Our library has always provided stellar services to our children and last fiscal year (July 2010- June 2011) was no exception. Over 18,000 young library card holders aged zero to 14 and their parents/caregivers borrowed a whopping 1,344,289 children’s items! These materials included books, audio materials, videos, and more.
Children’s and young adults’ socialization and education thru library programs have always been part of our library’s mission, and last year was no exception. There were 442 children’s programs whose total attendance was over 37,000! From Baby Lapsit (storytimes for children zero to twelve months) to book discussion groups for school age children, these programs continued despite reduced library budgets and shorter opening hours.
For children in our community our library provides a safe, nurturing environment where they can grow and thrive and discover the joy of reading, enabling their imaginations to soar. We need to ensure the library has sufficient funding and staffing to further this most important work. Our future depends on it!