Bill and Joan Hickman stand near the bronze sculpture the couple recently donated to the East Lake Community Library.
Palm Harbor - The newly constructed community room at East Lake Community Library is home to two new permanent residents.
The new residents are the centerpiece of the room - life-size bronze sculpture of a young girl teaching a younger boy the joys of reading a book. The sculpture is the gift of Bill and Joan Hickman.
Mrs. Hickman feels the sculpture depicts precisely what library staff wants to inspire in children from a young age, namely, the joy and rewards of learning to love books, and the pleasure that comes in teaching younger children this joy.
She said during a recent ribbon-cutting ceremony that while Kindles and “Googling” on the computer are wonderful information-gathering tools and are here to stay, there is nothing more rewarding than perusing through a tangible, hard-cover book.
Book lovers from an early age, the Hickmans acquired the sculpture many years ago from an interior design studio and it sat in their own extensive library.
Mr. and Mrs. Hickman are long-time residents of Pinellas County and have lived in the Cypress Run Golf Club neighborhood for the past 25 years. Mr. Hickman is on the East Lake Council of North County Neighborhoods Board along with two of the East Lake Community Library Advisory Board Members. When the East Lake Library planned an addition, it seemed a good place and a good time to pass the sculpture on so that many other people could enjoy it, the Hickmans said.
The public is invited to come and meet the new residents of East Lake Community Library (and yes, touching is permitted!).
East Lake Community Library is at 4125 East Lake Road in Palm Harbor. For more information, call 727-773-2665.
![[Image]](/content_images/121511_leart-02.jpg)
