A Georgetown County library’s goal of attracting teens is on the right track - thanks to interactive computer gaming. In addition to dozens of young patrons, the innovative program also earned the new facility recognition this week as WebJunction’s Library of the Month.

Contributions from South Carolina businesses and residents are making it possible for the state's children to experience the joy of reading through the "Every Child Ready to Read @ Your Library" program.

Research points to a need for the program. The typical middle-class child enters first grade with 1,000-1,700 hours of one-on-one picture book reading, while a child from a low-income family averages just 25 hours, according to the Public Library Association’s Early Literacy Initiative.

Children who have vision or physical disabilities celebrated the state’s “Once Upon a Time” summer reading program with a wrap-up party Thursday, July 27, at the South Carolina State Library on Senate Street in Columbia.

Around 20 children and family members from across South Carolina made the trip to pick up the medals and certificates of achievement the kids had earned in the Talking Book Services reading program.

The South Carolina State Library publishes the South Carolina Foundation Directory to assist South Carolinians in their search for funds to support the programs and projects of their organizations.  2006 print versions are now available for purchase or free download.

The South Carolina State Library's OPAL training sessions can now be heard on the library’s Web site.

Online Programming for All Libraries (OPAL) And All Library Users is an international collaborative effort by libraries of all types to provide Web-based programs and training for library users and library staff members.

These live events are held in online rooms where participants can interact via voice-over-IP, text chatting and synchronized browsing.

The four sessions now available on the library Web site were held this year. Topics were:

The Public Library Association (PLA) is sponsoring a workshop, Implementing for Results: From Idea to Action, on Sept. 18 in Pittsburgh. The one-day workshop will provide library managers with the skills they need to use their library's strategic plans as blueprints for change.

The workshop will include tips and tools to help managers:

Libraries across the country are celebrating an all-American summer pastime and the role libraries play in building literacy skills by participating in the Step Up to the Plate @ your library® program, developed by American Library Association and the National Baseball Hall of Fame. The Greenville County Library System is among the programs involved.

EBSCO Publishing is now providing the Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts (LISTA) database as a free resource to anyone interested in libraries and information management. The company also offers a free database for teachers, the Teacher Reference Center.

Libraries across the United States have until Oct. 16 to apply for the $5,000 Scholastic Library Publishing National Library Week Grant, which will be awarded to the library with the best public awareness campaign incorporating the 2007 National Library Week theme, "Come together @ your library®."

Researchers at the Pew Internet and American Life Project recently made a presentation to the Congressional House Telecommunications Committee about teens and the internet.