LaFollette Library News

LaFollette Public Library                                                                      

Things are as usual here in the LaFollette Public Library.  Attendance and computer usage is at an all time high.  Here at the end of the school year many teachers are giving large assignments, and the library is being overtaken by young people and their parents looking for information on the computers.  They are making posters and needing to print pictures, doing essays, researching various subjects, etc. and the library is ‘the place to be’ in the afternoons.  In fact, there were 99 patrons in the library this past Saturday, and 52 computer uses were registered in one day recently. 

The progress on the new library building is coming along as planned.  Work is being done daily.  The walls are coming down inside the building.  It will be a long time before completion, but we are much closer than we were.

The Friends of the Library recently had a book sale which netted a profit of $700.  Proceeds of the sale will go toward the new library as well as other Friends’ projects, such as meeting the Tech Grant for new computers and helping with the Summer Reading program.

I have received two new Dell desktop computers with 22” screens through the Tech Grant, as well as one AWE touch screen children’s computer.  The computers have arrived and have been paid for, but they will remain boxed up until we are in the new library.  Just one more thing to look forward to with the new library.

Summer Reading will begin on June 8 with a visit from the Zinghoppers.  On June 15 Gene Cordova, a local entertainer, will thrill everyone with his ventriloquism and magic, followed by Peggy Sawyer, a very talented story teller on June 22.  The program for June 29 is Mr. Bond, the Science Guy, a simply fabulous act showing children the fun and educational benefits of using science.  And on July 6 the program ends with a pizza party, prizes and fun in the park across the street.  Prizes are awarded for books read, with the top prize being a library summer reading t-shirt for 100 books read.  The programs are held in the council chambers of the municipal building, but next year the program will be held in the new library.

Tax season has come to a close, and 107 people filed their taxes through AARP in the library.  This is a great free service to the citizens and is one that we hope to continue being able to provide.

I attended the workshop held in Blount County on April 19 entitled “Helping the Un(der) Employed at Tennessee Libraries.  This was a very useful and educational workshop with many wonderful ideas which I hope to be able to implement into our services here at the library.

The library will be closed on Monday, May 30 in observance of Memorial Day.  Be safe and have a wonderful remainder of the month of May.