A Message from Terri Luke, Library Director

Something very close to my heart is happening at NPL. Thanks to historic investments by Mayor O’Connell and Metro Nashville – and with additional support through the Nashville Public Library Foundation – we are transforming our collection of more than two million books and materials into something newer, richer, and even more appealing. That means thousands of new books – with even more to come – on the shelves at our 21 locations.
 

Near and dear to me are all the children’s books we’re adding. Children’s books can spark a young reader’s imagination, light up their world, and change their life. While books and stories unlock a child’s potential, the public library helps them realize it. I still see in my mind story times from my early career as a children’s librarian. Children would get so excited for more books and stories that we had to drape our story time-themed book cart until the very end, when they would race up and take more books. I can’t tell you how fulfilling it was to see families leave the library, arms full of books, and know they’d be back.
 

Working in a library’s Children’s Department is a wonderful privilege. We watch your children grow up. We know their latest interests, and we help you keep up with each one without breaking the bank. We get to be there for your child’s biggest moments – from their first loose tooth to their first lost pet. And, each time, we are ready with a reading suggestion and an encouraging smile. I experienced this same joy with my son Mark. Children must hear thousands of words per day by age three to develop the vocabulary needed for school success. For Mark, those words came through the books we read each evening. His favorites were the alphabet rhyming book Chicka Chicka Boom Boom and A House for Hermit Crab, in which author Eric Carle describes how the crab crossed the ocean floor: gingerly. 

Children must also read, read, read to learn how to connect ideas into broader concepts for higher thinking throughout life. Mary Pope Osborne’s Magic Tree House series brought Dinosaurs Before Dark, Mummies In The Morning, and Pirates Past Noon into our lives. After we read Vacation Under The Volcano, set in ancient Pompeii, we read even more books about this long-ago place.
 

By age eight, Mark had tested at a vocabulary level of an eighteen-year-old. Today, he has a Doctor of Pharmacy. More importantly, Mark is a critical thinker, a curious person with the confidence to engage in the world around him. Books and stories did that for us. Reading did that. The library did that.
 

Please take some time this month to discover all the ways we’re growing NPL’s collection, including for children. Let our dedicated staff recommend a book for you and your family. Discover a new title together or bond over a classic from your childhood. Pick out a seek-and-find book for your youngest and a juvenile graphic novel for your school-aged child. Let us help you get just a little time away from screens and feel the magic of family reading again. I promise it will be worth it.

Terri Luke
Director of Nashville Public Library