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SAVANNAH, GA, March 13, 2025 - Live Oak Public Libraries' St. Patrick's Day float will feature new reading buddy characters, TJ the Squirrel, and his friends, the Coastal Critters, in Savannah's March 17th St. Patrick's Day Parade.
TJ, and his pals, Lolo the Armadillo, RayRay the Racoon, Blu the Great Blue Heron and Alvie the Alligator, are new mascots for Live Oak Public Libraries. Their job: to share their love of reading and writing with the community and to encourage students to use the resources of Live Oak Public Libraries.
Designed by local illustrator, Taya Person, in a campaign conceived by the LOPL in-house communications department, TJ is a descendent of the beloved squirrel mascot, TWIGS. According to library legend, TWIGS fell out of an oak tree and was adopted by the library, where he learned to read and write. TWIGS passed on his remarkable gift to generations of Coastal Georgia squirrels. TJ, in turn, shared his love of reading and writing with his buddies, the Coastal Critters.
"TJ and the Coastal Critters will help raise awareness of our PLAY card program, which gives Georgia public school students fine-free access to millions of public library materials - both physical and digital. It is really important for families to know that this incredible resource is theirs, for free," explained Lola DeWitt, Executive Director of Live Oak Public Libraries.
"TJ and the Coastal Critters will be featured on collectible physical cards that we will distribute system-wide as part of our Summer Reading Challenge, so that children can have a keepsake to remind them the library is always here for them, in person or online," DeWitt continued.
The annual Summer Reading Challenge, free and open to readers of all ages, begins June 1st.
For more information about PLAY cards, go to www.liveoakpl.org/play or visit your local Live Oak Public Libraries branch.
About Live Oak Public Libraries: LOPL is a system of 16 libraries providing materials, programs and services in Chatham, Effingham and Liberty Counties. It is one of Georgia's largest public library systems, with a service area of more than a million people. Our mission is to inspire the community to Grow, Create, Discover and Explore.
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