be sometime in April. And there's just dozens and dozens of baskets. I think last year we had nearly 100 baskets. And it's a great fundraiser and all the funds, 100% of the funds go back to the library.
Paul Szmal: And I know also that you're looking for donation items for the pantry, which I didn't even realize Geneva Public Library had a little food pantry set up.
Frank Sykes: Yeah. On the inside, we have two shelves. One shelf is a lot of toiletries. So we have toothbrushes and toothpaste and soap and shampoos. And on the bottom shelf, we have some food items for people. And that's open anytime we're open and people can come in and take what they need. And donations for that food pantry would be great as well because that's all community-driven.
Paul Szmal: We're talking with Frank Sykes from the Geneva Public Library here on FLX Morning. You just are in the process of doing what's being called a comprehensive building condition survey. What can you tell me about that?
Frank Sykes: Yeah. So this is the first step in a long process. We're currently assessing the building system. So we're talking about the plumbing, the HVAC, electrical, lighting, some of the exterior features like windows and doors. And we want to see what the current condition is, the life expectancy, cost of repair or replacement. And then we try to figure out what is the most crucial aspect of that to replace now or in the future. And once we have that, we can figure out, all right, what are we planning for our resources in the future? And then potentially do a significant renovation because the majority of this library, as gorgeous as it is, hasn't really been repaired or renovated in over three decades.
And we have, with the increased use, we had over 100,000 people come through this building in 2024 alone. So it's definitely a well-used resource in the community, a vital resource in the community. We want to make sure that we're doing what we can to serve that community for the years to come.
Paul Szmal: Absolutely. I'd like to spend a few minutes focusing on some of the activities that are going to be coming up at the library, one of which is an adult craft that is being offered on February 13th and again on February 27th called Dress Up Your Favorite Drink.
Frank Sykes: Yeah. So our amazing staff members put together these incredible programs. This one's Susie, our adult services librarian. So this one will involve putting together a felt cup cozy for keeping your drinks warm. The adult crafts are well attended and people just have a lot of fun. They come and learn something new, they meet somebody new, and they have just a great time putting those together. So yeah, those two are February 13th, 1 to 3, and then February 27th from 5 to 7 p.m.
Paul Szmal: And also the library is announcing a formation of what's called an American Mahjong Group. I hope I'm pronouncing that right.
Frank Sykes: You are, yes.
Paul Szmal: Easier to pronounce than spell sometimes. And just a couple weeks ago, I think there were three people, and then last week there was eight or ten, and it's growing and this is something new for us. It's been around for quite a long time and people are just having a lot of fun learning or joining people who already know how to play and come on by. It's on Thursdays from 2 to 3, or at 2.30 p.m. And that's held in the reading room at the Geneva Public Library.
Then you've got some of your book clubs and your discussion groups. The Adult Book Club focusing on the Paris novel by Ruth Reichel. That's coming up on February the 25th.
Frank Sykes: Yep. So the Adult Book Club, February 25th at 5.30. We have the BYO Book Club, which meets Wednesday, February 19th at Empire Coffee and Donuts. So this is kind of a neat book club where people read their own book and discuss their book and maybe get somebody interested in your read. So not everybody's reading the same book and you kind of discuss books that you've read so far this year. Science Fiction and Film Fanatics meet Friday, February 28th at 5 p.m. So they'll watch and discuss Silent Running as part of the continuing discussion about our future Earth. So that's a neat book club that's on Around Sci-Fi where they read a book and or watch a movie.
Paul Szmal: I certainly don't want to leave out, Frank, some of the kids' activities and in particular winter break is coming up and there are a whole host of activities planned in conjunction with that.
Frank Sykes: Yeah, I definitely suggest checking out our website at gplny.org. You can see what we have going on every day and all through the month. But February break starting, which starts Monday, February 17th, we have a whole list of programs going on. We have Tooth Fairy Tales on Tuesday, February 18th at 10 a.m. where Sarah Green from Finger Lakes Community Health will come and share a few stories and talk about healthy dental care. Winter Crafts on February 18th at 11 a.m. Teen Painting, there's Winter Bingo, Teen Movie Night, there's Winter Games, Family Matinee, and then we have some other programs here and there. It's just going to be packed, packed, packed full of programs.
Paul Szmal: And also the cooking classes are continuing with sessions on February 6th for teens and tweens and kids on February 24th.
Frank Sykes: Yeah, that's been such a great time. Simply Homemade, a local organization, has come in and helped us out with these cooking classes and kids really young to tween and teens are learning some skills, not only about food prep, but also about healthy eating. They get to make something and then eat it and tell their friends and family what they've done. So yeah, Thursday, February 6th is for the teen tween and then Monday, February 24th is for the kids.
Paul Szmal: And I also see on the upcoming events calendar for the public library, the MLK Memorial Choir is returning to the library this Friday.
Frank Sykes: Yeah, they're fantastic. If you have not had a chance to listen to them, what a powerful, powerful choir they are. So they'll be here Friday, February 7th at 730 and they're made up of local community members and they're just fantastic to listen to. And then again, the MLK Memorial Choir, all the programs we've talked about today, everything is free. So no charging at the door for any of these.
Paul Szmal: That's fantastic. It amazes me the variety of programs and different things that the library is able to offer in this day and age.
Frank Sykes: Yeah, I mean, we offer things, just an array of interests in all ages, right? And we're just providing things that the community has expressed interest in. And we enjoy doing that. And some other things I wanted to mention is we have free Wi-Fi. There is no login password. It's kind of like a coffee shop. You can just come in and log right on. That's all free. We have public computers, we have printing, scanning, faxing capabilities as people still fax quite often. And then we have quiet study rooms where you can come in and get a quiet place to work on schoolwork or if you're starting your own business to have a little quiet away from home to work on some things. And of course, we still have tens of thousands of books and videos and audio books and all those good things.
Paul Szmal: Absolutely. And for people who may not be familiar with the library's location and ours, let's go over those so people know when and how they can get there.
Frank Sykes: Yeah, absolutely. So we are located right at the corner of Main and Castle Street. I don't know if you know where the Burned Dairy is right there. We are located right on the corner. And so ours are Monday through Friday from 8.30 until 7 p.m. and then Saturday from 9 until 2. So we're open six days a week.
Paul Szmal: And the website you have is a tremendous resource as well if you want to find out more information about some of the programs and some of the different activities that we've been talking about. What is that website, Frank?
Frank Sykes: So it's gplny.org and it's a newish website for us and for the community where all the information's on there. It's really user-friendly. And then, you know, if you ever have a question, you could always call us as well at 315-789-5303.
Paul Szmal: Wonderful. All right. Thanks so much for stopping in and filling us in this month, and we'll talk to you again in a month's time.
Frank Sykes: Yeah. Thanks for having us. You take care.
Paul Szmal: All right. That is Frank Sykes joining us from the Geneva Public Library here on FLX Morning.
