A Summer of Opportunity
Because of your generosity, this has been a summer full of learning, discovery, and connection. Children are building a love of reading, adults are learning new skills, and families are making memories at their libraries. Your support is helping make these moments possible across Pioneer Library System communities.
In this issue, you’ll see the difference your support is making through the Summer Learning Challenge, meet the volunteers helping guide the Foundation’s future, and read a few recent highlights from across the library system.
Thank you for helping strengthen our libraries and the communities they serve.
Let’s take a look at the impact you’re making this summer.
With gratitude,
Will Merrick
Development Officer
Your Impact This Summer
This summer, your generosity is creating learning opportunities across PLS communities.
Thousands of children, teens, and adults are enjoying a season filled with reading, inspiration, and discovery through the Summer Learning Challenge.
As of mid-July, participants have logged 14,110,869 minutes toward the community goal of 20 million minutes by August 15.
- Community Goal Progress 71%
When the community goal is reached, the Foundation will provide books to children receiving WIC assistance throughout our service area, helping more young readers build their home libraries.
Thank you for helping create a summer of learning today and inspiring a lifelong love of reading for the next generation.
Pictured: During the Summer Learning Challenge kickoff at the Sam Noble Museum in Norman, PLS staff demonstrated how a 3D printer turns ideas into real objects. At the library’s Maker Labs, visitors can design, create, and bring their own projects to life while building STEAM skills.
Recent Highlights
Here are a few recent moments from across the library system, from programs made possible by your support to special recognition for PLS Executive Director Lisa Wells.
Baby and Me Yoga
At the Southwest Oklahoma City Public Library, caregivers and their babies explored movement, bonding, and early learning together during Baby and Me Yoga, one of the many experiences that help families build connections with their library.
Creativity Unleashed
At the Norman Library Lab, adults explored their creativity during a guided painting class as part of the Summer Learning Challenge. Experiences like these encourage lifelong learning, spark new interests, and strengthen connections within our communities.
Curiosity in Action: Mobile Dairy Classroom
A crowd of excited children gathered at the Purcell Public Library to watch a live milking demonstration and learned how milk travels from the farm to their table. Programs like this inspire curiosity and help bring learning to life.
National Recognition
Pioneer Library System Executive Director Lisa Wells received the 2026 American Library Association Ken Haycock Award for Promoting Librarianship, recognizing her outstanding leadership and advocacy for libraries and the library profession.
Foundation Leadership
Meet Board President Jana Moring
Behind every opportunity you create is a dedicated group of volunteers who help guide the Foundation’s work. As we begin a new fiscal year, we’re pleased to welcome Jana Moring as Board President.
Q. What inspired you to become involved with the Foundation?
A. I became involved while serving as the Pioneer Library System’s first development officer. At the time, it became clear that while our libraries were well supported through public funding, there were opportunities that required private philanthropy. Establishing the Foundation enabled us to pursue grants, accept charitable gifts, and invest in projects that might not otherwise be possible.
What inspired me then still inspires me today. Libraries are among the few places that truly belong to everyone. The Foundation gives people who value those places a meaningful way to invest in them and help them grow for future generations.
Q. What do you hope the Foundation continues to accomplish for our communities during your term as Board President?
A. I hope we continue building a culture of philanthropy around our libraries. Public funding provides an essential foundation, but charitable giving allows us to dream a little bigger. It helps us respond to emerging needs, create innovative programs, and make strategic investments that strengthen our communities over the long term.
I also hope we continue earning the confidence of our donors by being thoughtful stewards of every gift entrusted to us. That trust is the Foundation’s greatest asset.
Q. Why do you believe libraries are important to the communities we serve?
A. Libraries are one of the few institutions where everyone is welcome, regardless of age, income, or background. They provide access to knowledge, technology, and lifelong learning, but they also create connections. They are places where children discover a love of reading, entrepreneurs build businesses, job seekers develop new skills, and neighbors gather as a community.
Strong libraries help create strong communities. They improve quality of life, expand opportunity, and remind us that investing in people is always one of the wisest investments we can make
♦
Welcome New Board Members
We’re pleased to welcome three new members to our Board of Directors. Together with our returning board members, they bring diverse professional experience, fresh perspectives, and a shared commitment to guiding the Foundation’s work in the years ahead.
Traci Jinkens is Director of Operations for The Salvation Army of Central Oklahoma and brings extensive experience in nonprofit leadership, community engagement, and library services. A Moore resident, she previously served in leadership roles with the Metropolitan Library System and the Oklahoma Humanities Council.
DJ Nuzum is Senior Vice President of Commercial Lending at Valliance Bank and has more than 21 years of community banking experience. A Norman resident for nearly three decades, he values the important role Pioneer Library System plays in strengthening local communities.
Carmen Wolf is Interim Executive Director of the Mabee-Gerrer Museum of Art and also works as a technology and business consultant and small business owner. An active Shawnee community volunteer, she is passionate about education, literacy, and creating welcoming spaces where children, teens, and families can thrive.
Please join us in welcoming Traci, DJ, and Carmen as they begin their service on the Foundation Board!
Looking Ahead
Touch A Truck – Saturday, September 26 | 9 a.m.–12 p.m.
Cleveland County Fairgrounds, Norman
For more than 20 years, Touch A Truck has been a favorite family event in Cleveland County. Children can climb aboard fire trucks, mobile weather units, construction equipment, and more during this free, hands-on event. Through imaginative play and exploration, they’ll spark curiosity, build confidence, and discover how the world around them works. A quiet hour from 9–10 a.m. offers a more sensory-friendly experience for attendees with noise sensitivities.
While at the event, families can sign up for library cards, learn about children’s programs at their local library, and enroll eligible children in Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, extending the fun and learning long after the day is over.
Proceeds benefit children’s programming and services in our Noble, Norman, Moore, and Southwest OKC Public Libraries. Learn more.
Did You Know?
The American Academy of Pediatrics says play helps build children’s brains and strengthens the skills they need to learn, solve problems, and succeed in school. That’s one reason events like Touch A Truck are so much more than just fun.
Support the Foundation Through Target Circle™
If you’re a Target Circle™ member or want to join for free, you can help support the Foundation by voting in Target’s Community Giving Program.
To vote:
Step 1: Choose My Target in the Target app, or visit target.com/circle/community-voting in your browser.
Step 2: Tap Cast votes.
Step 3: Find Pioneer Library System Foundation and vote.
Every vote helps support literacy and learning opportunities in the communities we serve. Thank you for taking a moment to make a difference.
August is Make-A-Will Month
August is Make-A-Will Month, an annual reminder to create or update your will. It’s a meaningful way to protect your loved ones, ensure your wishes are carried out, and support the causes that matter most to you.
Many people choose to include charitable organizations in their estate plans to leave a lasting legacy. If you’ve included the Foundation in your plans, we’d love to hear from you so we can thank you personally and, with your permission, recognize you as a member of the Lowry Planned Giving Society.
If you’d like to learn more about planned giving or share your plans with us, we’re happy to help.
Stay Connected
Thank you for being part of the Pioneer Library System Foundation community.
Follow us on Facebook and Instagram to get updates, share your stories, and help tell others about our library programs and services. Join our online community!