Haxton Memorial Library

Members of the Genesee Symphony Orchestra were in Oakfield on Thursday evening to talk with children about the instruments they play and how music is made.

The orchestra members, along with conductor and music director Shade Zajac, explained their instruments, the sounds they made, playing examples, and how the instruments are played and how they might fit into a piece of music.

Participating were Holly Hudson, Nicole Zajac (top photo), Shade Zajac, and Claudia Deibold.

The event was sponsored by the Haxton Memorial Library and held at the Oakfield Government and Community Center.

File Photo of Conductor Shade Zajac during a rehearsal with Genesee Symphony Orchestra.

There will be no shushing at Haxton Memorial Library next week when members of Genesee Symphony Orchestra, including Conductor Shade Zajac, provide demonstrations for families, Roxie Choate says.

Funded by GO Art! Reach grant money, the library will be hosting musicians from 7 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the Oakfield Government and Community Center, 3219 Drake St., Oakfield.

Orchestra members will be showing and talking about their instruments individually, and also playing together for this special hour, said Choate, the orchestra manager. They will introduce strings, woodwinds and brass instruments.

“In hopes of creating increased knowledge and understanding of the importance of bringing orchestra music alive within our young people’s lives,” she said to The Batavian.

This event is open to all children ages 7 and older, and their parents. Attendees are asked to arrive by 6:50 p.m. in preparation for the program, she said.

Genesee Symphony Orchestra is in residence at Genesee Community College, and has a tradition of having “a very strong educational mission in giving experiences in learning about orchestra music,” Choate said.

Consider this a warm-up for the group’s first of a five-concert season. The first concert will feature “a beautiful harp concerto,” Choate said, and is set for 4 p.m. Oct. 9 at Stuart Steiner Theater at GCC, 1 College Rd., Batavia.

Registration is encouraged and appreciated. Call 585-948-9900.

Press release:

Six members of the Genesee Symphony Orchestra will be presenting a special program on Sept. 15 from 7  to 8 p.m. at the Oakfield Government and Community Center.

Music lovers are invited to come to listen to and learn from these talented musicians as they perform some selected pieces and showcase each of their instruments. Each of the six musicians from the orchestra will explain how their specific instrument works and how it is unique. The audience will experience the six instruments played alone and played together as part of a six-piece ensemble.

“This program is a great way for children and adults to learn about the special qualities of the musical instruments that will be showcased,” says Kim Gibson, Library Director at the Haxton Memorial Library. “Everyone will enjoy this presentation.”

The Genesee Symphony Orchestra is a regional orchestra that presents concerts for the enrichment of our community through high-quality performances, educational opportunities, guest artists, and partnerships. It is one of the oldest civic orchestras in New York state.

The special presentation takes place at 7 p.m. at the Oakfield Government and Community Center, 3219 Drake Street in Oakfield.

This family-friendly project is made possible with funds from the Statewide Community Regent Program, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the office of the Governor and the New York State legislature and administered by Go Art!         

The Haxton Memorial Library located at 3 North Pearl Street in Oakfield provides residents with a variety of programs, events and materials that are listed on the library’s website at www.HaxtonLibrary.org.

Photo: File photo by Howard Owens.

Press release:

Babies up to 2 years of age are invited to a morning of rhymes, singing songs and stories! While this describes a perfect morning for any tot, to make it even more fun, Baby Storytime ends with playtime!

The Haxton Library’s talented Mrs. J. is hosting a special Baby Storytime on Saturday, August 27 from 10 am to 11 am at the Goose, 33 South Main Street in Oakfield. While the program is designed for babies ages birth to 2 years, older siblings are also invited to attend. Beginning September 10, Mrs. J., the Children’s Library Clerk, will hold Baby Storytime at the library itself from 10 am to 11 am.

In addition to Baby Storytime, the Haxton Memorial Library also has a fun-filled Preschool Storytime on Mondays from 10:30 am to 11:30 am that begins September 12. Preschoolers enjoy activities, crafts, songs, and stories in the Children’s Department at the library.

“Our Storytimes are great favorites with our very young children because they are educational and Mrs. J. knows how to keep the kids engaged,” says Kim Gibson, Director at the Haxton Library. “We love to have the kids come and discover the fabulous collection of children’s books that we offer at the Haxton.”

For more information about Baby Storytime, Preschool Storytime, or any of the programs at the Haxton Memorial Library, please call 585-948-9900.

The Haxton Memorial Library located at 3 North Pearl Street in Oakfield provides residents a variety of programs, events and materials that are listed on the library’s website at www.HaxtonLibrary.org.

Press release:

Dinosaurs and treats for the kids on August 3 at 10 am

Kids who love dinosaurs are invited to come to the Haxton Memorial Library’s T-Rex party on Wednesday, August 3 at 10 am. There will be stories about dinosaurs, dinosaur dancing, and a special craft activity. And any child knows that dinosaurs were often very hungry, so snacks are also part of the program.

The T-Rex Party is perfect for children ages 2-5 but everyone is invited to attend. Please call the library to register for this fun summer celebration of some prehistoric creatures!

To register or for more information about the programs at the Haxton Memorial Library, please call 585-948-9900.

The Haxton Memorial Library located at 3 North Pearl Street in Oakfield provides residents a variety of programs, events and materials that can be found on the library’s website at www.HaxtonLibrary.org.

Submitted photo: Stories, crafts, treats and dancing are all part of the activities planned for kids at the T-Rex Party at the Haxton Memorial Library. To register please

Press release:

The Haxton Memorial Library had its Summer Reading Kick-off Carnival on Thursday, June 30th from 6:30-8:00 at Triangle Park in Oakfield.

This year’s theme is “Oceans of Possibilities” and our Carnival consisted of kiddie games, face painting, beachballs, popcorn, ocean gummy treats and the Aquarium of Niagara brought a touch tank for the children to enjoy.

“We had over 200 people attend this event, which is an amazing turnout and we know this is a great start to our Summer Reading Program”, said Kim Gibson, Library Manager for the Haxton Memorial Library. Our Summer Reading Program starts on July 5th and goes until Aug. 15th. Throughout this 6-week program our readers of all ages can participate in our programs and win prizes and more importantly read for fun!

“We love to see the excitement in our young reader’s faces when they return to the library to share how many minutes that they have read that week. “Seeing their love for reading and their joy of coming into the library, reassures us we are setting the foundation for all our future young readers and that makes all the difference in the world to us.”

Nioga Library System personnel have gone above and beyond to provide essential services in the face of a global pandemic that continues to rock our way of life.

That’s the message conveyed Monday by four Genesee County library directors and the executive director of the 21-member Nioga Library System, who appeared before the Genesee County Legislature’s Human Services Committee to seek the same level of funding in 2022 as in this year and to articulate how they have responded to the challenges to meet the needs of their clientele.

The committee received a letter from Kimberly Gibson, library manager at Haxton Memorial Library in Oakfield, asking the legislature to sustain the current 2021 level of $41,680 to support the purchase of library materials for county residents.

County funding covers about 13 percent of Genesee’s six public libraries budget for materials and technology, such as computers, books, music, movies and magazines – including downloadable information, Gibson wrote.

“As we work to maintain our levels of service to our patrons during these difficult times, we face rising costs across the board and, for some of our libraries, we are working with a budget that was drastically cut from the prior year,” the letter continued.

During the meeting, Gibson reported that her library’s budget was slashed by 30 percent and the Byron-Bergen Public Library’s budget was cut by 20 percent.

Nioga Executive Director Tom Bindeman said the network, as a whole, has suffered budget cuts over the past several years.

They were joined at the meeting by Robert Conrad of Richmond Memorial Library in Batavia, Josselyn Borowiec of Hollwedel Memorial Library in Pavilion and Diana Reding of Corfu Public Library. The Woodward Memorial Library in Le Roy is the county’s sixth public library (and all are part of the Nioga system).

All of the state’s libraries closed around March 17, 2020, because of COVID-19 and many were closed up to 16 weeks.

Conrad said the six county libraries were able to coordinate their reopenings for limited service around June 1 and it wasn’t until June of this year when they were able to drop most of the other restrictions.

During that “down time,” librarians followed all of the Center for Disease Control guidelines, Gibson said, including social distancing, mask wearing, temperature checks of employees, frequent cleaning, purchase of Personal Protective Equipment, putting up of plexiglass and computer keyboard protection.

“We did whatever we had to do to get to the place where we could reopen,” she said. “Keeping day-to-day safety last year and into this year has been our priority.”

Contacted yesterday, Conrad said that Richmond Memorial Library staff was able to open for browsing and checkout, “but our restrictions included no general seating and, consequently (and ironically), no reading as well as no in-person programs and only essential computer use.”

Libraries conducted programs, such as the Richmond Reads author visit, children’s story times and movie streaming via Wi-Fi, Conrad added.

Broadband connection to the Internet is critical to libraries’ operational success – a point brought up by Bindeman at the committee meeting.

Noting that 40 percent of Genesee County does not have Internet access, he urged lawmakers to do what they can to provide access to its residents. County Manager Matt Landers said they are aware of the gaps in coverage and have a plan to address the situation as money allocated from the American Rescue Plan Act can be used for broadband.

Bindeman also mentioned that many people, young and old, don’t know how to use a computer or smart phone, and he hoped to institute a plan where libraries and municipalities could provide more training in that area.

Libraries have been up and running for several weeks now and are offering their complete range of services.

Gibson said the computers continue to be “social distanced” and face coverings are required for those who have not been vaccinated.

“We’re grateful to learn that when we reopened how much we were actually missed,” Gibson offered, adding that a silver lining was that the Oakfield library was able to build its social media presence during the shutdown.

At Richmond, masks are required as long as the county's rate of transmission is at substantial or higher, and in the Children's Room until a vaccine has been made widely available for school-aged population.

Conrad said that he believes the 2 ½ months or so that all of the libraries were closed in 2020 represent the first time in the state’s history that its people were not served by libraries of any kind.

The Byron-Bergen Public Library and Haxton Memorial Library are looking to forge agreements with the B-B Central School District and Oakfield-Alabama Central School District, respectively, over the next couple years to be able to receive funding from property taxes as voted on by the public.

Hollwedel Memorial Library in Pavilion became a school district-supported facility last year, joining Richmond Memorial, Woodward Memorial and Corfu Public Library.

Kim Gibson, library manager at Haxton Memorial Library in Oakfield, shows a chain which children will receive as part of the library’s summer reading program. Children will receive a bead to put on the chain for every 20 minutes of reading they do.

OAKFIELD -- Haxton Memorial Library’s Summer Reading Program got off to a rousing start with a kickoff carnival Thursday in Triangle Park. 

Library Manager Kim Gibson said the summer reading program has been such a success, and the 125 children who attended the kickoff are a testament to that.

“With parents and friends, we had at least 250 people here,” Gibson said.  

There is no mistaking Gibson’s love of her job and her passion for promoting reading in the community. Gibson has been at the library for 18 years – eight as children’s librarian and 10 as library manager.

“This event gets the word out and tells the community what we’re all about,” Gibson said of the kickoff carnival.

Children who attended the carnival received an entry in a drawing for entrance to the New York State Fair. They also received a ticket to each of the stations set up in the park, which included cotton candy, popcorn, games and face painting.

There were also balloons and animals from the Buffalo Zoomobile.

Most importantly, the carnival gave Gibson, library staff and her volunteers the opportunity to promote the summer reading program, which is in its fourth year.

The theme this year is “A Universe of Stories” and it runs from July 1 to Aug. 9.

The program features ongoing contests and prizes, movies at 1 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays, story time at 10:30 a.m. Mondays and a family activity every Thursday at 7 p.m.

A new feature this year which Gibson is excited about is a chain, which every child will receive. Children are encouraged to read at home and for every 20 minutes of reading documented, they receive a bead for their chain. When they reach two hours of reading, they get a “brag tag” for the chain.

“I got the idea for a couple of other libraries, where it’s been very successful,” Gibson said. “They can come in whenever we’re open and give us their times, which we will keep in a folder.”

She said children will be on their honor in recording their reading time. 

“If they want to read the same book over, that’s OK, too,” she said. 

Gibson said the summer reading program is so important because it gets children in the library, and it’s free. 

The summer reading program includes special activities for all the family, from young children to adults, such as making robots and rockets, space-themed craft nights, a Harry Potter-themed scavenger hunt and two nights of Brush Strokes read and paint. Early registration is necessary for Brush Strokes, because it fills up fast, Gibson said. The idea of Brush Strokes for children 2 to 12 is to read about something, such as a llama, and then paint it.

For the adults, there is a basket raffle. For every book they take out they receive an entry to win one of the theme baskets, put together with items donated by the community. At the end of the six weeks, the number of books taken out is tallied up and the top reader receives a gift card. 

“We are trying to encourage reading across the board – from young children to adults,” Gibson said.

Gibson said the summer reading program is accomplished with the help of wonderful volunteers and donations from many businesses in the community. She said the children’s clerk, Hayley Lown did a lot of work preparing for the program.

“This event takes a lot of planning and a lot of hard work, but in the end it’s worth it,” Gibson said. “We are very fortunate to have so many dedicated staff and volunteers. We have some regular library volunteers and others from the Oakfield Betterment Committee. We couldn’t do it without them.”

Gibson said she knows everyone is busy in the summers, and it’s wonderful to see so many children who want to read.

The summer reading program will conclude Aug. 9 with an ice cream party, thanks to a local individual who donates the ice cream.

“I love the library,” Gibson said. “It’s been a huge part of my life and it’s so exciting to see kids come in and take books out. I see so many kids who used to come in to my story hour in the children’s library, and now they are graduating.”

Gibson said there aren’t many places for kids to go in their small community, and this is the library’s way to give back to the community.

Information on the summer reading program can be found on their website at www.haxtonlibrary.org, by calling the library at 948-9900 or visiting them at 3 North Pearl St. 

Photos by Virginia Kropf.

Jill Klotzbach, whose daughter Hayley Lown is the children’s clerk at Haxton Memorial Library, carries balloons to Triangle Park for a carnival Thursday night to kick off the summer reading program.

Kim Gibson, left, library manager at Haxton Memorial Library, and Board President Ann Engel, sign in children Thursday night in Triangle Park for the kickoff carnival for the summer reading program.

Riley D’Alba gives cotton candy to Brooklyn Esten, 5, during the carnival Thursday night in Triangle Park to kick off Haxton Memorial Library’s summer reading program.

Lily Davis, 12, volunteered to pass out balloons to children who attended the carnival Thursday in Triangle Park to kick off the summer reading program.

This information is from a press release provided by Assemblyman Steve Hawley's office:

Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C,I-Batavia) today proudly announced that the Haxton Memorial Library in Oakfield will be receiving a state grant to install security cameras.

Hawley fought vigorously during this year’s budget negotiations to restore proposed cuts to library aid made by Gov. Cuomo and secure $95.6 million in total aid, including a $5 million increase for capital projects. 

“Libraries like these are a staple of our community and offer myriad services to local residents, such as free books and movie rentals, high-speed Internet and research services,” Hawley said. “My colleagues and I worked diligently to fight Gov. Cuomo’s proposed cuts to library aid and I am proud to announce that we actually secured an increase in funding for public libraries to undertake capital projects and improvements.

"Libraries are a gateway to a world of knowledge and enlightenment through reading and research and they will always have my unwavering support.”

Hawley also noted that Le Roy's Woodward Memorial Library received a state grant to renovate its Children's Room. For previous coverage on that project, click here.

It's important to fund both history and reading, members of the County Legislature were told today during a meeting of the Public Service Committee.

Representatives of local libraries as well as the Holland Land Office Museum presented annual reviews that both contained requests to keep county funding for these programs at current levels.

"County support is very important to use in order for us to provide the level of service we do to our guests and to our community," said HLOM Executive Director Jeff Donahue. "We are doing what we can (to increase revenue) though our programs such as Wonderland of Trees and the summer program, but this only brings in a small portion (of our budget)."

Laura Cerri Pastecki, from the Haxon Library in Oakfield, said libraries still play an important role in the community. Seniors on fixed incomes still depend on borrowing books and many come into learn how to use computers, and people who can't afford computers depend on the library for online research and creating resumes.

"You might think the library is a thing of the past with technology these days, but just the opposite is true," Pastecki said. "There's more information out there and more entertainment out there and people use the libraries for information and entertainment."

Debbie Rider, a trustee with the Richmond Memorial Library, said there is typically a 30- to 45-minute wait to use a computer there and that many middle school children use the library as a place to do homework after school.

"There's such a huge number of children who come from school to the library directly," Rider said. "It allows the library to reach a population it might not normally reach and a chance for the children to access resources they might not otherwise get."

Donahue gave a detailed report on HLOM actives, which includes school and group tours, visits to local schools and leading history tours in the local area.

"Our history just isn't in one building," Donahue said. "It's our entire area."

In the past year, 3,000 people have visited the muesum and more than 400 artifacts were added to the collection.

Upcoming events include the 12th Annual Wonderland of Trees, the Batavia Antique Show and Sale, a bus trip to the New York Central Terminal in Buffalo and a lecture series of women's rights in the 19th and 19th centuries.  

In December, the museum will host a traveling exhibition, "Lincoln, the Constitution and the Civil War."

No budget numbers were discussed and legislators offered no comments on what they might support, or not.

It appears that when Mother Nature heard that "Make a Splash at Your Library" was going to be the theme of the Haxton Memorial Library's upcoming summer reading program, she took it a bit too literally.

Interim Library Director and Children's Librarian Kimberly Gibson met with a surprise when she came into work on Monday morning. She went downstairs to the children's room, followed by a group of youngsters eager for story hour...only to find the place flooded up to her ankles.

She called in Warren's Carpet Cleaning Service to take care of the problem -- which was no easy task.

"It took two full days to to dry the place out," Gibson said. "And they had to use 10 huge blowers and two humungous dehumidifiers."

The water extended from it's point of origin (which is inside the room slightly right of center, behind the table) all the way to the carpet used for story hours and also sideways to where the stairs are located.

The Warren's employees on the job told Gibson it was lucky she contacted them when she did, because the humidity was already at a very dangerous level.

"We probably would have lost all of our carpeting and everything if we'd waited much longer," Gibson said.

Things could have been a lot worse, and the place is steadily drying out. The saddest part of this whole ordeal for Gibson, though, is that she had just purchased 22 ocean-related books for the summer reading program, and 13 of them were completely ruined.

"I don't think we're going to be able to salvage them," she said. "It's crushing, because I worked so hard to plan these programs, and I bought these books because I thought the kids would really like them. In fact I was just getting ready to put them on display."

The flooding resulted from this past weekend's continual torrential rain -- which, according to Library Trustee Ann Engel, Oakfield residents are saying amounted to about two and a half inches.

Gibson said the same thing happened six years ago.

"We've been lucky not to have anything happen in six years," she said. "But this time it was worse than before."

In spite of this misfortune, Gibson has tried to remain upbeat and to keep her leadership mentality all along. After the initial shock of discovery on Monday morning, she immediately resolved to "just stay focused and get things taken care of as soon as possible." 

"She's a trooper," another library trustee said of Gibson.

Still, Gibson, the library's two other staff members, and the board of trustees would gladly accept any assistance the community would be willing to provide. Gibson said that monetary donations would be especially helpful.

"We have a small budget here at Haxton, and this is obviously going to cost more money than we had planned on spending. With the cost of the books [that were ruined] and the bill for Warren's services, we would certainly welcome any monetary assistance."

The Haxton Library has basic insurance, but they are hoping that they will not need to turn to that to pay for the damages.

"We have a $2,500 deductible," Gibson said, "so we don't want to go to our insurance unless we have to. We don't know what the overall cost will be yet, but hopefully it won't exceed that. Plus, I'm not sure if flood damage is covered, since that kind of thing is fairly unusual in this area of the country."

Gibson arranged for all children's activities to be held upstairs this week, but she hopes to have the children's room open to patrons again on Monday.