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HomeNewsArchivesLIBRARY TO TAKE ON SATURDAY CHILDREN'S PROGRAM

LIBRARY TO TAKE ON SATURDAY CHILDREN'S PROGRAM

June 18, 2001 – The Saturday children's reading program at the Enid M. Baa Library is going to change and going to stay the same. And, for youngsters who love reading and being read to, that's good news on both counts.
When the not-for-profit group Friends of the St. Thomas Libraries initiated the weekly story-time and activities program at the start of May, members made the commitment to continue it through June 23 in the hope that library personnel would pick up the ball from there. They supplied volunteer readers, organized and supervised arts and crafts activities and handled publicity.
Their hope has been realized. The Division of Libraries, Archives and Museums within the Planning and Natural Resources Department will assume supervision of the program, which "will continue indefinitely," Friends secretary Carol Lotz said Monday.
Overseeing the program starting June 30 will be Audrey Muriel, the Baa library staff person in the children's room; her boss, Simon Caines, coordinator of public libraries; and his boss, Claudette Lewis, assistant Planning and Natural Resources commissioner.
"We are thrilled that they have seen the importance of the program and the interest of the community," Lotz said, adding that the Friends is asking all current volunteers to continue "your presence and reading to the children."
The transfer of oversight responsibility "will be a subtle change," Lotz said, because Muriel has been there all along to check out books and keep the children's room in order, and Lewis or Caines has come by to open and close the facility each week.
The Friends' new commitment now is to help find readers and to participate as much as possible in the program, but not necessarily every week. It has not committed to continue providing arts and crafts activities and materials. It has passed on to Lewis suggestions for computer software and talking books that could be purchased.
Except for the children's reading program, the library is not open on Saturdays. The program hours now are 9 a.m. to noon. Effective June 30, they will be 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

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