Central Rappahannock Regional Library has been awarded a $6,000 grant from The Robert Cullen O’Neill Memorial Fund of The Community Foundation to purchase book prizes for its popular youth Summer Reading program.
The grant will fund complimentary books for children and teens who reach the 1,000- and 2,000-minute reading milestones. In 2025, participants earned an impressive 2,167 books through the program. Library officials emphasized that the Summer Reading initiative was not dependent on this single gift; additional prize support comes from local businesses Habit Burger and Raising Cane’s.
The youth Summer Reading program is one of CRRL’s longest-running and highest-impact initiatives, operating for more than 40 years. It uses dynamic events, reading challenges, and rewards to boost literacy and combat the academic “summer slide.” This year’s theme is “Unearth a Story,” and the program runs from May 15 through August 15. Pre-registration opens May 1; full details and sign-up information are available at librarypoint.org/summer.
In a separate but related honor highlighting the library’s ongoing excellence, Jenny McGee, Library on the Go (LOTG) Specialist at the Howell Branch in Stafford County, has been named Staff Member of the Year by the Virginia Public Library Directors Association (VPLDA). The award recognizes outstanding achievement in libraries serving populations of 100,001 or more.
In 2025, McGee personally assisted more than 4,000 customers with library services, books, and access to technology across 18 senior living facilities in the City of Fredericksburg, Spotsylvania County, and Stafford County. She was also instrumental in the rollout of a new mobile library vehicle that now serves rural residents in Westmoreland County.
“Her work provides essential technology access, books, and social connection for residents who cannot easily visit a physical branch,” the library stated.
Central Rappahannock Regional Library serves Fredericksburg, Stafford, Spotsylvania, and Westmoreland counties. For more information on the Summer Reading program or library services, visit librarypoint.org.
