Tag: outreach

Reach Out and Read is a nonprofit organization of medical providers who promote early literacy and school readiness in pediatric exam rooms nationwide by giving new books to children and advice to parents about the importance of reading aloud.

Recently representatives from the Fairview Clinic  visited the Chisago Lakes Area Library with Curious George and ECRL’s mascot, Sherlock.  Following the short program children received free board books from the Reach Out and Read program, parents were given early literacy information and kids were able to pose for pictures with both Curious George and Sherlock .

An outreach van was purchased five years ago to replace the East Central Regional Library (ECRL) bookmobile when it went out of service. For many people the joy of visiting a public library may be “out of reach” either due to distance, transportation, age or physical disability. The ECRL van has been able to serve those people where access to any of ECRL’s 14 branch libraries is either difficult or impossible.

Beginning February 3, 2014, ECRL Outreach Services will begin its first major schedule change in five-years. Service in Askov will be discontinued since no patrons came to the stop anymore. All current outreach stops will either change the day, time or length of their stops starting in February. The new schedule is being implemented based on an evaluation of the number of patrons visiting each outreach stop and the number of items being checked out at each stop. The changes were approved December 16, 2013 by the ECRL Board and will be re-evaluated after six months.