Library to host Summer Reading Program

5-1-17 Summer Reading Program

Research shows that if students don’t read over the summer break, they can lose up to one grade level of reading skills.

Maryville Public Library is doing their best to combat that.

On May 30, the day after Memorial Day, the library’s annual Summer Reading Program, themed “Build a Better World,” kicks off. Library director Stephanie Patterson said the event runs through July 31.

“The program has been going on for a long time, much longer than I’ve been here,” Patterson said. “It’s a service we love providing here at the library.

“When school is out, schools are interested in keeping their kids reading over the summer to prevent loss of reading skills. We provide this program to encourage kids to keep reading.”

While the loss can be steep if students don’t read, Patterson said continuing to read can raise a student’s reading level over the summer by as much as a grade level. In essence, by continuing to read during the summer months, students stand to gain as much as they stand to lose when it comes to reading.

The Summer Reading Program at the library encourages students to read at least eight hours over the course of the summer — a rate of one hour per week of the program. Patterson said the program will bring several events to the library.

“Our reading hours will become weekly over the summer instead of monthly,” Patterson said. “We’ll also keep our Lego Club and Minecraft Club going, but there will be lots of other events.

“We’re working on a day where we go read in the park, out by the Freedom Rock at Franklin, and a S’mores Day and a Nerf war. We’re also planning to end the event with a day at the pool.”

The program will also come with challenges for the participants.

“We have kids who always go above and beyond the eight hours we require because they’re motivated readers and love reading,” Patterson said. “For them, we have created the Librarian’s challenge which will make them go above and beyond the regular challenges of the program.

“With this challenge, we’ll give them random tasks, such as going to do something kind for someone who won’t know they did it, building something and taking a picture with it, and a math challenge. It gives those readers a chance to shine.”

The program is intended for children up to the age of 18, but the main programming is geared toward independent readers from first grade and higher. There is programming available for younger readers and pre-readers.

There is no cost for participating in the program, only a requirement that the students have a library card or have access to one. The Kids Cards, which were funded through the new levy passed in the municipal election in April, are now available to kids.