Summer Reading Program Kicks Off

Even though summer vacation is in full swing, there’s no excuse for children to fall behind on their reading.

The Muskingum County Library System kicks off its summer reading program this weekend. The John McIntire Library is holding a special registration Saturday, and the official registration begins next Monday at all six locations. The summer reading program is the largest single program the library provides all year.

Assistant Director Blair Tom explained, “it’s a six week, read for fun program, that runs June 15 through July 25, and the core of the program is… children and teens set their reading goal, and as they read their way to their goal, they earn incentives donated by community partners, and when they reach their goal, they receive a free book from the friends of the library. We think it’s really important to keep children engaged, excited and interested in reading during the summer, so they return to school ready learn in the fall.”

The library has incorporated some new components into its program this year, that Tom said, are essential to summer learning. Each location will have a special learning activity each week that is optional for children to engage in whenever they’re visiting the library.

“There’s always a lot of excitement about the program and our goal this year is to involve at least 750 first-time summer readers, so we’re always striving to retain our existing summer readers and grow new summer readers,” he said. “There’s a lot of energy and enthusiasm in the public libraries during that six-week period, it’s great to see.”

Children are able to choose books that pique their interests, but are encouraged to focus on books at their specific reading level.