The promise of spring is in the air and this spring, little lambs and little free libraries are popping up at your nearest library! OK, so I made that part up about the little lambs, unless you count the kids who attend our preschool story times.

However, little free libraries really will be on display at the Astoria, Seaside, and Warrenton public libraries throughout the month of March. These little libraries are built by local community members and businesses and will be up for auction on March 23 at the Seaside Civic and Convention Center.

The little libraries, reading themed birdhouses, and other items will be auctioned off at the live and silent auction event. This fundraiser is in support of Libraries Reading Outreach in Clatsop County, a nonprofit that supports library programs and cards for all children in our county. In addition, it also provides county wide summer reading programs to help prevent “summer slide” which can happen if children don’t keep up with their reading during the summer months. Children can regress up to an entire grade level in their reading, which means teachers often have to spend the beginning of the following school year just helping kids get back up to where they should be for their grade.

About 2,900 children in our county live outside of the city limits of Astoria, Seaside, and Warrenton. Without the libraries reading and outreach program, most of the rural children living in our county would not have access to a public library’s books and services.

The outreach program is bridging the gaps for rural kids while supporting the work of our teachers and home-schoolers. The work of libraries reading outreach is a collaboration between the county, the three public libraries, and five school districts in our county and we need your support. The program started back in 2009 and is now transitioning to being fully community supported. We hope you will join us in supporting literacy and reading success for all youth to age 19 in our county.

Just last month, we had a child attend a drawing class at the Seaside Library who was very proud to have a library card through the reading outreach program.

Currently over 650 children have active library cards at the three public libraries in the county and last year these children checked out over 31,000 items. If you know someone who might benefit from a Libraries Reading Outreach in Clatsop County library card, send them to their nearest public library in Clatsop County.

Please join us on March 23 starting at 5:30 p.m. at the Seaside Civic and Convention Center. The ticket cost of $15 gets you in the door and you will have appetizers and desserts to nibble on while enjoying the silent and live auctions. Tickets are available at the Astoria, Seaside, and Warrenton libraries.