Libraries' summer reading programs kick off this week

Summer reading programs at libraries serve several purposes: helping avoid the �summer slide� in learning, keeping children engaged in learning between school sessions and incentivizing reading.

But these programs aren�t the only offerings at libraries this summer.

Cape Girardeau Public Library will have multiple events and classes this summer, said youth services coordinator Sharon Anderson, who said she�s heading into her 19th summer with the library.

Anderson said about 1,000 people participate just in the reading component, with the bulk of participation happening among children.

But the 100 or so teens and about 100 adults who participate in the reading competition are also eligible for prizes, Anderson said.

This summer�s theme, �Libraries Rock!�, includes programs in music and in geology, said Whitney Vandeven, adult services director at the library.

Anderson said people can participate by getting a game board and keeping track of their reading, which is encouraged.

Or they can check out the library�s website for the events calendar, to find everything from coding classes to magicians to ukulele lessons.

None of this would be possible without grants, which library staff must write to apply for every year, Anderson said.

The adult reading program has prizes, too, Vandeven said, and it�s not about how many books a participant reads: it�s about how many minutes they spend reading.

For every ten minutes of reading per week, participants are entered into a weekly drawing, and the grand-prize drawing at the end of the summer, Vandeven said.

More information is on the library�s website, www.capelibrary.org, or at the information desk at 711 N. Clark Ave. in Cape Girardeau, she added.

The competition starts Friday.

Over at Riverside Regional Library�s six branches, thousands of people participate in the reading program, director Jeff Trinkle said.

The program started Tuesday, and last year had more than 8,000 participants � most of them children, he said.

�The programs are what really draw the kids and parents,� Trinkle said.

Learning through play is a great way for children to engage with their local branch, he said.

And, Trinkle said, without the help of a grant written every year by the children�s librarian at the Jackson branch, the program would not be as robust.

Those funds allow for better prizes and a more active events calendar, which can be found at www.riversideregionallibrary.org or on the library�s Facebook page.

Trinkle said this year, the library branches will also offer a light lunch with the children�s reading program, also thanks in part to grant funding.

�We�re really proud of it,� Trinkle said. �During the summer, some kids may not have a lunch at all. We don�t require any documentation or qualifications for the lunch. If kids are hungry, they can have a meal.�

Riverside Regional Library has its main branch at 1997 E. Jackson Blvd. in Jackson, and has locations in Perryville, Altenburg, Oran, Scott City and Benton, Missouri.

mniederkorn@semissourian.com

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