I would like to express sincere thanks and gratitude to the library staff, volunteers, board members, patrons and community supporters who made our “A Universe of Stories”-filled summer reading program at the Mount Gilead Public Library so successful this year.

This year we had nearly 100 children and more than 50 adults participate. We only hope to increase these numbers each summer as we seek to encourage a love for reading, early literacy, and community involvement.

Our summer reading program ran for a total of six weeks. During those six weeks we held 18 Story Times, 3 Tinker Times, 3 Steam Punks, 6 Lego Club meetings; 6 evenings with the Tail-Waggin Tudors; 6 nights of Pages & Popcorn Young Readers Club and wrapped up with a summer celebration pool party.

None of this would have been possible without the dedication of our staff and volunteers. They helped design programs; created flyers, posters, and handouts; moved tables & chairs; cut out crafts; made copies; shelved; managed crowds; read books; taught science programs; and more. In general they did anything I asked of them and more for our patrons and summer reading participants. I simply could not function without them.

Our patrons also deserve a thank you for registering their children, teens, or selves for our program. Thank you for bringing your kids to story time, encouraging them in their love for reading, volunteering on a moment’s notice, and providing much needed encouragement on long days. I was happy to recognize most of the attendees at our party and see how the library has impacted their families in positive ways. It’s wonderful to see that our community supports literacy and learning.

Last, a huge “thank you” to our community supporters who donated the prizes for our participants. A special thanks goes to Capitol Theatre; Mount Gilead Pizza Hut; Pizzaburg; Grill & Chill; Edison QuickStop; Chipotle and Subway in Mount Gilead. You deserve more accolades than I could possibly give. Our summer reading program could not happen without your enthusiasm and dedication.

For anyone I forgot I apologize and thank you as well. Many of you have made an impact on my summer at the library and I am grateful. I love my job and the people I meet each day. I hope to continue to serve the community and its’ readers for many years.

See you at the library.

Mike Kirk, Director

Mount Gilead Public Library