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TURNER — The Turner Public Library recently received $5,000 in grants that will allow it to expand its audio book collection as well as expanding the Emerson Collection with books and materials related to workshops.
The grants were in the form of $2,500 from Emerson Toyota and a matching $2,500 from Toyota Motor Sales USA, Inc., both thanks to to the interest and generosity of Jim Emerson, who is a longtime friend and supporter of the library.
The relationship started in 2006, when library patrons reported that new cars were coming equipped with CD players rather than cassette players. Emerson’s $1,000 donation enabled the library to start the process of converting from audiobooks on cassettes to audiobooks on CD. At an average cost of 40 dollars for a best- selling unabridged CD ready for circulation, the award was indeed significant, library officials said.
Since that first conversation, the library has grown in ways that it could not have foreseen. Today, the programs offered for all ages are more creative than ever. In addition to popular talks by local authors, the library offers workshops on everything from fly-tying to comic book illustration. Children’s services include not only the time-honored Story Hours, but also robots that kids program with iPads, board games, and an electronic snap circuit set. And thanks to the efforts of an active group of volunteers, patrons can check out items as varied as a telescope, a rock hounding kit, and musical instruments.
Emerson has been involved through all the changes, recommending the library twice for the Toyota Dealer Match Program. The program enables dealer contributions to make a greater impact on the community. Since 1991, Toyota has contributed more than $550 million to nonprofit organizations, and has always been guided by a strong belief in serving the communities where it does business, library officials said.
