Fort Bend County Libraries invites the residents of the county to join in recognition of National Library Week, April 8-14, when the dynamic changes that are taking place in libraries around the country are recognized and celebrated.
The theme for this year’s National Library Week is “Libraries Lead.” In innumerable ways, libraries lead the way in adding value to the communities in which they reside by promoting early literacy initiatives for young families, offering homework assistance to students, providing skills-improvement classes for job-hunters, implementing innovative technology, and helping people develop the skills and competencies they need to thrive in a high-tech world.
Libraries provide information-delivery 24/7, using multi-faceted, multicultural, and multilingual resources, providing a bridge to the best conceivable future for many Americans.
By providing a means for people with diverse backgrounds, ages, and experiences to connect with each other, libraries strive to provide an environment where ideas can take shape and grow.
New moms are able to connect with other moms at story time, job hunters network and explore employment opportunities, and family-history researchers make connections with the past. Tackling local issues, collaborating on research papers, and networking with other professionals are just a few examples of how people and ideas come together at the library to try and make their world a better place.
“Service to the community has always been the focus of the library,” says Library Director Clara Russell. “It is our goal to constantly be aware of the changing needs of the communities we serve, and to lead the way by meeting those needs with the highest quality of resources and services possible.”
The ways in which libraries provide information and services to the community have grown and evolved over the years, as advances in technology have taken place. The “virtual”
portal of the libraries’ website is just as popular as the front doors of the bricks-and-mortar buildings. The past year has seen an increase in the popularity of the library’s digital collection of movies, music, audio books and eBooks that can be streamed or downloaded from home on PCs or to mobile devices.
The online homework help and databases continue to be well used by
students of all ages. The online databases include research information that Internet search engines such as Google or Yahoo cannot access. Librarians, who serve as “information scientists,” help patrons determine the difference between authoritative sources and “fake news.”
From children’s story times to seniors’ retirement planning, and from pleasure reading to professional development, Fort Bend County Libraries is committed to completing the “circle of knowledge” for the information-based needs of Fort Bend County. With unlimited access, there are no barriers or limits to the horizons that can be explored, and the price for that – at the library – is free for everyone.
First celebrated in 1958, National Library Week is a national observance sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA) and libraries across the country each April.
For more information about the Fort Bend County library system and its services, call the library system’s Communications Office at 281-633-4734, or visit the libraries’ website at www.fortbend.lib.tx.us