By John Peters
Editor
School’s out, the weather is fine, and the kids are free.
So where do they go?
The library.
That’s right. The library.
Libraries in the Lake Gaston region are attracting hundreds of kids – and in some cases teens and adults – with summer reading programs that feature prize give aways, weekly programs, and in some cases, recognition for the youth who reads the most books over the summer.
On Friday, nearly 80 children aged 6 to 12 crammed into the Littleton branch of the Halifax County regional library system for the program’s kick-off.
They each signed up, set their reading goals for the summer, and then got to watch a program by Dr. Zoann Parker, who taught them how chickens develop inside eggs and eventually hatch as baby chicks. The program included placing some eggs in an incubator, which the library will keep on hand during the summer program.
Friday’s event was the third one of the week for the Halifax library system, according to Jane Richardson, who serves as the children’s librarian at the Littleton, Weldon, and Halifax branches. The program had similar, though smaller, kick-offs in Weldon and Halifax earlier in the week.
“This is the largest one,” she said of the Littleton branch. All totaled, she said she there were around 40 to 50 at the other two branches.
This is the fourteenth year the Halifax libraries have sponsored a summer reading program.
“We wanted to keep the kids involved in reading,” Richardson said of the reasoning behind the initial start up. “Reading is very, very important. It was a way to get the kids to come to the library, to see what we offered, and to have fun.”
Each year the program attracts more participants, she said, and those participants often times become regular library patrons.
“I see a lot of the kids from the summer coming back, using the library during the year,” she said.
She said kids can join the program any time during the summer. The youth set their own reading goal for the summer, and at the end of the season the library has a cook-out and closing program, complete with certificates for all those who meet their reading goals.
Between now and the end, there are weekly programs, featuring various guest speakers.
The Littleton branch will have its weekly programs every Friday, from 11 a.m. until about 12:30 p.m. The Halifax branch holds its meetings every Tuesday starting at 10 a.m., and the Weldon branch gets going each Wednesday at 11 a.m., though there is no program on July 4.
The Roanoke Rapids library has a similar program, according to Jeff Watson,
youth services librarian.
“We just want to encourage children to explore leisure reading, and to keep their reading skills strong throughout the summer, so that when they go back to school in the fall they are not starting from the beginning,” he said of his library’s reason for the program.
Watson said he recently read a research article that pointed out the benefits of such a program. “(The article said) Learning often drops off in the summer and people who participate in the summer reading program, and who read at least six books, often have stronger reading skills when the school year begins.”
The Roanoke Rapids program, for youth age to 13, is similar to the one in Halifax County in that it has a different activity each week, featuring either a guest speaker from the community or someone from the library, and they have scheduled a scavenger hunt, an interactive mystery, and other events .
“We will have the Chick-Fil-A cow here, McGruff the crime dog will visit, and we’ll have Nanner the dog,” he said. Nanner is coming courtesy of Lakeland Arts Center, which loaned the costume for the character.
Nanner, Watson said, was at the library Friday, reading to the kids and handing out bananas. Weekly activities for the program will be each Thursday, from 1:30 p.m. until 3 p.m.
The Roanoke Rapids program has been around for nearly three decades. Though no one at the library knew its exact starting date, some could recall it being in existence as far back as the early 1980s.
The Warrenton Memorial Library has a summer reading program as well, although it is a bit different than the others.
Terry Henderson, who works at the library, said the program started there on Monday of this week, and runs every day the library is open until July 20.
There are no special weekly events, but participants can sign up any time, and come in any day the library is open to report how many books they’ve read.
Another difference is that the program in Warrenton is open to children from age 4 right on through adults. The preschoolers and kindergarteners get credit for books read to them, and adults get to report how many volumes they’ve read over the summer as well.
“We feel that when the adults come in bringing their kids, this give the adults an opportunity to participate, and to win prizes as well,” she said of the reason to include adults in the program. “It helps with adult literacy as well.”
The Warrenton summer reading program divides the readers into various age categories, and at the end of the program there are prizes for the top reader in each age group as well as drawings for various prizes. For each book read, a participant gets to put in an entry, thus increasing his or her chances to win the drawing by reading more.
Because the program just started, Henderson said the library won’t know how many participants are involved for some time.
Roanoke Rapids Watson, who worked in the Warrenton library last year, said there were more than 350 participants in that program in 2006.
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