ClarksvilleNow.com Reporting
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CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Channel 4 Chief Meteorologist Lisa Spencer will be among the celebrity readers at the Clarksville-Montgomery County Public Library (350 Pageant Lane) Wednesday, June 25 for a child-centered event to highlight the Montgomery County Imagination Library.
Other guests at “Hats Off to Reading” include GNASH (the Nashville Predators mascot), APSU Head Football Coach Kirby Cannon, the APSU Governor’s mascot, and the Tender Paws therapy dogs. The fun will begin at 10 a.m. in the atrium of the library. The public is invited to attend.
Therapy dogs will be located in the children’s story time theater after the program.
Montgomery County Imagination Library in conjunction with the Governor’s Books from Birth Foundation mails one free age-appropriate book a month to children from birth to five. Dolly Parton began the book mailing program in 1996 in Sevier County and it has since spread to all 95 counties in Tennessee.
Montgomery County began its participation in 2006. There is no restriction on enrollment – any child between birth and five living in Montgomery County qualifies for the service, but must sign up. Currently, about 35 percent of eligible children are being served. Sign-up sheets are available at the library and in various locations in Montgomery County. Parents may also sign up their children through the Imagination Library website. It takes eight to ten weeks to begin to receive books after sign-up.
Montgomery County Imagination Library has recently begun a pilot program in collaboration with Gateway Medical Center to distribute a welcome book to each new baby born to a Montgomery County resident in the hospital.
“Hats Off to Reading” is designed to raise awareness of this program and help build participation to at least a 60% level in the coming years. The cost for the program is approximately $12.00 per child per year. Donations to help fund the free service are welcomed through the Friends of the Library, the associated 501c3 non-profit, located at the Public Library.
This event is free and open to the public.