CRESTVIEW — Keyon Hudson, 7, wants to read a book about football. Crystal Dougherty, also 7, likes chapter books. And her sister, Lexi, 5, wants to look at books about dinosaurs.
School’s out and the library’s in as a number of students participate in its summer reading program.
Crestview Public Library Director Marie Heath said she and her staff expect even more than last year’s record 2,300 participants for this year’s reading challenge, called “On Your Mark, Get Set…Read!”
That will make many teachers—and parents—happy, she said, because the program, geared for ages 6-14, combats the “summer slide.”
SUMMER SLIDE
“Basically, kids are out of school for several months and they lose their reading skills because they're not keeping up with their reading,” Heath said. “A few months’ loss compounds over the years.”
Unchecked summer slide losses can be as high as two years of achievement throughout a child’s elementary and middle school years, she said.
The Crestview library’s program is structured to “not necessarily tell them what to read, but let them pick what interests them,” Heath said during a recent report to the City Council.
And with thousands of books for readers of all ages, Keyon, his brother Jeremiah, 6, Crystal and Lexi should have no trouble accumulating “funny money” for every day they read at least 20 minutes.
At the end of the challenge on July 26, young readers can buy rewards with their earnings at the library’s Funny Money Store.
TIGHT AND CROWDED
With more than 21,000 current card holders, including 602 added just in the first quarter of 2016, “it’s getting tight and crowded” at the library, Heath said.
Among those new members is Barbara McClintock, who recently moved to Crestview from Illinois.
“I love this library,” she said. “I’m a library person since way back when. They have a wonderful library here.”
“I know we can use another library,” City Councilman Shannon Hayes said, bringing up a topic of recent discussion about the need for a branch Crestview library, possibly in the south or central parts of town.
“We’re well known in the county (library) co-op for the job we do in Crestview,” Hayes said. “We’re going to have to start thinking about expanding our library to meet the needs of our customers — and there’s going to be more numbers.”
_______________________
BY THE NUMBERS
●32,510: Number of patrons visiting the Crestview Public Library
●21,000: current members
●602: new memberships
●61,051: physical media for check-out or on-site browsing
●4,403: e-books and e-audio books (the number will rise as the library added a new e-book lending service)
●41,291: physical media circulated
●1,700: e-books and e-audio books circulated
●1,517: new materials added to collection
●1,391: outdated materials withdrawn
●31: youth programs presented
●1,806: youth program attendees
●23: adult programs
●214: adult program attendees
●4,759: public computer use sessions
●2,300: Participants in last year’s summer youth reading program
ON YOUR MARK, GET SET…READ!
Readers between ages 6 and 14 can earn a dollar in “funny money” for each day through July 20 that they read 20 minutes or more during the Crestview Public Library’s summer reading challenge. Logs are at the library or cityofcrestview.org/library.php. Readers can buy items in the library’s Funny Money Store on July 26 at the Crestview Community Center. Call youth services librarian Heather Nitzel, 682-4432, for more information.
●32,510: Number of patrons visiting the Crestview Public Library
●21,000: current members
●602: new memberships
●61,051: physical media for check-out or on-site browsing
●4,403: e-books and e-audio books (the number will rise as the library added a new e-book lending service)
●41,291: physical media circulated
●1,700: e-books and e-audio books circulated
●1,517: new materials added to collection
●1,391: outdated materials withdrawn
●31: youth programs presented
●1,806: youth program attendees
●23: adult programs
●214: adult program attendees
●4,759: public computer use sessions
●2,300: Participants in last year’s summer youth reading program
ON YOUR MARK, GET SET…READ!
Readers between ages 6 and 14 can earn a dollar in “funny money” for each day through July 20 that they read 20 minutes or more during the Crestview Public Library’s summer reading challenge. Logs are at the library or cityofcrestview.org/library.php. Readers can buy items in the library’s Funny Money Store on July 26 at the Crestview Community Center. Call youth services librarian Heather Nitzel, 682-4432, for more information.
BY THE NUMBERS
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview library use on the rise (PHOTOS, VIDEO)