Reading Capital of the World

Read a book, save the roof

Editorial

Tifton Gazette

02/06/2001

There’s a very good chance that at some time during your life in Tift
County, you have used the Tifton Tift County Public Library. And if you
haven’t, there’s a great chance you could enrich your life if you ever do.
Lately, library personnel have been asking for a little help in return. There
is a roofing problem that has plagued the upper floor of the building for a
while and it threatens to get much worse. Meanwhile, the quality of the
library is threatened while the raindrops keep falling on our heads.
Library staff members have been active in their pursuit of help, but are
falling a little bit short as time is running out. Meanwhile, the Tift
County Foundation for Educational Excellence saw what was happening and
wanted to do something about it.

For the next two weeks, anyone who reads a book and takes an Accelerated
Reader test will earn 50 cents per point earned on the comprehensive test.
That half dollar will go toward paying for a new roof.

The idea is completely a voluntary one, more of a notion of goodwill from the
foundation than anything else. The staff at the library has been helpful in
aiding AR testers over the last few years while the AR program has brought
new readers into the library, some for the first time ever.

So here’s your chance. If you’ve ever checked out a book from the library,
enrolled your child in a summer program, looked up something on microfilm,
picked up a tax form or used the computers, it’s time to return the favor.
Read a book, take a test and help “Raise the Roof” for the library. If
you’ve been needing a reason to relax with a book, this is it.

Reading should be done for pleasure, and programs like AR stress that. Points
and bonuses are only incentives to get more people to do something that will
benefit them anyway. Anytime is a good time to read. Doing it now just helps
us preserve our library at the same time.