Libraries have planned trips to amusement parks as prizes, outdoor movies, an end of summer pool party and thousands of other prizes in an effort to get families to read together.
Summer reading at the Greenwood library and at all Johnson County Public Library branches kicks off today and Edinburgh readers can start reading to earn prizes when the Edinburgh Wright-Hagemen Public Library kicks off its summer reading program on June 3.
Librarians are encouraging families to read and participate together and the program at each library is open for registration to any card holder of the library.
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One of the main ideas strong summer reading programs foster is to get students and families actively engaged to prevent them from losing what they learned at school over the year, said Sarah Taylor, programming manager for the Johnson County Public Library.
“(Summer reading) can negate the effects of summer slide,” she said.
Summer programs at the library have also moved beyond sitting down, reading a book and recording the hours or number of books and handing the work into library officials.
Patrons of the Johnson County Public Library can check out an item in their Library of Things to earn points toward summer reading. All the libraries have planned special events around their summer learning programs as well.
The idea is to reach out to the community and get them interested in the library and to teach them what their library can offer, said Keeley Waters, a children’s librarian at the Johnson County Public Library.
“I have always seen the library as a place that should be the community’s living room,” she said.
All the library systems have themes, which are meant to increase the fun that the program offers and families are encouraged to participate together, said Emily Ellis, teen librarian at the Greenwood library.
Both the Greenwood and Edinburgh libraries are following the summer reading theme of space, set forth by the Indiana State Library. The Johnson County Public Library’s theme is “Explore Summer.”
Patrons at all the libraries can take in special events meant to draw attention to the program. Greenwood is planning a book talk at Planetary Brewing for adults, a family viewing of “E.T.” and an Area 51 day camp for the entire family, Ellis said.
Readers who complete Edinburgh’s program can splash and play at an end of summer pool party, where additional prizes will be given out. The library also plans on giving out prizes as students complete milestones, Edinburgh library employee Rhonda Simpson said.
Home Bank has given the Johnson County Public Library $12,000 to help it run its summer reading program. The budget for previous years’ programs had been about $5,500, Waters said.
The money has allowed the library system to add more programs across its branches, with more than 400 programs offered across the branches. And the money has allowed the library to increase its outreach, where each school district in the Johnson County Public Library is competing to get the most students, Taylor said.
Librarians will also be giving patrons signs to mount in their yard to get the word out about summer reading, with random homes with the sign being chosen for prizes, she said.
Employees of the library will also be packing books and other materials out to neighborhoods populated by students who cannot get to the library to encourage them to read and participate in the program. Books will be available for them to check out on site.
“(It is) to kind of meet them where they are to make the program successful,” Taylor said.
