News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Overton County’s Millard Oakley Library will host Take Your Kid to the Library Day Saturday morning.
Library Assistant Director Terri Jordan said this is the Overton County facility’s first time participating in the national effort to get kids back to the library. She said the event would be a great chance to show parents what a great resource the library is for their children.
“There’s an amazing number of kids in this county who have never been to this library, and that is a crying shame,” Jordan said. “It’s here and the money’s being spent on every level to provide them with things, but it will not do any good if they don’t show up.”
She said from 10:00am to noon, kids can come in and tour the library, enjoy snacks, make crafts, and of course, read. She said the mere presence of books around a child has proven to be directly related to his or her long-term advancement.
“You have access to I don’t even know the number of books, and they are age-appropriate on all levels,” Jordan said. “Start out with, you know, books for toddlers and go clear on up.”
Jordan said she has prepared a presentation to show kids and parents the resources and services available to them at their local library. She said the library uses a program on an app called Libby that allows anyone with a library card access to thousands of books for free. She said with the increase in technology use in children, libraries are still prepared to be an educational force in their lives.
“There’s a lot of access to even the electronic aspect of it,” Jordan said. “We’ve got the bases covered if we can get them in the door.”
Jordan said the event could leave a lasting positive impact on not only the families that attend, but the library as well. She said funding for the library is partly determined by how many visitors it sees annually. She said she hoped to see Millard Oakley Library continue to play a key role in kids’ journeys of falling in love with reading.
