State Librarian touts library use

Several Northwest Tennessee county and city mayors were in Martin Friday at the third-annual Obion River Regional Libraries Legislative and Mayoral Breakfast.

Counties served by the Regional Libraries include Benton, Carroll, Crockett, Dyer, Gibson, Henry, Lake, Obion, and Weakley counties, with a total of 19 libraries in the region.

Tennessee State Librarian and Archivist Charles Sherrill provided the group with the latest facts and figures on Tennessee’s public libraries and told Thunderbolt Radio News that even with information at our fingertips, the public library is still vital to the community.

Sherrill says if you’re not regularly taking advantage of all the public library has to offer, you’re missing out.

According to Sherrill, in 2018, Tennessee libraries welcomed a combined 18.2 million visitors through its doors at all 288 branches.

Also last year, Tennessee public libraries offered 80,319 programs attended by a total of two million people.