The theme for the 2012 Summer Reading Club was IMAGINE. We
imagined all sorts of things that we could do with this theme; libraries
created castles and horse barns, we hosted reptile shows and wild animal
puppets, we played with bubbles, recycled t-shirts, chased zombies, learned new computer
software, created with LEGO, held library scavenger hunts, did a lot of pretending and read a whole lot of
books. In fact, the 2547 participants in
this year's Summer Reading Club read for 31,885 hours! That is an impressive amount of
reading in my book. At the Kentville
Library alone, 588 readers clocked nearly 8000 hours. Thanks to a continued partnership with Upper Clements Parks, we gave out 1,957 FastPasses to the readers who completed their
Summer Reading goal. 
You may wonder who these readers were. They were all ages—from
babies whose parents read aloud to them, to preschoolers getting ready for
Primary, to elementary kids who have discovered the pleasures of books, to teenagers
(422 teens read for at least 25 hours!), we had readers who just love books.
The Summer Reading Club was originally designed to promote the FUN of reading,
and to keep kids reading during the summer months so that when they return to
school, they haven’t lost those valuable skills that they worked so hard to
acquire. The Summer Reading Club allows
readers to choose whatever they want to read, in whatever format they want to
read – be it audiobooks, magazines, comics, or even the back of cereal boxes. Older brothers and sisters read to younger
siblings, babysitters read to their charges, parents, grandparents, aunts, and
uncles read aloud at cottages, teens read under a tree in the park. It is all
about the JOY of reading, and we love promoting it.
The program lasts for 8 weeks—a good chunk of the summer--
and consumes huge amounts of staff time and resources. We are only able to offer such a great
program because of partners, sponsors, and an annual Book Sale that helps us
raise funds to run this amazing program. Some materials are provided by TD
Bank, who sponsors the program nationwide. Locally, we had support from Upper
Clements Parks, Oaklawn Farm Zoo, Adopt a Library, and the sponsors of prizes
for our new adult SRC, Watch the Sky Photography, The ClayGround, Coles
Bookstore, and Paper Pleasures at the Coffee Shop. We wholeheartedly thank all these businesses
once again and also those who come to our book sale.
Summer Reading Club will be back next year, but for now,
just continue to enjoy those books and what's left of this glorious summer!
--Angela J. Reynolds, Head of Youth Services
