Libraries are usually associated with books – words on pages. But if you’re Melody Peters, you also gotta look at the numbers.
The number 8 – that’s how many weeks of summer programming is in the books (no pun intended) at Perry Memorial Library. The number 38 – that’s how many programs were held. And 1,500-plus? That’s how many participants took part.
“We were busy,” Peters, Youth Services Director at the library, told WIZS co-host Bill Harris during Tuesday’s segment of The Local Skinny! “It was a GREAT summer!” she proclaimed.
In addition to all the different programs held at the library, Peters said a lot of new patrons got library cards, and there were other families who returned after a long hiatus, thanks largely to the COVID-19 pandemic.
There were groups of day campers who got to visit the library, too, which Peters said was good for the library AND for the youngsters whose parents work and didn’t have the time to bring them to check out books or enjoy the programming.
There’s a lot of planning that goes in to creating a successful summer program, but as the saying goes, it isn’t work if you love what you do.
And that is true for Peters. “I love what I do,” she said. “I love talking to people and working with kids of all ages.”
When she can help a young person find a book that brings a smile to their face, it’s a gift.
“I think it’s the best gift in the world,” she said.
But she’s not resting on her laurels, just taking a slight breather during August before fall programming cranks back up.
Thanks to input from the community, there will be a few adjustments to the fall schedule, along with some additional programs for young people to enjoy.
The Maker Space is opening up for a gaming and robotics club on Thursdays, she noted.
And the popular Lego Club, Life Hacks, Survival Skills and Kids Connect will continue.
“It’s kind of the same model…then things will expand a little bit,” she said.
One add-on comes from a suggestion Peters got on a sticky note, on which a young person wrote “electricity.”
She contacted Vance Granville Community College, got some ideas and then got a grant for all the materials needed to teach the nuts and bolts of electricity to youngsters.
“That’s what I love,” Peters said, of the responsive collaboration to create new programs.
It’s planned for Oct. 10, which coincidentally is a teacher workday.
She’s got the equipment, the contact and the space, she said, to present the program.
Considering the interest from the summer program, getting the kids to participate shouldn’t be too difficult.
Find out about all the services and programs offered at Perry Memorial Library at https://www.perrylibrary.org/.
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