Whether it's your first Summer Reading season or your fiftieth, it's always good to come back to basics. This page offers some things to consider as you develop your library's Summer Reading program.
And remember, every library does summer reading in their own way to meet their community's needs and their library's capacity.
Be sure to check out the Collaborative Summer Learning Program resources that are available free of charge.
Good luck and have fun!
What: Choose 1 or 2 goals
Example: Build 1 new community partnership
More Info:
What: Rewards or motivators for signing up, at certain participation levels, and/or for completing the program.
Example: Book give away
More Info:
What: Making your space reflect a theme
Example: SRP Posters
More Info: Pinterest, CSLP Facebook page
What: How you know who participated and how many participated
Examples: READSquared, Google form,
More Info: NYS READSquared page
What: Community organizations or businesses that support SRP
Example: Biz that donates merch to give away; Town Rec program brings kids to library
More Info:
What: Activities that bring folks into the library and/or engage them with ideas, reading, and library materials
Example: STEAM experiments, storytime, art projects
More Info:
What: How you'll measure participation and programs
Example: Spreadsheets (great for sorting data!), pen and paper, READdSquared, Google Forms, etc
What: Efforts to drive participation using traditional and social media channels
Examples: Social media posts, articles, flyers, calendars, bookmarks
What: Assessing what worked and what could be different so that next year is easier.
Example: Ongoing "Learning List" that staff adds notes to "Next time we'll..."
Resources: Public Library Association's Project Outcome (free survey tool)
What: Different programs for different age groups
Examples: Children (0-5); children (6-11); teen (12-17); adult (18+)
More Info: CSLP manual
What: Visits to school groups in person or virtually to generate interest for students participating in SRP
Example: Visit by class, by grade, at lunch, flyers, work with teachers or school librarian
What: How to pay for Summer Reading
Example: Grants, budgeted expense, donations
More Info: