Harlem Public Library Invites the Community to Celebrate Their Grant
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The Harlem Public Library invites area community members to join library personnel on Wednesday, August 16 for an Open House, expressing community appreciation and celebrating the children's books received through a grant from The Pilcrow Foundation.
According to Library Director, Colleen Brommer, the Friends of the Library—the nonprofit, tax-exempt organization which supports and promotes the library’s causes and services—provided one third of the grant funds in a matching requirement of the $1200 Children’s Book Project Grant awarded by The Pilcrow Foundation. The Open House will not only enable the library staff and Friends to thank all the supporters of the library but to display and promote the 112 new titles that will build community investment in children’s literacy and add to the library’s holdings. Refreshments will be served at the Open House, which will take place from 4:00-6:00 p.m. at the library, 37 First Avenue SE in Harlem.
Founded in 2013 to continue the work of The Libri Foundation, The Pilcrow Foundation recognizes the importance of public libraries in rural communities. Given that libraries are often the center of the community, where people come together to learn and share ideas, The Foundation believes that rural public libraries not only ensure an opportunity for active engagement within the community but contribute to habits that lead to lifelong learning.
Tied to that belief is The Foundation’s mission: To provide new, quality, hardcover children’s books to rural public libraries across the United States. About that mission, a Foundation spokesperson stated: “We know that reading to and with children every day and providing them with frequent opportunities to read on their own are important activities for literacy development. Literacy is the greatest gift we can give to our children; the public library is where we can start. The books purchased through the Children’s Book Project become part of the library’s permanent children’s book collection, thus ensuring children’s access to quality books for years to come.”
Some of the 112 books purchased were selected from a booklist furnished by The Pilcrow Foundation. Others were provided by private donors. The booklist is divided into two groups based on recommended age and grade levels. Books in Group 1 are for emergent and beginning readers (birth to age 7; preschool to grade 2). Books in Group 2 are for middle and intermediate readers (ages 7 to 12; grades 2 to 6).
The Foundation takes its name from the symbol used to mark a new paragraph, ¶. Resembling a backwards P, that handwritten or typographical character is called a pilcrow.
Brommer reported that the Harlem Public Library has received this grant multiple times, previously under The Libri Foundation name. “We can apply every three years,” Brommer explained. “And we have won this grant intended for rural libraries for several years. The books selected are both fiction and nonfiction, some are young adult and juvenile titles, and others are science and math related. We invite the community to come out and celebrate with us as we promote and publicize these new titles.”
