The newly reopened Yorkton Public Library has always been a place for families to go and learn, but a new grant promises to bring a new family-oriented space to help kids learn.

The library is one of three in the province to receive a Grow With Stories grant from the Government and Public Libraries Forum Early Learning Committee.

Melody Wood with the Yorkton Public Library says that the $10,000 grant is used to create a space to make it easier for families to learn and be together with new furniture, games, and programming.

“There’s going to be more than just books, there is going to be things for families to learn together,” Wood explains.

Right now, the library is working with local schools, daycares, and the Sunrise Health Region to determine what to order and what will be of most benefit for local kids, Wood explains.

The children’s area was one of the hardest hit as a result of the flood two years ago, and Wood says that the grant is important for making it even better than it was before. She also says that the space itself is going to be more than books, but a place where families can go to have a positive learning experience.

“Now we can replace some of the materials that we lost and work towards making it move in a different direction,” she adds.

The announcement came on Family Literacy Day, which had people from the community come and read to kids and talk about books that they grew up with, as well as featuring activities for the kids to participate in. Wood says that it’s appropriate that the announcement came on the day, since it was one of the family-oriented programs that the space was made to host.

“This is one of our programs that we love to do, it’s a promotion of reading together and doing it as a family,” Wood concludes.