Summer Reading Program 2008 Wrap Up!
By all accounts, summer 2008 was a busy one in the Northeast! It was observed more than once that registration numbers were down a little at individual libraries but participation and circulation numbers went through the roof! Families were sticking close to home and taking full advantage of the free programs and resources found at their local library!
We asked in our Statewide Evaluation for stories about the impact of summer reading upon their patrons. Here are a few standouts:
"…one mom said that the SRC helps give structure to the summer…"
"We always have stories about children who learn to read. This year, we had three families whose children ages 4-6 caught the reading "bug". It's always very satisfying to know that a program, display, or hand-picked book turned the key and started their little reading engines."
"As always parents seem so pleased that we offer a program during the summer with incentives to get their children reading. We found more people coming into the library this summer. It was one of our busiest summers ever."
"The comment I most often heard this year was that the whole program really kept children interested in reading over the summer."
"Parents who bring children to the library are our heroes."
"The librarians are all very sweet to me and my sister. The library is always decorated in a really fun way. I love coming every week. They also have really fun activities going on life (like) crafts, stories, reading contests and all sorts of special shows. Thank you for such a great place for my family to enjoy."
"It was our most successful summer program ever. We tied it in with 'read to meet the need,' raising money for our local animal shelter. 'Reads' in the title made it clear to the public that it was a reading program. 'Wild' implies animals, which is always a huge draw."
Regionally, we had a total of 24,241 register in 56 participating libraries! Our figures for last year showed a total of 23,706 registrations in 48 libraries.
For the State, the total figure is 106,334. The Northeast accounted for 3 of the top 10 libraries with highest statistics for children, 7 of the top 10 libraries with highest statistics for teens, and 3 of the top 10 libraries with highest statistics for adults!
We have posted the Statewide Summer Reading Program Evaluation results at <http://www.wmrls.org/sum/2008/eval/srp-eval-summary.pdf>.
November is Family Literacy Month!
We have a great opportunity to publicize our libraries and what we are doing already during November's Family Literacy Month, designated as such both statewide and nationally.
A storyhour? An outreach event? A Family event? All you need do is brand it as a family literacy event and publicize it!
It can only be good publicity for your library and for libraries in the Commonwealth. Get out the word that libraries do family literacy! Folks don't have to go far to celebrate!
For more updates about summer reading, book review, school librarians, programs, and young adult resources, please visit: <http://www.nmrls.org/youth/services/>.
