Scouts build, install new selves at library
By BRITTANY FHOLER
Cove Leader-Press
They say not to judge a book by its cover but with the help of Boy Scout Troop 224, the Copperas Cove Public Library is making it a bit easier to do so for its patrons.
Thanks to the new display shelves that were installed by Izak Dellere, 17, Corbin Strong, 17, and Brennen Kellum,17, on Thursday, more books can be displayed with the cover facing out.
The shelves were part of Dellere’s Eagle Scout project, helping him move towards becoming an Eagle Scout. Members of Troop 224 all helped put the displays made of pine plywood together. Southerlands Home Base lumber donated all the wood for the project.
In addition to other steps involved in becoming an Eagle Scout, Izak had to not only do a project but be a leader during the project.
“It means a lot [to do this project] because this is what shows that I became a leader through Boy Scouts,” Dellere said. Overseeing the other boys in his troop and assigning them different jobs was a big part of being a leader and having the boys do something that would benefit their community, he said.
The wood was pre-cut, as the Scouts aren’t allowed to operate power tools, and the boys sanded, drilled, screwed and stained the wood themselves, according to Izak’s mother, Ronda Dellere. With 12 boys and a few adults working together, putting the displays together took less than a day, she said.
Ronda said she was a naysayer when Izak first agreed to do it. She thought the project, which was supposed to be 16 displays per rotating shelf unit, with six total units, was going to be too much and kept asking if Izak could scale it down, she said. Izak assured her he could do it, and he actually did more- there were 20 displays per unit, with five units used.
“I didn’t think the boys would be able to put it all together in one day and they did,” Ronda said. They started one afternoon at 1:30 p.m. and were finished after 6:30 p.m., she said.
Izak’s original plan for an Eagle Scout project was to do something with the bricks on the sidewalk leading into the library but he was told by library director Kevin Marsh that the library would be remodeling soon and that project wouldn’t work.
The library needed more ways to display books with the covers facing out, so Dellere and his troop took on the task of creating displays that connect to the rotating shelves that the library already had. Dellere took a woodworking class in school and had experience from that as well as from helping his dad, who also does woodwork, so he enjoyed choosing a project that would let him work with wood, he said.
Izak is going to be a senior at Copperas Cove High School in the fall and plans to work towards being a surveyor after he graduates, he said.
Library director, Kevin Marsh, praised the quality of the display shelves and the installation process on Thursday, adding that it all looked very professional.
The project fills a need for the library, Marsh said.
“The face forward display is really important to us for marketing the books,” Marsh said. “We found that books that you display face forward circulate better so we started doing more and more of it.”
When the cover of a book is visible, it circulates better, he added.
“And we all know not to judge a book by its cover but we all do, so this works out well and we can make the new books especially available and visible that way so that as people come through the library, whether they come here to check out books or to use the computers, they’ll see some of those new titles and maybe catch their eye, draw their attention and get them to do a little more reading,” Marsh said.
The library will begin the process for remodeling and renovation in August, but after the remodel is finished, the rotating display shelves will probably be moved to the front entry lobby for visitors to look at as they come in, Marsh said.
Marsh said he was looking forward to working with additional scouts in the future for any other projects, because “it’s good for the community and it’s good for them.”