Edited by Chris Graham
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National Library Week is in full swing at Augusta County Library.
The theme of this year’s national recognition of libraries is, “Communities Thrive @ your Library.” This theme is in line with the mission of Augusta County Library: “to create an environment for people to learn, explore, enjoy, create and connect with each other and their community.”
Libraries are more and more becoming community centers. Books and movies are checked out at no cost, computer use and internet access are free, and there are educational and entertaining programs for children, teens and adults, all at no cost to the public.
A recent study indicates that Augusta County Library’s return on investment is $10.27 per dollar. The study takes into account the money saved by borrowing rather than purchasing items. It also establishes values for events, reference questions answered, and internet access. The library is the sole source of public-use computers in the county.
Visitors to the Fishersville library this week are asked to spend a minute with the Library Savings Calculator. By entering information about how many items are checked out and how many services are used, they are given a dollar amount of how much they save by coming to the library. Forms with this information are entered in a drawing for a year’s worth of no overdue fines.
All week, the Friends of the Augusta County Library will be inviting patrons to join. In this economy, the library needs friends more than ever. The $5 membership dues go to support children’s programs, purchase children’s art supplies, purchase and maintain copiers, improve landscaping and fund the Summer Reading Games for children and adults.
The library also participates in the annual celebration by forgiving all overdue fines for patrons who come in during the week.
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Chris Graham
