The Canton Public Library (CPL) is being awarded for demonstrating its true value to the community with the inaugural LibraryAware Community Award. Beating out over 100 libraries nationwide, the CPL will receive $10,000 to put to use in continuing its outreach in Canton Township. The library not only circulates 1.8 million items per year, but the 1,000 plus programs attended by residents contribute to its far-reaching impact on young and old alike.

The CPL director Eva Davis points to both the hardworking staff as well as the Board of Trustees as pivotal in forming a strong connection with the Canton Community. Jim Fausone – one of Fausone Bohn’s own – serves on the six-member visionary board. As part of the board, Jim helps guide the CPL in offering viable, relevant programs to better serve the community and its needs.

While the Canton Public Library has offered free academic tutoring sessions, run fundraisers for local charities, and created a space community members can feel at home, its focus on increasing literacy within the community is most admirable. Rather than simply focusing on drawing residents into the library, the CPL has collaborated with the local farmer’s market, senior citizen residences, high schools, and summer camps in

order to bring its resources to Canton residents. Through these programs, the CPL has helped to increase literacy amongst young children, especially those from low-income families.

Not only has the Canton library helped to bolster academic success amongst young children, teens, and senior citizens alike, but it has also played an essential role in forming a strong sense of community in the Canton area.