VALDOSTA – A new program to promote reading during prime-time television hours will soon enter South Georgia Regional Libraries.
The South Georgia Regional Library system recently received an LSTA mini-grant through the Georgia Public Library Service (GPLS) to offer a new program called Prime Time. The program was developed by the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities in 1991.
“The idea came about to get people reading during prime time television hours instead of sitting at a television. With this program we’re encouraging families to talk about reading and to talk about books with their children in their household, and they’ll learn some ways to engage with their children outside of the library,” Sara Kamppi, the regional youth services director and Prime Time program coordinator, explained.
She described the program as an unofficial six-week crash course and an intergenerational book club to storytelling.
The Prime Time program team at Willis L. Miller Library also includes Robyn Williams, the community organizer; Dr. Sheila Thomas, the scholar; and Tia Heard, the storyteller.
The sessions are free and will be primarily held at Willis L. Miller Library from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m on Thursdays consecutively for six weeks starting Feb. 22, 2024. The locations could vary as the courses progress.
The Prime Time Family Reading Time course theme will be “Nourish” and includes topics such as: Table Talk Fables and the Oral Tradition, Food Preferences, Food as a Ritual in a Relationship, Food and Morality, Food and Cultural Identity and Community Connections through Food. A few of the featured reading selections will be “Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story”, “Freedom Soup” and “Thank You, Omu!”
Each child and attending family member will receive a meal during the evening course and storytelling portion of the program. Registration for the program is now open and the library is seeking about 20 families to participate throughout the program’s entirety.
The program cannot operate without the community’s help. Kamppi said sponsors are needed to help offset the costs for the meals.
Attendees will learn skills and take home a copy of each session’s reading selections to start an at-home library.
Continuing to further literacy in South Georgia, which is the foundation for all subjects, is one library’s main goals in the upcoming new year.
Assistant Director Bernard Bulemu explained the importance of the library hosting programs like Prime Time. He said, “One of the core values and goals for the library is to promote literacy and it’s an important issue within the community. With Prime Time, it gives us an opportunity to reach those who do not come to the library.”
Interested individuals in the program should contact Program Coordinator Sara Kamppi at skamppi@sgrl.org.