By MICHAEL BOYLAN
mboylan@thecitizennews.com

Where can children read their favorite books, surf the web and get homework help?

Where can parents get a list of the nearest day care centers, plan a family vacation or obtain the latest tax information? A good bet is their local library.

National Library Week, April 9-15, celebrates how children and families can “Read! Learn! Connect! at the Library.” The annual event is sponsored by the American Library Association and library supporters nationwide.

The Peachtree City Library also has planned a full slate of activities to celebrate the week.

Library boosters will kick off their events Saturday with “Connect for Kids@the Library Day.” Libraries everywhere are hosting the event, sponsored by the ALA and the Benton Foundation. Families also can check out the Benton Foundation's “Connect for Kids” web site (www.connectforkids.org) with links to more than 1,000 sites and organizations working on behalf of children.

Jill Kuhns, the Peachtree City Library's technology/training manager, will host a program called “Internet Safety for Kids and Parents” at 10 a.m. Saturday. The program will help attendees learn the Internet basics, tools that promote on-line safety and information about good, quality content.

At 2 p.m. Saturday, Mother Goose will arrive and entertain children with her famous stories.

The festivities for National Library Week will continue Monday, April 10 with the opening of the new parenting section at the library. Molly Kinney, library consultant for children, parents and family literacy from the Office of Public Library Services, will speak at 11:15 a.m.

A Parenting Resource Forum will be conducted concurrent with the opening of the parenting section. At 11 a.m. Tuesday, April 11, Ann Ricker of the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Services will present “better brains for babies.”

Tuesday also is a big day for the Peachtree City Library, because “Gone With the Wind” expert Herb Bridges will speak about his new book, “Gone With the Wind: The Three-day Premier in Atlanta”, at 7 p.m.

An investment counselor will be on hand Wednesday, April 12 at 10 a.m. to explain the use of investment materials found in the Peachtree City Library. The final program will be presented by the Rev. Jeff Lowe, who will talk about letters from the Civil War that are in his book, “Letters to Amanda,” Thursday, April 13 at 7 p.m.

“Libraries build community,” says Sarah Ann Long, president of the American Library Association. “Among the ways we do this is by connecting parents and children with resources that can enrich their lives. We hope `Connect for Kids Day' will remind families how libraries do this every day.”

According to Long, one of the most important ways libraries serve the community is by making information and technology accessible to people of all ages. The American Library Association estimates more than 90 percent of public libraries, including branches, offer public access to the Internet. In schools and colleges, librarians teach students information literacy skills they need to succeed in school and throughout life. Many libraries also offer classes for parents and children on how to navigate the Internet.

“For many families, the library is their first hands-on experience with a computer,“ adds Long. “Librarians are a wonderful asset because they know how to find the best source of information and can assist in funding a good web site just as they do a good book.”

Long also says that libraries are providing more programs and services than ever for parents and children, including family literacy programs, after school activities, musical performances, art projects and computer training, just to name a few.

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