Summer Reading Planning

02/23/2024

Summer Reading Planning

Summer Reading is in the planning stage at most libraries. Whether you adopt the CLSP Program Adventure Begins at Your Library or the iRead Program Read, Renew, and Repeat, summer reading takes lot of work.

I did some research, looking for tips that might be helpful for an over-worked librarian that may need a push to get started. Here’s what I found:

1. Keep hot titles on hand. Does that mean you may need extra copies of the new Dog Man coming out next month? Yes, it does. Make sure you are ready to circulate those hot titles and make sure your patrons know when the books are due back so others can read.
2. Talk to your local schools before summer begins. Have a sign-up day for summer reading or send home a hand-out with details about how to participate.
3. Stay with the schools to support their summer school program, bring books for the kids to check out, introduce them to the wonder and adventure they can have with a great book.
4. Use social media to communicate with patrons and your community to let them know what’s happening at the library.
5. Email patrons to inform them about summer activities. The Adventure theme is great to pair with your local parks for a day of exploring. Read, Renew, and Repeat is also a great fit with your local park for clean-up and awareness of animals that live by us.
6. Partner with a business in your community. Whether you are asking for support for a specific day, ice cream for the kids or providing a meal that replaces the lunch they would normally get from school. Give your local restaurants and groups a chance to help by donating food or paying for lunch for those in need.
7. Remember to celebrate the program. Kids will remember the fun and excitement of being a part of the program and the adventure of reading some great books.
8. Don’t forget your school connection, make sure the principal knows who participated and who achieved their summer reading goals. It will make the kids feel great to be noticed.

But let’s get back to the beginning, your selection of great books for your summer reading program. Penworthy has collections of titles ready to go to cover both summer reading themes. We add new titles to the collections every month so please check back with us. And check out our reproduceable activity pages. We have word games, coloring pages, and activities.

Check out titles for the Adventure Begins at Your Library here!

Check out titles for the Read, Renew, and Repeat here!

Check out our activity pages here!

Written by Nancy Stetzinger, Penworthy’s Product Manager