HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — WZDX was able to ride out into the community with the Huntsville-Madison County Public Library and share access to literature.
Just as supplying food to those who need it by means of a mobile pantry is important - so is supplying the community with something to read, and that's what the public library's bookmobile does; let's literacy thrive in North Alabama.
Time and again, it's been proven that a community with a high literacy rate directly correlates to the overall health of a community.
"I think that libraries, they reflect the health of a community and we've got a very, very healthy library and so I think that's reflected in our very healthy community," said the library's Senior Services Coordinator, Elaine Leffel.
The people at the library are doing their part to make sure people have access to literature here in The Valley.
"I hope that every child that walks on this bookmobile this morning finds a book three that they absolutely love," said Leffel.
The services this mobile library provides are especially important during the summer, in efforts to combat the 'summer slide' - which is when kids lose some of the lessons they learned over summer break because they aren't sitting at the desk every day.
"During the summer they don't have that school routine, so they're playing games, playing outside, which is great but they're starting to lose all of that information that they learned during the school year. So, over the summer, the library tries to kind of get those brain cells still working during the summer," said one of the library's Outreach Librarians, Melissa Shuman.
But there seems to be no issue with getting kids to read, I asked some of the bookmobile visitors if they liked to read and they all had similar answers (which was yes) I also got the chance to ask them why...
"Well, it just keeps me busy some of the books are really good," said 9-year-old, Giovanni.
"It's just when I sit down I feel peaceful and, like, I just get to read my favorite books," 10-year-old, Bailey.
"Whenever I'm bored or want to learn something new I can just read a book," said 9-year-old, Lily.
"They can be quiet and it's entertaining," said 11-year-old, Olivia.
By providing these young minds access to literature, the community and economy will thrive in the long run and it's safe to say that today's trip was successful.
"The reactions of the children, the faces of the children and their words, said it all," said Leffel.
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