New Books Will Boost Children’s Programming

Families have new books to enjoy at Western Manitoba Regional Library rural branches thanks to a generous grant from Winnipeg Foundation’s Literacy for Life Grant program.

New board books and picture books were purchased for the Carberry/North Cypress, Glenboro/South Cypress, Hartney, and Neepawa Public Libraries for use in their Storytime and Baby Storytime programs, as well as for families to borrow and read at home. Having a selection of diverse picture books where children and their families see familiar images encourages further engagement with our libraries and our reading programs.

“These new books increase the inclusivity of our story books at our branches and provide an opportunity to attract a more diverse segment of the population to our programs because they will see themselves and their families in the books and programs,” said Erika Martin, Director of Library Services. “All of our branches have experience hosting family literacy programs and children’s programming is an essential part of promoting and nurturing literacy in young children.”

In addition to the books, this grant enabled the branches to purchase craft supplies to use with the programs. Each Storytime program includes time for making crafts which are chosen to enhance fine motor skills and encourage individual creativity.

The Winnipeg Foundation is an endowment-based organization that makes community grants to charitable organizations in support of many areas, including family literacy.

Western Manitoba Regional Library is the second largest regional library system in Manitoba by population with branches in Brandon, Carberry, Glenboro, Hartney, and Neepawa. Our mission is to enrich lives and strengthen communities by providing universal access to broad and diverse collections of resources relevant and responsive to community needs.

For more information about the Winnipeg Foundation, find them at wpgfdn.org

For more information about Western Manitoba Regional Library and our programs, see wmrl.ca.