GALLIPOLIS — Saturday, February 2 is National Take your Child to the Library Day, and, locally, Bossard Memorial Library is celebrating the occasion and encouraging those residents who may not be familiar with their local library to “gopher books!”

The library will be hosting a special event from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on that day, and, as Take Your Child to the Library Day just so happens to fall on Groundhog Day this year, Library Director Debbie Saunders reported that Bossard will be operating under the theme, “I Gopher Books” in an effort to get more kids to sign up for a library card.

“Gregory the Groundhog” will be on hand to visit those children who stop by, and other fun events will also be held from 10 a.m.-2 p.m., including crafts, facepainting and storytime.

Also, thanks to the Friends of Bossard Library, all the children in attendance for the special event will take home their very own book, while supplies last.

According to Saunders, the program will be geared toward younger children, but she and her staff are encouraging the entire family to visit the library this Saturday.

“It’s geared toward pre-K to fifth grade, but anybody can come in that day,” she said. “We want families to say, ‘you know, we haven’t gone to the library for a while, so let’s make a day of it and spend some time at the library as a family.’”

A large part of the initiative, Saunders reported, will be to gain new patrons — especially those youngest children who may not have a library card to call their own.

Anyone who is four years of age or older and a resident of Gallia County may apply for a library card at Bossard Library.

According to the library’s circulation policy, in order for a minor (a child under the age of 18) to obtain a library card, their parent or guardian must provide at least two forms of identification for themselves, one must be a photo ID (a driver’s license or other identification) and the other must contain the parent/guardian’s current mailing address.

A parent or guardian must also have “proof of child” at the time of the library card application. The simplest form is the presence of the child at the time of the application. The presentation of the child’s social security number, current school report card or other identification will also suffice.

Adults obtaining a library card must only present a photo ID and one other form of identification with their current mailing address.

According to Saunders, National Take your Child to the Library Day is all about families finding time to incorporate their local library into their regular routine and to expose these families to all that a library has to offer.

“We just want to set aside a day to say, ‘if you haven’t seen what we have to offer for your family, please incorporate us and make us one of your stops that weekend so you can kind of make it part of your weekly or monthly family routine,’” Saunders said. “If nothing else, just stop in from 10 to 2, even if you just have 15 minutes, and expose your children to what they library is all about. That’s what we want to do.”

For more information on this or any other upcoming event at Bossard Memorial Library, call (740) 446-7323 (READ) or visit their website at www.bossard.lib.oh.us.