Your library is an excellent resource for schools, students, teachers and parents, and we wanted to share with you some of the ways we work together.

You may see a whole group of children traipsing through the library. Teachers can arrange for their classes to come here for a field trip, so students can learn about the library and everything it has to offer. We find the students really enjoy these trips.

We have a regular weekly story hour at the library for the younger children. If you want an uplifting experience, come by and watch the little ones laughing and learning early just how much fun books can be. But if the children can’t come here, we’ll come to them. Our children’s librarian makes regular visits to the day care and Head Start centers to do story time. If you want us to bring story time to you, just give us a call.

Schools call on us to provide judges for reading fairs, to participate in career days, to address school assemblies, to hand out awards, and we are always happy to go directly to the schools to talk about the library and its services.

One joint project between the library and the schools is our annual poetry contest each April in honor of National Poetry Month. Second and third graders in all area schools are asked to submit poetry for competition. Each school selects a winner for each grade, and all the winners, with their teachers and parents, are invited to the library for a poetry party. The winners receive certificates and present their poems before an appreciative audience. It’s an awe-inspiring experience, and we encourage you to join us.

Of course, our biggest and most successful cooperative project with the schools is our summer library program, which is going on right now. We provide appropriate programs for the very youngest preschoolers all the way through high school. The goals of our programs are to encourage children to keep reading during the summer and to introduce them to the public library as a place for lifelong learning. Toward the end of the school year, we send staff to all of the schools to talk about the program and encourage the children to attend. Principals and teachers recognize that children who read during the summer will be better prepared when they come back to school in the fall, and they are very helpful to us in our promotion efforts.

In addition to programs, the schools and the library work together on a daily basis to provide services to children. The library has a plethora of reference and research tools that simply cannot be provided in each individual school. If teachers tell us ahead of time about a specific project that students are working on, we’ll pull together all the materials they’ll need. For example, students are required to do science projects each year. When students come to the library looking for help, they’ll find all the books gathered in one place for easy reference. We will even request materials from other libraries to supplement our collection when the need arises. We have both a children’s librarian and a teen librarian who work individually with the students to help them find the materials they need.

The library’s Web site provides many resources to students, but two are particularly helpful to schools. Learn-A-Test provides an opportunity for students to study for many standardized tests, including the ACT. We also provide a link so students can take practice tests for the subject area and grade level tests which are part of the Mississippi Curriculum Tests. In fact, you should check the Kids and Teen Zone pages on the Web site for all sorts of school-related aids and information.

Everyone knows that the local education system is a crucial element of Natchez and Adams County, and we want you to know that your library is working with all the local schools to help our children. As always, we welcome any suggestions for improvement.

The Natchez Adams Wilkinson Library Service consists of three branches: Armstrong Library in Natchez (the headquarters of the library system), Van Cleave Library in Centreville, and Woodville Public Library in Woodville. The Armstrong Library is located at 220 S. Commerce St. in Natchez, and is open Monday through Thursday from 9-6, Friday from 9-5, and Saturday from 9-1. You can call us at 601.445.8862, e-mail us at armstrong@naw.lib.ms.us or visit us online www.naw.lib.ms.us.