Itawamba Library Lands Major Grant

PRESS RELEASE

The Itawamba County Pratt Memorial Library has been awarded a grant in the amount of $10,000 from Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Mississippi, Inc. The grant will be used to purchase new children’s books and electronic books, as well as upgrading staff computers and computers used for access to the library’s online card catalog system

. Library Manager Jeffrey Martin stated, “I would like to express the utmost gratitude to the fine people at Toyota for making this grant to our library. Funds from this grant will greatly assist us in our ability to serve our community.” Parents are invited to bring their young children in for their first library card, as there is no age requirement on library cards. Children under the age of sixteen must be accompanied by a parent, grandparent, or guardian when receiving their first card.

Funds from the grant will allow the library to purchase approximately three-hundred new Easy Fiction and Easy Reader books and approximately eighty Easy Fiction and Easy Reader electronic books. Martin commented, “With these grant funds, we will be able to greatly increase the quality of materials we are able to offer our youngest readers. It is so important that children find a love for reading early, so that they can develop the skills that will allow them to find enjoyable and fulfilling careers later in life.”

In addition to new materials, the library will be able to replace four aging computers and two monitors. Two of the computers and the two monitors that will be replaced are used by library users to find items in the library and in libraries across the state using the library’s online card catalog system. Two computers used by the staff for the circulation of library materials will also be replaced. The new computers will allow the library staff to work faster and more efficiently. Library Assistant Courtney Ables said, “I am excited to be getting new staff computers. The old ones have become very slow.”

The library houses over 44,000 physical items that the public may check out. Books and audiobooks may be checked for out for two week periods, while DVDs and Blu-rays may be checked out for a period of one week. All items may be renewed on two separate occasions if the items are not currently being held for another library user.

The library is a member of the Lee-Itawamba Library System, along with the Lee County Library in Tupelo. This partnership allows library users access to a growing collection of electronic books that currently numbers over 2,000 titles and digital access to over forty popular magazines. More information on these services is available by visiting the library system’s website, www.li.lib.ms.us or asking about these services on your next visit to the library. Anyone who lives, works, or attends school in Itawamba County may sign up for a library card with a Driver’s License and proof of residence, employment, or school attendance.