I was very fortunate to be able to attend the Third Army/US Army Central Strategic Relocation Expo held at Fort McPherson, Georgia this week. The Sumter County Library joined many other County and City agencies in representing the community to both the military and civilian workers who will be relocating to Sumter. In my opinion the Expo was a resounding success. I know that a great deal of effort went into the groundwork for this event by representatives from SHAW, Sumter, and Fort McPherson. They deserve credit for an outstanding job. The people of Fort McPherson went out of their way to make us visitors from Sumter welcome. I was glad to be able to represent our community and especially the Library. Hundreds of people came through the Expo. Everyone seemed to enjoy the event and I believe they gained a very good impression of what the City and County of Sumter has to offer. Those who stopped at the Library table were especially interested in the programs and services we offer for children. We will certainly look forward to welcoming them to Sumter as graciously as they welcomed us this week.
Robert Harden/Director
Friday, March 19, 2010
Monday, February 8, 2010
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Thanks to Friends
Friends of the Library fundraisers in 2009 raised close to $20,000 for the Sumter County Library. Both the Fourth Annual Forrest Ray 5K and the Annual Book Sale were great successes; not only financially, but also in generating positive PR for the Library. These annual events are highly anticipated. The Library receives calls year round asking where and when the book sale will be held. Volunteering at the Book Sale, I hear many people tell me they look forward to the event every year.
Each fundraiser is a collaborative effort. The 5K has a committee that begins meeting in late spring each year to begin planning for the October race. Friends' volunteers organize books for the sale year round, and many Friends give generously of their time to organize, set up, and run the sale itself. What would the Library do without your generous assistance?
The Sumter County Library has experienced cuts in its funding the last two years. Money generated from Friends’ fundraisers help us “fill in the gaps” in the budget. How do we use that money?
To answer that question, I think the first step is to ask what the Library does. The Library mission statement begins, “The Sumter County Library is dedicated to the promotion of life-long learning that enhances the cultural, recreational, and education needs of the community it serves.” The Library helps deliver quality education for everyone. It does this by providing self-directed education through a collection of items in print and online. The Library is a source of research assistance and instruction for individuals and groups. Classes, seminars, and workshops for all ages taught or facilitated by library instructors. The Library also presents Instructive and enlightening experiences through cultural and community center concepts, events and partnerships.
Friends funding helps us in each and every one of these areas, particularly in programs and services to children, including the annual summer reading program. Recent research, released September 17, 2009 by Jumpstart, a nonprofit focused on early literacy intervention, highlights that reading to children during the early years, especially ages 3-5, when their brains are undergoing the most growth and development, sets the stage for all later learning and success in life. Intervening early to teach at-risk preschool children language, literacy, and social skills is critical. The widespread early childhood literacy crisis has an impact on the nation’s dropout rates, workforce competitiveness, and economy.
So whether you chair a committee, organize books for the sale, help to set up, spend your Saturday or Sunday at the Mall during the sale, donate or buy a book at the sale, help with the 5K – all of these contributions are like a pebble tossed into a pond. They ripple far beyond their immediate action and can positively affect people you may never meet, but who will benefit from your kindness and generosity.
Robert Harden/Director
Each fundraiser is a collaborative effort. The 5K has a committee that begins meeting in late spring each year to begin planning for the October race. Friends' volunteers organize books for the sale year round, and many Friends give generously of their time to organize, set up, and run the sale itself. What would the Library do without your generous assistance?
The Sumter County Library has experienced cuts in its funding the last two years. Money generated from Friends’ fundraisers help us “fill in the gaps” in the budget. How do we use that money?
To answer that question, I think the first step is to ask what the Library does. The Library mission statement begins, “The Sumter County Library is dedicated to the promotion of life-long learning that enhances the cultural, recreational, and education needs of the community it serves.” The Library helps deliver quality education for everyone. It does this by providing self-directed education through a collection of items in print and online. The Library is a source of research assistance and instruction for individuals and groups. Classes, seminars, and workshops for all ages taught or facilitated by library instructors. The Library also presents Instructive and enlightening experiences through cultural and community center concepts, events and partnerships.
Friends funding helps us in each and every one of these areas, particularly in programs and services to children, including the annual summer reading program. Recent research, released September 17, 2009 by Jumpstart, a nonprofit focused on early literacy intervention, highlights that reading to children during the early years, especially ages 3-5, when their brains are undergoing the most growth and development, sets the stage for all later learning and success in life. Intervening early to teach at-risk preschool children language, literacy, and social skills is critical. The widespread early childhood literacy crisis has an impact on the nation’s dropout rates, workforce competitiveness, and economy.
So whether you chair a committee, organize books for the sale, help to set up, spend your Saturday or Sunday at the Mall during the sale, donate or buy a book at the sale, help with the 5K – all of these contributions are like a pebble tossed into a pond. They ripple far beyond their immediate action and can positively affect people you may never meet, but who will benefit from your kindness and generosity.
Robert Harden/Director
A Random Thought on Libraries and Reading
When one reads a text, whether that text is a book, magazine, newspaper, internet article, encyclopedia entry, you get the idea; one is gaining an attribute or a value. When we read, what are we doing, after all? We are learning a new word, phrase, idea, notion, parable, moral, fact, lie, etc. We also re-learn old ideas and idioms passed down to us through years of education, whether through the musings of a schoolteacher or whimsical Saturdays browsing through books in a Library.
So we learn, constantly, always through our printed pages, environments and experiences. As we learn, our brain develops and we evolve as human beings. So I position this: if reading, throughout its various forms, causes us to change and rationalize the world more independently and thoughtfully, does that mean the act of reading is the highest of human virtues? Going even further; are libraries the highest of places for knowledge and intellect? I believe so!
So we learn, constantly, always through our printed pages, environments and experiences. As we learn, our brain develops and we evolve as human beings. So I position this: if reading, throughout its various forms, causes us to change and rationalize the world more independently and thoughtfully, does that mean the act of reading is the highest of human virtues? Going even further; are libraries the highest of places for knowledge and intellect? I believe so!
Friday, January 29, 2010
What Do We Mean To You?
It has been quite a bit since we last posted on our blog. The past couple of weeks have been extremely busy here. Between teaching computer classes, planning new and exciting programs for our patrons or just simply dishing out answers on the Reference Desk, there has been an explosion of incoming patrons. We believe this shows an urgent need in the Sumter community for a library.
The Library means so much to our community because we do more than just check out books. We help people fax, make copies, scan documents, find older articles on microfilm, find research for an assignment, use Ancestry.com to form their family tree, assist in building resumes, teach computer classes...you get the idea.
If you are a patron of the Sumter County Library, please visit our website and fill out an online form telling us why the Sumter County Library is the best value in town.
Here is the link:
Comment Form
Also check out what other people have been saying at:
Patron Comments
Have a great weekend!
The Library means so much to our community because we do more than just check out books. We help people fax, make copies, scan documents, find older articles on microfilm, find research for an assignment, use Ancestry.com to form their family tree, assist in building resumes, teach computer classes...you get the idea.
If you are a patron of the Sumter County Library, please visit our website and fill out an online form telling us why the Sumter County Library is the best value in town.
Here is the link:
Comment Form
Also check out what other people have been saying at:
Patron Comments
Have a great weekend!
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Keeping Track Of Your Books
Sitting here at the Reference desk, I notice there are a lot of younger children up here rather than downstairs in the children's department. Odd, I thought, but the children are reading and being relatively quiet, so all is good and well here. As I notice them reading I realize how many books I read when I was a child, and how many of those books ive forgotten.
Have YOU ever thought about all the books you previously read? Did you want to make a list? There are now several great sites out there for anyone interesting in cataloging all the books they have ever had the pleasure of reading.
Here is a list:
1. Shelfari
http://www.shelfari.com/
2. GoodReads
http://www.goodreads.com
3. Library Thing
http://www.librarything.com
4. BiblioPhil
http://www.bibliophil.org
I, myself, prefer Shelfari, for no particular reason. Enjoy, and good reading to you!
-Winniford A. Simmons
Have YOU ever thought about all the books you previously read? Did you want to make a list? There are now several great sites out there for anyone interesting in cataloging all the books they have ever had the pleasure of reading.
Here is a list:
1. Shelfari
http://www.shelfari.com/
2. GoodReads
http://www.goodreads.com
3. Library Thing
http://www.librarything.com
4. BiblioPhil
http://www.bibliophil.org
I, myself, prefer Shelfari, for no particular reason. Enjoy, and good reading to you!
-Winniford A. Simmons
Saturday, January 16, 2010
A Saturday Snapshot
Our Reference and Information Services Coordinator was recently featured in The Item, the newspaper for Sumter, Lee and Clarendon counties. Check it out here:
Winniford A. Simmons, Saturday Snapshot
Winniford A. Simmons, Saturday Snapshot
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