Summertime in the Library for Teens

One of my favorite things about summer is the increase in the number of teens I see coming into the library.  The number of teens participating in Teen Thursdays every week is nearly double what it was at the end of the school year.  We’ve got almost 200 teens signed up for the reading program, Beneath the Surface.  And the number of minutes those teens are reading is absolutely astonishing!

This is the first summer we’ve had teens keep track of the number of minutes they spend reading.  We made this change for several reasons.  Tracking minutes, instead of pages or books, means that we can allow teens to read ANYTHING!  Those teens who are still reading materials in our juvenile collection can be just as involved in the program as those regularly reading from our tween, young adult, and adult collections.  And those teens who challenge themselves with a 500 plus page book reap the same rewards as those who prefer several quick reads.  Minutes have been a great equalizer for readers of all abilities and the teens seem happy with the switch.

Summer reading is two-fold for me; reading and programming.  Of course we encourage reading and offer programs all year but summer is a special time at the library and we want our programs to reflect that.  We kicked things off at our Down the Rabbit Hole to Summer Reading party on May 31^st and have continued to host a steady stream of well attended teen programs at many of our locations.  Every week at 3:00 teens, grades six through twelve, are welcome to attend Teen Thursdays.  Teen Thursdays this summer focus on crafts, activities, presentations, and snacks related to this year’s underground theme.  We’ve also got the last after-hours event of the summer coming up on July 12^th.  The Masquerade Ball will be evening filled with glamorous fun, including music, games, snacks, freebies, and more!  Space is limited and filling up fast so be sure to turn in your permission slip to any of our six locations as soon as possible.  

 

 

Teens at the kick-off party, Down the Rabbit Hole to Summer Reading

Not only do we see more teen patrons in the summer we also have more teen volunteers in the summer.  We currently have two high school volunteers who each spend about an hour a week helping us prepare programs, pull materials, straighten collections, build displays, and whatever else we need. 

A week or two ago I had the pleasure of hearing one of teen volunteers, while working in our tween area, make recommendations to a preteen who seemed a little lost about what to read.  Without any prompting from me she went on to encourage the girl to sign up for summer reading.  It was such an amazing thing to see one patron sharing her love of reading and the library with another patron.  Hopefully this volunteering gig will lead this particular volunteer to a career as a librarian because I know she’d be stellar at it! 

You’ll also hear from our newest volunteer on the blog later this week.  Emily was a long time participant in Lunch in the Library at West Middle School before she moved on to Martinsville High School.  She spent a day shadowing me for her career planning class last year and now we’re lucky enough to have her back as a volunteer.  Emily is an avid reader and I know you’ll enjoy hearing her book reviews and thoughts on blog occasionally.

As you can see the library is an exciting place to be in the summer, for you and for us!  If you haven’t yet become involved in the summer reading program it isn’t too late to join.  Stop by any of our locations (Brooklyn, Eminence, Martinsville, Monrovia, Morgantown, & Waverly) to sign up.  And summer reading isn’t just for kids and teens, we’ve got reading programs and special events for all ages.  We look forward to serving you this summer and always!