State School Superintendent Richard Woods reading “The Day the Crayons Quit” to a group of children.

TIFTON — As part of their ongoing summer reading program, the Tifton-Tift County Public Library held a Georgia Department of Education/Georgia Public Library Service Summer Reading Event June 28. 

In attendance were Georgia School Superintendent Richard Woods, Assistant State Librarian Jessica Everingham, Director of the Coastal Plain Regional Library System Kathy Griffis and Curriculum Director for the Tift County Board of Education Mickey Weldon.

The event highlighted cooperative efforts between the library and the school system, beginning with the bookmobile, named The Big Green Reading Machine.

According to Weldon, the TCBOE had not been able to fund the library like the had in the past, but when they stopped the Accelerated Reader program, the board decided to push those funds to the library.

“The board saw an opportunity to reciprocate helping the public library help our kids which helps us all as a community,” Weldon said.

Weldon met with library director Vicki Horst, who immediately suggested funding a bookmobile.

Horst said that the board provided the seed money to purchase a 1988 Winnebago Superchief, which is being repurposed into “a bookmobile on steroids.”

Matrix Department Inc. provided the graphics and Star Auto Sales facilitated the sale.

The library is partnering with the schools on this project not only with regard to funding, but they are also giving some of the shop classes practical experience with gutting and rehabbing the interior, which saves the library money.

Horst and Weldon say that their goal is to take the bookmobile to feeding sites during the summer.

Tift County schools operates approximately 20 different feeding sites around the area to help ensure children ages 0 to 18 have enough food during the summer.

During the school year, children can count on getting breakfast and lunch at the school, and many are given backpacks with food to carry them through the weekends as well, but during the summer many go hungry.

Weldon said that the bookmobile will be able to go to where the kids are, giving them access to books, getting them library cards and into the library system.

“We know during the summer we need something for our kids to keep them engaged,” said Weldon. “Research tells us that they lose about 20 to 30 percent of what they learned the year before. We want to try to close that gap.”

According to Welson, Horst is “leading the way, and the schools are supporting her vision.

“It’s very exciting and we’re just glad to be a part of it.”

Griffis, Everingham and Woods were excited about the cooperative efforts between the library and school system.

Griffis said that the Coastal Plain Regional Library System is made up of five different counties- Berrien, Cook, Irwin, Tift and Turner- and serves a total just under 100,000 people through six facilities.

The Tifton-Tift County Public Library is the largest and most active library, with over 3,100 patrons between the ages of 0 to 18 and 500 adults attending summer reading activities so far this year.

Everingham said that she has not seen this type of collaboration between the library and the school system before.

She said this project is a testament to “empowering your staff to do right by our kids and I think it’s also a testament to the state department of education and schools as well.”

Everingham also emphasized how public libraries continue education throughout the entire year with the help of grants, many of which are on the federal chopping block.

She said that approximately $115,000 is spent on summer reading each year. “If that money goes away then our libraries will be hurting.

“Please write your politicians. Don’t stop; we really need all the help we can get.”

“Anytime we can help give back to the community it is worth the endeavor,” said Woods. “This is just part of an ongoing initiative by the department of education for learning to take place year round. That’s what we hope to encourage.”