My mind swirls back to the Summer Lovin’ song from the 1978 movie Grease. I was in high school at the time, and even as far back as that seems now, I can still remember swinging on my front porch on East Main singing that song and “Hopelessly Devoted.” Loved that movie!
With that soundtrack in mind, I’m back to 2023 and life as a librarian. Summers for the past twelve years have been more about an annual occurrence at the library than beach life—It’s called the Summer Reading Program. Did you know that we don’t encourage staff to take vacations during the six intense weeks of Summer Reading because this is when it’s all hands on deck at the local public library?
What’s so important about Summer Reading?
Every librarian knows that the programs we offer in the summer to keep kids engaged in reading are crucial to maintaining their reading level through the start of a new school year. When a child spends summers only watching TV or doing other activities, their ability to maintain a strong level of vocabulary hurts their chances of entering the new school year ready to tackle more challenging texts.
For this reason, public libraries offer summer reading programs to help teachers and parents engage children and teens to keep reading. Our librarians make sure preschools and schools are aware of our programming, so they can let parents know when to visit and sign their children up. In the past several years, we have moved to online registration, making it even easier for families to be involved.
What does a Summer Reading Program offer?
The key to keeping children reading is a challenge, and our programs offer incentives for children to read a certain number of books or minutes over the course of the program. We can’t do this without extra help, and our libraries are blessed with funding from our Friends of Libraries groups as well as gift cards and prizes from local businesses.
Along with the main reading challenge, we have other activities and performances to engage children and keep families coming to the library. Public libraries are some of the best places to take children for free fun. Most of our Rutherford County Library System locations have activities every day of the week, from Dewey Win Day (which encourages children to check out a nonfiction book), special STEAM events, movies, and music, to of course our wonderful story times for babies and school-aged children.
What is the outcome of a good Summer Reading Program?
Our immediate goal in providing a great summer reading program is for the kids to keep reading. That’s first and foremost. Good readers make for good students who make for good and productive adults. However, librarians have also witnessed that children who enjoyed the library as a child become lifelong readers and library users. If you can name your favorite childhood book, you can probably name your favorite book as a teenager and adult as well.
Reading encourages reading which builds character and purpose.
I’m lovin’ me some Summer Reading! I hope you will too.
Grace and Peace
Carol B. Ghattas, Manager at Linebaugh Public Library, is a writer, speaker, and active blogger. Subscribe to her blog, lifeinexile.net, or follow her on Facebook or Instagram. Connect with her at lifeinexile.net.