Grow with your local library

Santa Rosa County Libraries will join libraries nationwide in celebrating National Library Week, a time to highlight the value of libraries in the community and invite those who are not familiar with the library and its services to come grow with us.

Libraries today are more than repositories for books and other resources. Often the heart of its community, the library is deeply committed to the places where its patrons live, work and study.  Libraries are trusted places where everyone in the community can gather to reconnect and reengage with each other to enrich and shape the community and address local issues.

Librarians work with elected officials, small business owners, students and the public at large to discover what their communities needs are and meet them.  Whether through offering e-audiobooks and preschool story time, materials for English-language learners, resources for job seekers or those to support information literacy, librarians listen to the community they serve, and they respond.

“Service to the community has always been the focus of the library,” said Gwen Wilson, library director. “While this aspect has never changed, libraries have grown and evolved in how they provide for the needs of every member of their community.” To that end, Santa Rosa County Libraries are giving away seed packets containing an easy-grow wildflower mix. “We want to help our communities grow because communities matter.”

The Santa Rosa County Library System is a department of the Santa Rosa County Board of County Commissioners.  Libraries are located in Gulf Breeze, Jay, Milton, Navarre, and Pace. Find additional information at www.santarosa.fl.gov/libraries or call 981-7323 (READ).

This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Grow with your local library