Lorain Public Library System Relies on Local Support and Involvement to Make 2009 Summer Reading Program for Children and Teens a Success
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Feature Stories
Lorain Public Library System's Summer Reading Program
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by Terri Frederick, Public Relations Officer, Lorain Public Library System
Much of Lorain County will be filled with music, art and drama this summer as children and teens in the Lorain Public Library System’s Summer Reading Program celebrate the arts.
Since 1978, the Summer Reading Program sponsored by the Lorain Public Library System (LPLS) has been a popular summer activity for children and teens. This year, LPLS will use the state theme for the children’s (“Be Creative @ Your Library) and teens’ (“Express Yourself @ Your Library”) Summer Reading Programs.
LPLS is the largest public library system in Lorain County. It is composed of six community libraries (Main Library, Lorain; South Lorain Branch; Avon Branch; Columbia Branch; Domonkas Branch, Sheffield Lake; and North Ridgeville Branch Library) and a Bookmobile.
In order to develop programming and determine prizes that will be well received by the diverse population that the library system serves the Summer Reading Program for children and teens is planned by a staff committee. The committee is comprised of one staff member from each LPLS library and the Bookmobile. Overseeing the Summer Reading Program is Youth Services Librarian Supervisor Elaine McGrew.
Over the past five years, participation in the LPLS Summer Reading Program has significantly increased, thanks to grants from The Stocker Foundation of Lorain, Ohio. With funding from The Stocker Foundation, LPLS is able to purchase great prizes that program participants earn for reading. And a lot of reading is certainly what kids and teens will do over the summer. In the 2009 Summer Reading Program, children will need to read 20 hours to finish the children’s program, and teens will need to read 12 books to finish the teen program.
From year to year, the LPLS Summer Reading Programs have offered a variety of prizes for children and teens who have reached their reading goals. Somewhat surprisingly, the most popular prizes have been books. “It’s difficult to provide incentives like finger puppets or water bottles that cover all ages, and we discovered that participants were more excited about picking out their prize books anyway,” commented McGrew. “This year, we have gone back to the book as our main prize, and we take care to include books for every age and ability level.”
“Many of the families we serve are living at or near poverty levels, and Lorain has been especially hard hit as more and more manufacturing jobs are lost to economic downturns,” said Ms. McGrew. “Our Summer Reading Program puts books in the hands of children who otherwise may not have reading materials at home. A child has the opportunity to earn five new books each summer when they participate in the children’s program, and they can earn four books a year through the teen program at the Lorain Public Library System. If they start at birth, it’s possible a child could have a library of 80 books by the time they graduate from high school.”
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