[1]One of my favorite sounds at the library is the animated voices of second graders touring our building. Each year, we welcome about 1,800 students from more than 25 schools in Boone and Callaway Counties to come see what a public library is all about. After groups see the children’s area, the music and DVD collections and all the stacks in between, each child receives a coupon redeemable for a free book on a following visit to the library in Ashland [2], Columbia [3] or Fulton [4] or to the bookmobile [5]. These school field trips and free books are made possible through generous donations made by the Daniel Boone Regional Library Foundation [6].
[7]A special thanks to the Foundation board of directors—President William B. Bondeson, Ginny Barnes, Jane Biers, Holly Burgess, Jean Collins, Kee Groshong, George Kennedy, Willis Linneman, Julie Middleton, John R. Parker, Don Sievert—for all they do to promote early childhood learning at our libraries.