A woman and her child read a book together Tuesday afternoon in the children’s room of the Lewiston Public Library on Lisbon Street in Lewiston. The library has launched a campaign to raise $1 million to renovate the children’s area. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

LEWISTON — The Lewiston Public Library has launched a fundraising campaign to renovate its popular children’s department and is nearly a quarter of the way toward its $1 million goal.

Library Director Joseph Houston said the children’s area is one of the only spaces in the city specifically dedicated to children and families, and it is a space that is free to use.

“We get a lot of feedback from families who are struggling to find other options in our area for free family entertainment and enrichment activities,” he said, adding that about a third of the approximately 4 000 monthly visitors to the library are people who come to the children’s area. for programs and hardware.

Another 250 to 500 clients attend children’s programs each month, he said.

But, according to details on the library’s campaign website, the current children’s department dates from 1996 and “reflects 1990s ideas about children’s learning and development.”

“We now live in a different time for children,” the website states.

The funding would be used to create a more welcoming space for families, complete with reading nooks, technology that will encourage early literacy and access to child-friendly digital resources, transitional spaces that can be used to accommodate school and family trips to the library, and integrating nature and more natural light.

Houston said early childhood literacy is an important marker in children’s development and the earlier a child begins reading regularly, the better their outcomes in school and life.

“The children’s space should be an exciting and inspiring place for children to fall in love with learning,” he said.

A concept image shows what a renovated children’s area at the Lewiston Public Library could look like. A fundraising campaign is underway to raise $1 million. City of Lewiston

A cost breakdown indicates $500,000 would be spent on physical renovations, $400,000 on future children’s services and $100,000 on outreach aimed at attracting new families.

The campaign website says Lewiston is home to about 7,700 children, which represents about 20 percent of the population. As of April 2024, approximately 20% of Lewiston children had library cards from the Lewiston Public Library.

“Our kids are a diverse group,” he says. “Many children come from cultures without any experience of public and free libraries. »

“Our vision is to provide generations of Lewiston youth with an inspiring place to play, grow and explore while remaining respectful of our rich history and reflecting the cultures and traditions of Lewiston today,” it says. -he.

Houston said the children’s area has also seen more foot traffic since the library added a private security presence, as well as creating monitoring stations for this exercise, which has led to a decrease in security incidents .

The library uses the crowdfunding site givebutter.com to facilitate fundraising. As of Tuesday afternoon, the effort stood at $240,679 of the $1 million goal.

The city paid $153,000 for the campaign. Other donations are visible on the fundraising site, some with comments about the library. A $500 donation from Albert Pfeiffer and Paula Pate said: “Some of our happiest memories as a young family were times when we were all captivated by a book chapter. We couldn’t wait to put on our pajamas and find out what happened next! Children’s libraries are a gift that lasts a lifetime.

Another $500 donation from Matt and Carrie Jadud said the Lewiston library “was one of the first places we took our kids to help them feel at home in our new city.” Thank you to our library for continuing to be a landing place for all Lewiston children.

Asked about the campaign Tuesday, Mayor Carl Sheline said, “The library is a symbol of who we are as a community, and I am excited about what this renovation means for the children of our city.

Online donations can be found at: givebutter.com/DONATE2LPL

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