GREENFIELD — From April 14-20, the Hancock County Public Library joins libraries in schools, campuses and communities nationwide in celebrating National Library Week, a time to highlight the value of libraries, librarians and library workers.
Libraries today are more than repositories for books and other resources. Often at the heart of their communities, libraries are trusted places where everyone can gather to reconnect and reengage with each other to enrich and shape the community and address local issues.
Librarians work with elected officials, small business owners, students and the public at large to discover what their communities’ needs are and meet them. Whether through offering eBooks and technology help, language lessons, programs for job seekers or support for early literacy, librarians listen to the community they serve, and they respond.
“Service to the community has always been the focus of the library,” said Library Director/CEO Dianne Osborne. “While this aspect has never changed, libraries have grown and evolved in how they provide for the needs of every member of their community.”
The Hancock County Public Library kicks off National Library Week with a jazz concert by harpist Jan Aldridge Clark and guitarist Casey Harshbarger on April 15, then hosts the “Battle of the Books” on April 17 when teens from area schools read books and compete to see which school’s team takes home a trophy for remembering the most details.
First sponsored in 1958, National Library Week is an observance sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA) and libraries across the country each April.
For more information, visit the Hancock County Public Library at 900 W. McKenzie Rd., call (317) 462-5141, ext. 240, or see the library’s Web site at www.hcplibrary.org. Library hours in Greenfield are Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m.-9 p.m.; Friday, 9 a.m.-6 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; and Sunday, 1-4 p.m. Hours in New Palestine are Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m.-8 p.m.; Friday, 9 a.m.-6 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; and Sunday, 1-4 p.m.
