Central Fresno 7-Eleven offers sign-ups for free library card

Fresnans will have the opportunity to sign-up for a free library card Thursday at a 7-Eleven convenience store located in central Fresno.

From noon to 4 p.m. at 2414 N Fruit Ave., locals can receive a free medium Slurpee for signing up for a card to the Fresno County Public Library. The card will allow users to check out books at any library branch.

Store owners Sushil Prakash and Josephine Kiran have a special focus on reading. They created a mini library in their store two years ago. Prakash said he and his wife Kiran are book worms and said their convenience store is bigger than most, which allowed them to add the library.

“This store has a nook in the corner and we decided to just make it something to give back to the community,” Prakash said. “We have received a lot of books, which were all donated, and it’s basically for anybody who wants to come in, take a book and read it.”

There’s even an incentive for children: A free Slurpee for every book read and summarized in a short book report.

Prakash said so far his store is the only 7-Eleven that includes a library, and “it’s aimed for anybody who wants to read.”

This story was originally published August 5, 2015 at 11:55 AM with the headline "Central Fresno 7-Eleven offers sign-ups for free library card."