The Selma-Dallas County Public Library has had a record couple of months, and we hope people continue to visit the library to check out books and attend the many events the library has to offer this summer.

According to Becky Nichols, library director, more than 9,000 books were checked out between April and June and more than 3,000 children have attended programs at the library since its “Sensational Selma Summer” started.

Those numbers reflect a job well done by the library staff. It is no easy task to get children interested in reading, but the staff has done a great job.

The library staff has gone above and beyond to make sure children in Selma and Dallas County have plenty of books to read and plenty of fun activities to keep their minds active while they are out of school for the summer.

According to the National Education Association, children who read or are read to at home will do better in school than those that don’t.

Reading can open up an entirely new world for children and expand their vocabulary. Reading also helps children think and benefits them greatly in whatever they do.

If you and your child haven’t visited the library this summer, we encourage you to take them to check out a book. The library is full of books that can open up a child’s imagination and offers several programs a week.

The programs are designed to entertain the children and educate them about arts and crafts, animals and a plethora of other subjects.

According to Nichols, more children have participated in the library’s summer programs than year’s past.

The library has hosted more than 30 programs so far and expected to host many more throughout the rest of the summer.

The list of activities this week includes a Cinderella puppet show, a crazy art day, sensational science and word bingo. All of the activities are free.

We encourage you to check out the library’s full schedule on its website at www.selmalibrary.org. The activities are a good way entertain children and show them that reading can be fun.

Making reading fun is important to a child because they will be more likely to read a book if they enjoy it.