31 Reasons in 31 Days to Support Lithgow NOW: Children’s Services

Children’s services are a immeasurable part of the services that Lithgow Public Library provides to the greater Augusta community. The current services are wonderful and effective, but just imagine how much more effective and how many more children and families Lithgow could reach if they had a larger space and more resources!

Day #7 – Expand and Update the Children’s Room

The current Children’s Room is located in the basement and the section is overflowing. With your help, the children’s section will be expanded and updated. Support the library and provide a positive learning space for children for years to come.

Day #8: The kids LOVE the library!

As you can see by this picture, at least one child feels that “Lithgow Public Library is the best!” I’m pretty sure there are many more that will agree. Let’s make this library an even better place for our children to grow and learn!

Day #9: Expanding to include a space dedicated to teens!

Right now, the teen section is crammed in with the children’s area. Creating a dedicated space for teens is important to the vitality of the facility. This space will help to improve programming for the library as well.

 

Day #10: Quality family time at the library

Meet Heather and Daniel. They enjoy spending time together at the Lithgow Public Library. Daniel loves to play with the puzzles and reading with his mom both at the library and with the books he …takes home. When asked which books were his favorites, he answered, “Scooby Doo!” Who doesn’t like Scooby, right? He also loves dinosaur and superhero stories too.

Heather says the library means a lot to her as she spent a good deal of time in her local library with her Gram. She loves being able to share the magic of books and special libraries with Daniel, just like she did with her Gram.

Heather says, “Lithgow is now our special place to share. Our library is special because of our community. Or maybe, it’s that our community makes our library special. Either way, I’m so thankful we have Lithgow.”

We couldn’t have said it better. It’s a special place that needs our community’s help.

Day #11:  Children’s Programming

What would happen if the library didn’t get the necessary funding? Programming like Toddler Time, Family Story Time, Incredible Infants and Rockin’ Readers would go away. Families love these programs and they provide a sense of community, encourage literacy and so much more.

Day #12: Encouraging literacy in youth

According to the I Love Libraries website, “children’s literacy is a building-block of adult literacy.” Makes sense, right? So let’s help the Lithgow Library by improving the facility and providing the necessary tools to continue the great services that area children and families deserve.

Day #13:  Reading and Children – “Summer reading clubs encourage children to read, and to read often.

Research has shown that the amount of time children spend with books is crucial to reading achievement, and ultimately, to school achievement in general.” —The Role of Public Libraries in Children’s Literacy Development: An Evaluation Report, Pennsylvania Library Association.

The Lithgow Public Library is committed to children’s literacy and supporting the library is supporting our children. Please visit http://lithgowfriends.org/ to make a tax-deductible donation today.

Repairs & Renovations

Repairs and renovations are critical to the Lithgow Public Library. The facility was built in 1896 and with only one major addition in 1979, the building is in desperate need of updates and major repairs. The list of needs is quite lengthy and repairs will be pricey. Below, you’ll see just what repairs need to be completed to update the historical facility.

• Double the size of the current facility to 30,000 square feet
• Provide new, handicap accessible bathroom facilities
• Install a new, ADA-compliant* elevator
• Install an ADA-compliant electric door
• Create a public meeting room that seats 100 people
• Expand public seating
• Repair cracks and leaks
• Updates to heating and A/C system
• Install more shelving to hold more media*

*Currently there are over 67,000 books and media pieces in the building which was originally built to hold a whopping 6,000 pieces.

We urge you to take a walk through the facility. You can see firsthand the beautiful facility and what it can offer the Capitol Area and see how much the Lithgow Public Library needs our help NOW! For more information, please visit http://lithgowfriends.org/.

31 Reasons in 31 Days to Support Lithgow NOW!

If you’re following @lithgowfriends on Facebook or Twitter, then you may have noticed our new social media campaign for the month of March, entitled, “31 Reasons in 31 Days to Support Lithgow NOW!”. Each day we will feature a different reason why the Lithgow Public Library requires major funding and needs YOUR support to reach it’s fundraising goal. The campaign will help preserve a local, historical landmark and allow for necessary repairs and renovations to the facility to the benefit of the entire Capitol Area. Each week, those reasons will be compiled and featured in a blog post, here!

Lithgow Campaign: 31 Reasons in 31 Days to Support Lithgow NOW!

With increased pressure to secure private donations and an on-the-horizon date of June for the referendum which brings the matter to the table for the voters in the City of Augusta, we need your help! FMI, please visit us at http://lithgowfriends.org/