This season, books aren't the only thing the New Oxford Library is lending — it’s also lending a hand for the holidays.
That's thanks to the library's free self-serve gift wrapping station, which seeks to provide a quiet space for community members to come and wrap their holiday gifts.
The station features free supplies of wrapping paper, scissors, sharpies, pens, tape, labels, gift bags, various kinds of ribbons, tissue paper, and bows, as well as plenty of table space for users to work off of.
Along with the free supplies, the space is also designed to allow users to wrap presents away from any prying eyes at home.
Those interested in using the station can access it anytime the library, located at 122 North Peters St., is open from Dec. 2 until the end of the day on Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024, according to New Oxford Library branch manager Natasha Swiger, or while supplies last.
Library hours at the New Oxford location are from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Mondays and Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, as well as 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays.
For Swiger, setting up the wrapping station was just another facet of serving the library's bigger mission as a resource for the community.
"We're a community hub," said Swiger, who planned the wrapping station and stocked up on supplies over the past year.
"We want to help our community and just be here for them," she added, "not just as a quiet space, but also to have the resources that they need."
With that mission in mind, the station being free of cost was an important aspect to Swiger, who wanted to ensure that it was free and open to anyone in the community who needs it.
"It gets expensive," Swiger noted of the cost of supplies and the holidays. "I wanted to have something available that was free of charge, and was a quiet space."
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"Visitors can bring their kids in and the kids can go play in the kids area if they want to while they wrap," she noted, "or maybe they leave the kids at home and sneak over here to do some wrapping, so that the presents just appear."
It wasn't just Swiger who shared supplies, though, as members of the community have donated to the wrapping station.
Anyone with excess wrapping supplies is welcome to stop by the library to drop them off, Swiger said. Swiger's own mother-in-law, who loves the holidays, was among those who shared their stash of excess wrapping supplies for the station.
While 2024 was the first time that Swiger tried out offering the wrapping station at the library, she hopes to see it continue every holiday season.
"We've gotten a really great response," Swiger said.
"We are one of the smaller libraries in the Adams County system," she noted, "but we offer a lot, and we give our whole heart to it."
More information on the wrapping station can be found on the library system's website, www.adamslibrary.org or by calling the library at (717) 624-2182 during library hours.