Library Stories: Mississippi's Congressional District 2

Congressional District 2
Jackson area highlighted

Covering much of western Mississippi, Congressional District 2 is over 275 miles long and 180 miles wide with the Mississippi River as its border. It encompasses Jackson and much of the Delta region of the state, and is home to four public colleges and universities. Representative Bennie Thompson serves the interests of this region in Washington, D.C., along with Senator Thad Cochran and Senator Roger Wicker, who represent the entire state.

A few weeks ago, I talked about the fantastic work being done with LSTA grant funds in libraries in Congressional District 1. These folks are doing great work and I continue to be amazed at what they accomplish for their patrons. This week I'd like to highlight some of the terrific projects in Congressional District 2 that are funded by the Grants to States program. Grants to States projects support the purposes and priorities outlined in the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA).

The terrific projects in this district have made a huge impact on their communities. Copiah-Jefferson Regional Library System wanted to expand their services and introduce Urban Fiction and African-American subject matter in sufficient quantities to meet the demands of their library community. They were able to purchase over 300 books on these subjects and have seen a 53% circulation rate of the new materials.

A patron enjoying one of the new books.

The Sunflower County Library System focused on the needs of their senior adult patrons by offering a basic computer training class to help these members of their library family acquire skills in word processing, basic internet searches, and keyboarding. One of their classes decided to put together a group of recipes and shared them with each other as their final class project!

Senior adult computer class graduates in Drew, Mississippi

These important projects are just part of what makes Mississippi's libraries vital to communities across the state. Our libraries are changing lives. Next time, learn about what great projects are happening in Congressional District 3!