NASHVILLE, Tenn.- Nashville Mayor Karl Dean made a unique appearance at the main public Library in Downtown Nashville, joining some puppet friends to discuss the importance of reading.
Mayor Dean arrived during story time at the library with "Tommy Dog," the Storytime puppet mascot and announced his newest city-wide campaign to increase literacy.
Dean said that currently 12% of Nashvillians are literacy challenged. So, in his campaign he hopes to promote adult literacy, encourage families to read to young children and educate residents about the Nashville Public Library system and promote volunteer opportunities to help spread literacy in the community.
"I want people to start talking about the books they read together. One of the great things about reading is you have something you can talk about to your friends, you can talk about the stories you read or the stories someone read to you. You can talk about the books adventures, the characters, the dilemmas they have and even imagine what would happen next," said Dean.
The mayor wants every person in Nashville to get a library card. He also wants people to share books with the children in our community who don't have books of their own by donating a book.
The share a book campaign kicks off at 1 o'clock on Saturday May 19th at the Main Nashville Public Library in Downtown Nashville.
