[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 17]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 22803-22804]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


  CONGRATULATING THE SOUTHWEST GEORGIA REGIONAL PUBLIC LIBRARY SYSTEM

                                 ______
                                 

                      HON. SANFORD D. BISHOP, JR.

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                           November 14, 2002

  Mr. BISHOP. Mr. Speaker, the Southwest Georgia Regional Public 
Library System, the sole library provider for the 44,000 residents of

[[Page 22804]]

Decatur, Miller and Seminole counties, is a recipient of the National 
Award for Museum and Library Services, which is recognized as the 
highest honor that can be earned for community service by the nation's 
122,000 libraries and 15,000 museums.
  The Institute of Museum and Library Services, which sponsors the 
award program, could not have made a more worthy choice.
  The Southwest Georgia Regional System, often partnering with other 
community organizations, reaches out in innovative ways to serve a 
widely dispersed population in the cities and rural areas it serves, 
including initiatives to raise the educational levels of low-income 
families. The system sponsors literacy programs, provides full access 
to the World Wide Web, and maintains close, ongoing support for schools 
and social service organizations. Utilizing a state-of-the-art 
bookmobile, the system makes books available to schools, nursing homes, 
and community centers. It provides special services for the 
handicapped. It sponsors historic projects and programs. In many 
different ways, it is helping raise the quality of life throughout a 
widespread area of southwest Georgia.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise to congratulate the people who make the Southwest 
Georgia Regional Library System one of the country's very best.

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