WHEREAS, the Pendleton Community Public Library, herein after referred to as the library, has its roots in 1909 when the Social Club gathered 18 books and began circulating them among the members of the club; and

WHEREAS, the Library now houses 58,567 books, 4,106 videos and directly serves 26,099 people of the Pendleton community; and

WHEREAS, the library is visited 84,800 times a year and its collections are used 158,986 times; and

WHEREAS, the library provides 45 computers and free internet access; and

WHEREAS, the library is open seven days a week; and

WHEREAS, a librarian was the first search engine and can still answer difficult questions better than Google, without trying to sell you something; and

WHEREAS, patrons can Book-A-Librarian for one-on-one technical help with that new smart phone, tablet or online library materials; and

WHEREAS, the library provides research assistance to business people, students, farmers, mothers, fathers and all who ask, 7,722 times a year; and

WHEREAS, the library helps inventors research ideas and solve problems; and

WHEREAS, the library provides assistance for entrepreneurs starting a business; and

WHEREAS, the library provides assistance for people seeking gainful employment by helping them refine their resumés; and

WHEREAS, the library provides public meeting space for groups, including a senior euchre club and a tabletop role-playing game club; and

WHEREAS, the library provides access to OverDrive, a virtual library through which patrons can download ebooks and audio books; and

WHEREAS, the library provides access to Hoopla, a service that provides patrons with streaming movies, music and audio books; and

WHEREAS, the library provides access to the Ancestry Library Edition, a source to research ancestors around the globe; and

WHEREAS, the library provides access to the Home Improvement Reference Center, a source of information for home remodelers; and

WHEREAS, the library provides access to Rosetta Stone, a source to learn 30 different languages; and

WHEREAS, the library provides access to the Testing and Education Reference Center, a source of sample tests for high school equivalency, college entrance or profession certification, plus a collection of ebooks to learn about job outlooks and a resumé builder; and

WHEREAS, the library has Indiana-specific drivers practice exams; and

WHEREAS, the library reaches out to the community with Read ’n’ Feed, a mobile library and food pantry; and

WHEREAS, the library provides curb service for people who can’t get out of their cars; and

WHEREAS, the library provides the Alpha Seed Library, where citizens can exchange seeds that improve their gardens; and

WHEREAS, the library provides space for legal services from Indiana Legal Services; and

WHEREAS, the library loans out the internet with the hot spot lending program; and

WHEREAS, children checked out 67,485 items in 2019; and

WHEREAS, the library held 158 children’s programs attended by 3,752 children in 2019; and

WHEREAS, the library sponsors three children’s book clubs; and

WHEREAS, the library offers multiple children’s programs, including Toddler Time, Storytime, Page Turners, Rocket Readers Club, Learn to Braid, Family STEAM Story Night and Comic Book Club; and

WHEREAS, the library offers teachers up to 35 copies of selected books for classroom reading; and

WHEREAS, the library conducted 121 teen programs attended by 1,274 participants in 2019; and

WHEREAS, the library offers multiple teen programs, including The Game Corner, The Adventurer’s Guild, Spring Teen Lock-in, Safe Sitter Certification Course, and Paint-A-Mug; and

WHEREAS, the library sponsors book clubs for teens, including Biblioteens and The Bodacious Book Brigade; and

WHEREAS, the library sponsors VolunTEEN, a program to involve teens in their library; and

WHEREAS, the library can print, scan, laminate, fax and notarize documents; and

WHEREAS, the library offers exercise classes for senior citizens; and

WHEREAS, the library provides support and programs for home schooling parents and students; and

WHEREAS, the library connects students with free online tutoring at tutor.com; and

WHEREAS, the library offers exam proctoring; and

WHEREAS, the library is a place for people to learn, grow and build skills from cooking to knitting to ghost hunting; and

WHEREAS, the library offers a Library of Things, through which patrons can check out a power washer, TV antenna, telescope, virtual reality goggles and other amazing things

WHEREAS, the library maintains The Pendleton Collection, a local history that includes high school yearbooks, historic photos, cemetery records, historic maps, family histories, local newspapers and more; and

WHEREAS, the library provides access to Indiana History Online, historical documents and newspapers from around the state; and

WHEREAS, the library provides access to MasterFile Premier, a full text database of magazines, reference books and primary source documents; and

WHEREAS, the library can find a tax form, make people smile, help with a crossword puzzle, recommend movies and collect stories; and

WHEREAS, the library provides ALL the aforementioned services for less that a dime a day per patron.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, since April 19-25 is National Library Week, we, the Friends of the Pendleton Library, finding the Pendleton Community Public Library to be a service of immense value to the residents of Pendleton and the surrounding community, encourage all who hear this proclamation to join us in honoring our library and discover what the library offers them.