Thursday, May 31, 2012

Yesterday found me at our local library where I got to treat myself to searching through used books a private groups sells to raise additional funds that enable our county library to remain open longer hours and more days per week.  Whenever I get the opportunity, I love supporting this great cause.  When I do, I get exposed to authors I might not otherwise read and at 50 cents per paperbacks, a dollar for trade books and a mere two dollars for all hardbacks, it’s a heck of a deal! 

Before this group began selling donated books for this cause, our country library was closed three days a week and only open four hours per day.  During those years, I wondered how the heck folks managed to get their kids into the library to expose them to the wealth of knowledge enclosed within.  Since this program went into effect, 100% of all money collected goes directly into keeping the library open more often. 

The program has been such a smashing success, that the library is now open from 10:00AM-8:00PM Monday through Friday and is also open on Saturdays!  What a far cry from the days when parents had only a half hour to rush their little darlings from school to the library before they would close…and that was on the few days per week when they were open. 

Most of the county libraries I visit now have similar programs—a true testament that folks want their libraries to remain open and available for current and future generations to benefit from the wealth of knowledge contained within.