Library Hosts Fundraiser

With a budget that’s been the same since 2009/2010, and operating costs that increase each year, the Bolivar-Hardeman County Library hoped their fundraiser dinner at Falcon Ridge Farm on April 20th would help raise much needed funds for the library’s summer programs. A barbecue dinner, silent auction items, and music by Small Shack helped to ensure the Bolivar-Hardeman County Library’s summer programs are going to have the funds they need to provide activities to the community.
This past year, under new library director Bailee Hutchinson, the Bolivar-Hardeman County Library has seen a dramatic increase in both number of programs offered and diverse attendance of all age groups to those programs. By comparison, the total number of programs for the month of March in 2016 was 11 with only 96 participants versus March 2017 where there were 34 active programs serving children, teens, adults, and family age groups with a total of 568 participants. That’s a 491% increase with no budget increase to suffice the insurgence. These programs have proven to be successful and have had a huge impact on the teens and children of our community--especially during summer months when school is not in session. Some of the clubs and programs offered include a weekly preschool story hour, Adult Coloring Club, Lego Club, Brown Bag Book Club, Teen Advocacy group, Outdoor Movie Night, field trips from daycare and elementary schools, and Art Club--just to name a few. One major success of this past year has been the explosion of the teen age group. This age group went from zero participants, to a steady 7-10 teens actively being involved in library activities and in teen programs including Teen Tech Week and Teen Book Club.

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