Summer Reading Program

Once July 1 arrives, the six Regions as they are known currently consolidate into Massachusetts Library System. Regional discussion lists and web sites will either not be supported or not be updated.

All summer reading program information for 2010 is located on the Statewide Wiki. All updates and announcements will be made through the statewide youth services discussion list MassYac. To subscribe to Massyac, visit MassYac and follow the directions.

This blog and all its information will be available beyond July 1 for a while but not updated.

From Maureen Ambrosino, YS Consultant, CMRLS:

I’m writing to let you know about a change we are making to the
Readsinma.org “splash” page. (That’s the ReadsinMA home page that you
see at http://www.readsinma.org) Starting later in June, you will be
able to have your program added/removed from the splash page when you’re
ready.

IMPORTANT: Even if your program is currently linked on the
ReadsinMA.org page, you will still need to follow the steps below.
Please take a moment and follow these steps right away so your page will
continue to be linked on the splash page.

Here’s what to do:

Sign into the staff side of your program
Click System Maintenance
On the right side of the screen, click the first link, System Settings.
The first question on the page is “ReadsinMA Participation”

To make your library APPEAR on the splash page, choose Yes. Fill in your
city/town and your library’s name. Please use proper capitalization -
the way you type it into the box is the way it will appear on the page.
Press the Save button at the top or bottom of the page.

To REMOVE your library from the splash page, follow the same
instructions above, but choose No for “ReadsinMA Participation” and
press the Save button.

The system will be updated every night during the overnight hours to
add/remove programs.

If you have any questions, please contact Susan Babb before June 30th
or Evanced Support at 317-352-2188 after July 1.

I am beginning to go out to libraries to train/retrain/refresh staff on how to best use the online reading program tool! There are some cool changes to note!

The following are open to anyone who would like to receive this training. Just be sure to let me know by dropping me an email!

Haverhill April 26, 2010 – 2:30
Amesbury May 4, 2010 – 3:00
Gloucester May 11, 2010 – 2:00
Ipswich May 12, 2010 – 9:00
Burlington May 17, 2010 – 2:00
West Newbury May 21, 2010 – 2:00

Story Time Train is derailed for 2010, we will all give it a big push down the tracks for 2011!

Thanks,
Sara Collins
Manchester Public Library
15 Union Street
Manchester, MA
01944

978.526.2016

Evanced Solutions will be upgrading our program in the near future. I attended a webinar today which reviewed some of these changes. The biggest one is a configuration with Facebook! Patrons will have the option of feeding their progress or reviews into Facebook. This will be a matter of a setting in the System Setup.

Other changes had to do with some prize management, reports, and adding some visual enhancements such as “star” rating system.

I will be offering two workshops on how to use this tool on April 12 – go here to register. Folks have the option of attending this workshop through GoToWebinar, as part of our Distance Ed pilot project.

Cathy DeWitt, Georgetown, started the discussion by relating how she worked with her school’s literacy consultant last year to promote summer reading in the schools and hoped to do so again. Georgetown is going with a frog them for the summer! Green frogs will be everywhere! As kids sign up , they will put their name on an Ellison frog die cut and that gets displayed. Continuing the safari tradition, a frog creature will be hidden someplace in the library every week. Youngsters can find the creature, write down where it was seen, and have their name put in the weekly raffle. This should bring in the kids! Because of lower numbers last year, Cathy will offer more low cost programs such as crafts and making things with recycled materials. Georgetown kicks off on June 28th with drummer Michael Wingfield.
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Summer reading materials orders are now closed. The following libraries have submitted orders, indicated in the parentheses.

Public Libraries
Amesbury Public Library (children’s)
Andover – Memorial Hall Library (children’s, teen, and adult) [Read more →]

Greetings,

Orders are now closed!

Our annual 2010 Massachusetts Regional Library Systems (MRLS)
Statewide Summer Reading Program is one of the many benefits
of your NMRLS membership. This year, the Northeast
Massachusetts Regional Library System will provide access to
the online summer reading program planning manual and clip art
as well as program promotional materials (posters, bookmarks,
certificates, and reading records), free of charge, to all
NMRLS member libraries that submit orders by January 29, 2010.

Visit our MRLS Summer Reading Program WIKI to view the program
artwork-
http://masummerreading.pbworks.com/Summer-Reading-2010-Paper-Incentives

Please do contact me if you need additional information on
this topic.

Sincerely,
Susan

Ideas from brainstorming session:

• reuse, recycle – use scrap or found materials for crafts
• book making – out of recycled materials (Yetti Frankel)
• reduce the time spent in planning and preparing, reuse materials for crafts, and recycle ideas!
• sharing more programs with each other – begin to use this blog to discuss
• folks can register to this blog and contribute ideas as authors of the blog see lower right register button!
• having a costume workshop out of found materials
• post facts about energy consumption and put them around the room
• Reading for charities: zoos, Heifer International
• contact local DPW to see if they will do a program with trees
• Go green and help some public place with planting and clean up

More ideas to come, I am sure!

If there was any question of this past summer having been one of the busiest, this morning’s conversation confirmed it! Participants joined in a roundtable discussion of this past summer and peaked at next summer.

Revere Public Library (Lona, Mark) – A handout was passed out to each participant in which the following information was reviewed:

• Publicity – everything was posted on the bulletin board in the children’s room
• Calendar – every activity was included on the June, July, and August calendars – crafts, reading, programs
• Children’s room – students helped with arts and crafts as well as displays
• Incentives – donated books, starship pencils, coupons, starship stamp
• Programs – outreach wih several community groups like WIC, Revere Beach, Suffolk Downs (at which a race was named after the Library!) Some of these groups assisted the Library in raising funds, such as the Library selling tickets to Kool and the Gang and keeping a percentage of the sales)

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