Northwest Iowa — The local community college is partnering with some northwest Iowa libraries to expand the availability of some of the college’s offerings for adults.
Northwest Iowa Community College officials tell us that they and the Sheldon, Sioux Center, and Orange City public libraries are announcing an agreement to expand Life and Leisure events and class offerings across Northwest Iowa. They say the partnership is about providing Northwest Iowans with adult programming and lifelong learning opportunities.
Officials tell us that each library already develops their own version of adult programming and they say working together helps generate new ideas, draw more registrations, and advertise to more individuals. What that means to the public is they will be made aware of class offerings throughout Northwest Iowa by all the partners – not just their hometown partner.
NCC officials say this is a benefit to each library financially, but also to the community members throughout the area. By pooling the partners’ resources, the community members will have access to more class offerings, a wider assortment of topics to choose from, and potentially more prominent speakers who normally require larger audiences and a higher presenter fee before they will accept the invitation.
Greta Giese, NCC’s Director of the Lifelong Learning & Recreation Center says that NCC is trying to look at their programming using an urban or metro model. She says they believe people are willing to drive 15-30 minutes if there is great programming – just like they would in a metro area. The time is the same spent commuting whether it is metro or rural. She says, “The difference is we have less traffic, but maybe a longer actual drive because of mileage. She continues, “By working together with our partners our community members will have more opportunities for lifelong learning, access to more popular and bigger name presenters, and time to socialize with more people, and explore more amenities NW Iowa has to offer.”
Some of the first offerings include
Take The Plunge: Getting Started with Watercolor
Orange City Public Library
6 Consecutive Mondays Jan. 24 – Feb. 28
6:15 PM to 7:45 PM
Ordinary Meals Extraordinary Messages
Crossroads Pavilion – Sheldon
February 1 at 7pm
Flowers with Friends
Prairie Winds Event Center – Orange City
February 24 at 6:00 PM
Quick Swing Dance Class
Children’s Park – Sioux Center
March 3 at 6:30 PM
Beginner’s Guide to Pickleball
Lifelong Learning & Recreation Center – Sheldon
March 17 at 7pm
Contact information for each partner:
Greta Giese, Director – NCC, Lifelong Learning & Recreation Center
ggiese@nwicc.edu
Phyllis Van Gelder, Education and Literacy Librarian – Orange City Library
pvangelder@orangecitylibrary.org
Nicole Weber, Director – Sheldon Library
nweber@sheldon.lib.ia.us
Julie Kreun, Adult Programming – Sioux Center Library
Julie.Kreun@siouxcenterlibrary.org
