Saturday marked the conclusion of National Newspaper Week.

The annual event, sponsored by the Newspaper Association Managers, is billed as a weeklong celebration of the impact newspapers have on the daily lives of readers.

A recurring theme in recent years has been public notices in newspapers. The topic may sound as exciting as long division to a fourth grader, but its significance to our daily lives shouldn’t be underestimated.

Our government operates on a foundation of consent from its people. Such is the basis for our freedoms, our right to vote, our right to know.

In order to safeguard these rights and protect these freedoms, the people must be informed.

The founding fathers realized this. That’s why the First Congress passed a requirement in 1789 that all bills, orders, resolutions and congressional votes be published in at least three publicly available newspapers.

And still to this day, newspapers play a vital role informing citizens of government or government-related activities that affect our everyday lives.

Just a few examples of public notices you’ve seen published by Greenville Newspapers include proposed budgets for local governments, notices of government hearings, bid notices and election notices.

Newspapers serve as an accessible and convenient vehicle for delivering information to those most likely to be interested in or affected by public notices.

Obviously, newspapers are paid to publish public notices. This practice guarantees that valuable newspaper space will remain devoted to notifying the public.

We make a point to offer such services at the lowest possible rate — and we’re happy to do so. Public notices are an important part of the public record.

Much like the other forms of content in our printed product, public records are now also available on our Web site, www.greenvilleadvocate.com. This combination allows us even greater opportunity to inform those in our community, strengthening a role we’ve been proud to serve since 1865.