A dinner at a Des Moines restaurant connects Central DeWitt families and community members in a bright way.
In February 2019, Tammy McClimon was having dinner after attending the high school state wrestling tournament. Tammy is on the DeWitt Community Library board and was at that time a librarian for the Central DeWitt School District. She noticed beautiful color glowing in changing patterns on the wall near her table.
Intrigued, she took a closer look and discovered a wall-mounted board of lit-up dials. The dials turned on and off and rotated through a vibrant spectrum at a touch. This was Tammy’s introduction to the Everbrite, and she knew immediately it was something the library needed.
The DeWitt Community Library was under renovation at the time. Shortly after Tammy's discovery, the library set up its own interactive wall and it was a huge hit.
“To this day, there’s always a huddle of kids and adults lighting up the room as they tinker with dials and knobs,” she said.
The wall is the center of attention on Wacky Wednesdays, when school gets out early and the library hosts activities for about 80 students, kindergarten through fifth grade.
The wall is a boon to library attendance and participation overall. “As librarians and educators, we like that, because it allows us to steer new people toward books and becoming lifelong readers,” McClimon said.
“The library is a hoppin’ place,” she says, adding they’ve enjoyed 10,000 visitors in the last two months. "Watching all types of people accessing what we have to offer, and seeing kids work together on a project of their own creation is the reason we librarians and educators got into the business.”
Alliant Energy, as well as other businesses and members of the DeWitt community, contributed to the project. “The lighted wall would not have happened without Alliant Energy’s help,” Tammy said. "The things this company does for small towns like ours makes projects like the wall possible.”
Alliant Energy is privileged to help the DeWitt Community Library provide a fun, inclusive, accessible way for everyone in the community to collaborate, create and learn.
