Summer Reading Program Updates
Waste Management Sponsors Statewide Summer Reading Program
The Massachusetts Regional Library Systems (MRLS) are pleased to announce Waste Management, Inc. as the corporate sponsor of the 2007 MRLS Statewide Summer Reading Program, Catch the Beat at Your Library. Thanks to generous funding from Waste Management, every Massachusetts public and school library that is participating in this statewide literacy event will receive free bookmarks, reading logs, posters, membership cards and certificates, printed on recycled paper and featuring the artwork of award winning illustrator Stephen Gammell.
Catch the Beat at your Library is a celebration of libraries, reading, and Massachusetts pride. Although each library customizes its reading program to respond to local community needs, many libraries will feature programs that focus on music, poetry, games, rhythm and rhyme, and all things with a beat. With support from Waste Management employees, Massachusetts libraries will also be promoting Waste Management's important message that "Recycling is Music to Our Ears."
MRLS and Waste Management are providing Catch the Beat at your Library for local libraries for five primary reasons:
- To help children maintain their reading skills during the summer.
- To inspire children, teens, and adults to visit their libraries and to read - just for the fun of it.
- To encourage Massachusetts communities to recognize their libraries as vital resources for learning and growing.
- To promote sustainable practices as part of every day living.
- To remind children and their parents to Think Green.
Maureen Ambrosino, youth services consultant for the Central Massachusetts Regional Library System, says, "We are delighted to have Waste Management on board as our corporate sponsor this year. Their commitment to teaching citizens about recycling and the environment is music to the ears of librarians across the Commonwealth."
John Horak, director of operations for Waste Management in the Greater Massachusetts area, "We feel this is a natural partnership, since our company, like our Massachusetts libraries, supports environmental initiatives across the state. We are all working together to further educate children and families about how to engage in sustainable practices and Think Green."
MRLS services are provided through state funds administered by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners. MRLS provide services to, and support resource sharing among nearly 1,800 academic, public, school and special libraries in Massachusetts. MRLS services include interlibrary loan, reference and referral, delivery of materials between libraries, continuing education, technical assistance, database access, bookmobile services, cooperative purchasing programs, supplemental deposit collections of print and non-print materials, and the Statewide Summer Reading Program.
Waste Management, based in Houston, Texas, is the leading provider of comprehensive waste management services in North America. Waste Management's operations throughout the State of Massachusetts employ more than 800 people. The company's subsidiaries provide collection, transfer, recycling and resource recovery, and disposal services. The company is also a leading developer, operator and owner of waste-to-energy and landfill gas-to-energy facilities in the United States. Its customers include residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers throughout North America.
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ReadsinMa Online Reading Program Launched!
The online Summer Reading Program statewide web page http://readsinma.org/ officially went live June 1. Approximately 150 libraries are participating! It's not too late to participate! Upon filling out the form at http://www.nmrls.org/surveys/evanced.htm, you will receive a web site from E-vanced. Contact Susan Babb for onsite training with the program.
You can set up your site to do Summer Reading Program registration and track reading via an online reading log. Reporting your statistics (as agreed to when summer reading program materials are ordered) will be a breeze! Plus, if you choose, librarians can manage prizes and incentives, and your patrons can submit book reviews to you to consider for display on the Web! Since the software will be available year-round, so you can use it for any program.
Beginning the week of June 11th, the Summer Reading Program, Catch the Beat, will be advertised in more than 150 newspapers across the state. In July, a different ad encouraging all to read during the summer will run in those same newspapers. Both ads will direct patrons to participate in their local library's summer reading program, as well as to sign-up online if their local library is participating. A tool kit highlighting the ads, along with a list of the newspapers, a bookmark to use in promoting it, a public service announcement (PSA), and links to the Summer Reading Program Wiki will be on the MBLC Web site soon.
With grant funding provided by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners, the Massachusetts Regional Library Systems have licensed software from E-vanced Solutions http://www.evancedsolutions.com to provide their "Summer Reader" software to every public library in the state for the next three years!
2007 Catch the beat at your Library Updates
Be sure to visit the Summer Reading Blog at http://summerreading.wordpress.com/. Any update to the program is announced there. A new feature are Tips for using Evanced!
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Barnes & Noble Fundraiser Results
The Massachusetts Regional Library Systems, Massachusetts Library Association, Massachusetts School Library Association, local libraries across the state, and Barnes & Noble teamed up for a two-day fund raising event April 20-21, 2007. The event, Catch the Beat for Your Library at Barnes and Noble, raised over $4,000 for Summer Reading Programs in Massachusetts libraries.
Barnes & Noble donated a percentage of every sale from every customer who presented a special book fair voucher at participating Barnes and Noble stores in Massachusetts and selected stores in Connecticut, Rhode Island and New Hampshire on those two days. Many outstanding special events were held, with authors, illustrators, elected officials, and librarians presenting programs in the stores. In addition, Barnes and Noble awarded a $500 gift card to the library whose patrons brought in the most vouchers. The gift card was awarded to the Berkshire Athenaeum in Pittsfield.
"On behalf of everyone at Barnes & Noble, we are honored to partner with Massachusetts Libraries in supporting your summer reading program and encouraging more children to "Catch the Beat" with you this summer!" said Maddie Hjulstrom, Regional Community Relations Manager for Barnes and Noble.
The collaboration represents a growing trend in libraries to seek out partners to help fund programs that improve the quality of life for residents. Through partnerships with organizations and individuals, Massachusetts libraries continue to discover alternative ways of funding high quality library programs and services statewide.
For more information, contact Maureen Ambrosino, Youth Services Consultant, Central Massachusetts Regional Library System at mambrosino@cmrls.org or Nevart Asadoorian, Community Relations Manager, Barnes and Noble, Millbury, at CRM2206@bn.com.
