St. Cloud, MN, October 2013: Great River Regional Library (GRRL) is giving teens and children a second chance to Read Down their fines and become active library users again.
The library held its initial Read Down Your Fines Week in June. The idea was for minor card holders age 16 and younger to pay off any fines by reading at the library. For each 15 minutes of reading, $1 was waived from fines on their account for late return of materials. In the case of very young children with fines on their cards, parents could read down the child’s fines by reading to them in the library. A total of 173 cardholders took part.
Due to a generous response to the Read Down Your Fines fundraising appeal and the positive responses from patrons, a second Read Down Your Fines week has been scheduled as part of Teen Read Week October 14-19.
“Our goal remains the same, to make kids feel welcome at their library and get them reading,” said Beth Ringsmuth Stolpman, library patron services specialist. The opportunity to read down fines will be offered at all 32 GRRL locations. Young people who want to take part should speak with library staff as local procedures may vary.
“We received a terrific response to our Read Down Your Fines fundraiser. It’s clear that the goal of getting young people back to the library and reading resonated with our supporters. We’re grateful, because their donations made it possible to offer Read Down again,” said Julie Henne, associate director of public relations.
GRRL provides library services at 32 public libraries in Benton, Morrison, Sherburne, Stearns, Todd and Wright Counties. It provides Central Minnesota residents with nearly 1 million books, CDs and DVDs, 250 public computers, programming and information services.
#