Over on Grace Street, Braswell Memorial 
Library has just finished a month-long celebration of its 10th year at this location.

We started the month off with birthday cake given out in the lobby that day and a North Carolina author, Anna Jean Mayhew, in the Warner Meeting Room that night. We had programs, authors and cakes all month, wrapping up with the Friends of the Library’s Champagne & Chocolates fundraiser March 30 and the N.C. Genealogical Society annual meeting.

We had programs for children and families, for teens, for adults and for staff. We even had a program for kids’ stuffed animal friends.

We’ll be taking a slight breather this month, but only a slight one. Youth Services will continue its weekly storytimes on Mondays and Tuesdays and Chere the Reading Education Assistance Dog will be at the library the first and third Saturdays of the month. Adult Information and Young Adult Services is sponsoring 11 programs in April, six for adults and five for teens. And did I mention National Library Week, April 9-14? OK, so maybe we’re not taking much of a break.

The Library Foundation also is at work this month and the month of May. They are asking for individual and group gifts of $25 or more that will be passed on to the library to help rebuild the adult fiction and adult nonfiction collections. Gifts to the Foundation are considered charitable donations for income tax purposes, and may be mailed to the foundation at the library’s address or brought into the library.

And, not to be left out of the busy spring library season, the Friends of the Library are participating in Reach Out Rocky Mount’s Fun Run for Charities. The purpose of the Fun Run is twofold: first, to produce an enjoyable event and second, to raise lots of money for needy organizations in order to improve the quality of life in Rocky Mount. Fun Run for Charities is sponsored by Reach Out Rocky Mount, a 
diverse group of citizens dedicated to the idea that Rocky Mount’s best days are yet to come and that, together, everyone can make a better community for all. From the library’s point of view, an added bonus is that when you give to Fun Run for Charities, your money will be matched. Last year the Friends received an additional $0.49 for each dollar contributed to the Friends through the Fun Run. The Library’s first 10 years on Grace Street is now officially over. The best is yet to come. Read, Learn, Connect at Braswell Memorial Library.