Literacy for Life: Event wraps up in song

Dozens of people filled the Carson City Library auditorium on Saturday for the last day of this year's Literacy for Life celebration in conjunction with the Nevada Appeal.

The event was capped off with a performance by world-renowned balladeer Bobby Bridger who for more than 30 years has traveled the world performing one-man shows.

The library also unveiled its new logo at the event, which was designed by Carson City youth with the help of Youth Services Librarian Amber Sady and artists Alison McNabb and Jarill Ristine.

After starting Literacy for Life last year, Nevada Appeal Publisher Niki Gladys said the newspaper partnered with the Carson City Library and Carson City School District this year to combat illiteracy in the community.

"As we did some research we realized the literacy rate in Carson City and Nevada was below the standards of anything I'd imagine and when we looked into that we started to think what could we do to drive awareness," Gladys said.

The result is the Literacy for Life program, which has the goal of giving every student a library card and the understanding of what services they can access at no cost.

Carson City Library Director Sara Jones said access to information is critical for a community, whether it's through a library or a newspaper.

"But at the end of it, if you can't read it, it doesn't matter," Jones said, adding about 7,600 library cards will be distributed to Carson City children.

Steve Neighbors also addressed the plan to construct a 60,000-square-foot Knowledge and Discovery Library downtown as part of the Carson City Center Project. Under the proposal, the city would sign on to a 30-year lease-to-purchase agreement for the building and its underlying land.

Neighbors, Andy McKenzie and Ed Ahrens were honored with an award in appreciation for the Hop and Mae Adams Foundation.

Carson City Trustee Chairwoman Phyllis Patton said the Carson City Library attracts about 300,000 unique visitors each year.

"With our areas of focus this land endowment will not only make the building project possible, it ensures that the Library Board of Trustees is powerfully leveraged to protect every citizen's access to library resources," Patton said.

She said the Hop and Mae Adams Foundation also provided $160,000 in matching funds for a federal grant that awarded $600,000 to the library for technology.