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Mitchell Library Recognized as a Family Place Library

altThe George & Cynthia Woods Mitchell Library will be formally recognized as a Family Place Library at 10 am on Thursday, February 15, 2018. By earning this designation, the George & Cynthia Woods Mitchell Library will join more than 500 sites across 31 states that have committed to serving as a hub for healthy child and family development within their communities.
 
Kathleen Deerr, the National Coordinator of Family Place Libraries, will make the formal presentation in the Children's department of the library. Jeri Williams, Director of the Montgomery County Memorial Library System, along with members of the Library Advisory Board and other local dignitaries, will be in attendance as the official banner is presented and the library's Play-Learn-Grow space is dedicated. 
 
Library staff have been working to earn this designation during the past year and a half. Laura Harper, the library system's Children's Coordinator, and Shelly Lane, the Children's Librarian at the Mitchell Library, traveled to the Family Place Training Institute in New York for a 3-day intensive training in Family Place Library principles and practices. The training was followed by the development and implementation of an early literacy play area encouraging child development through play; additional collections of books, toys, music, and multimedia materials for babies, toddlers, parents, and service providers; and a five-week program of workshops promoting healthy child development and early literacy skill promotion. As a Family Place Library, the George & Cynthia Woods Mitchell Library strives to ensure that parents and caregivers of young children recognize the library as a place to play, learn, and grow.

Family Place Libraries is a nationwide network dedicated to helping libraries build healthy communities by nourishing healthy families. A proven change agent, Family Place Libraries supports the transformation of libraries into community centers for early literacy and learning, parent education and engagement, family support and community connectivity, in order to help ensure that all children enter school ready and able to learn. Learn more about Family Place Libraries at familyplacelibraries.org.

The George & Cynthia Woods Mitchell Library, located at 8125 Ashlane Way in The Woodlands, TX, is a branch of the Montgomery County Memorial Library System. Mitchell Library's participation in the Family Place Libraries movement has been supported by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services to the Texas State Library and Archives Commission under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act, and a State-funded grant from the Texas State Library and Archives Commis
sion.
 
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