Emilia Julian takes a minute to use an early literacy station donated to the Warsaw Community Public Library from the Friends of the Library.

By Stephanie Hershberger

Children’s Services

Warsaw Community Public Library excelled once again with a vibrant summer reading program. WCPL registered 507 adults, 333 teens and 1,255 children. Not only is the summer reading program growing, but other programs are increasing too. You can check out adult, teen and children programming on Facebook, WCPL’s calendar of events at warsawlibrary.org, or visit the library and grab a paper calendar to take home.

So, what is happening behind the scenes at WCPL? In 2005, the volunteer program for youth was turned over to me to execute to the best of my abilities while working with my co-workers. I am thrilled to share with you readers that this past summer was the largest youth volunteer program WCPL has ever worked with. Junior volunteers and senior volunteers trained behind the scenes. Hardworking volunteers organized books, learned the Dewey decimal system and other collections, sanitized toys, dusted bookshelves and cleaned books. These young people decided to stop playing video games for one hour or two and enjoyed what’s inside the library. What did they gain? They gained an opportunity to grow in character, meet new friends, respect property and help others.

Another group we work with are students from the National Honor Society. These young people usually call and ask about the library’s volunteer program in January. This summer was the first summer we had nine NHS students earning 10 to 15 hours during June and July. Many students were excited to return once school began.

The volunteer program is definitely reaching the community and that excites me. WCPL staff work together to train all new volunteers and give them respect. In closing, I am humbled to tell you our numbers for this year. Both junior and senior volunteers who helped the community and our staff endure the heavy pace of June and July were 46 youth volunteers.