There was only way to describe the community room at the Chandler Public Library on June 2.
Organized chaos. Four long tables were full of children, ranging in age from kindergarten to older elementary. A handful of parents stood chatting near the tables while others sat in chairs along the wall. The room was thick with laughter and excited chatter, some of the children proudly showing the seed pods they were putting together.
It was the first day of the library’s summer reading program -- Color Our World -- and it was bigger than expected. Assistant Librarian Amanda Cross said they had about 30 kids. Their schedule is pretty simple. They read a couple of books and then have either an arts and crafts project or a small experiment.
The program is every Monday from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. and open to ages 5 to 12. Librarian SandyTharp-Thee said summer reading programs are important to help promote a love of reading, reflecting on her own childhood.
“It was just so magical for me when I was little. We didn’t have much money, so I didn’t have much books at home. To go to the library and be able to check out books.And we are all about reading just for fun,” she said.
Cross added that it can also be fun for kids to hear books read by someone other than a parent.
“My youngest is dyslexic and she does not (read), but to comprehend books, she needs them read to her. So, that’s always been a thing that I like about summer reading.”
Chandler isn’t the only public library offering programs this year. Those in Stroud, Meeker and Prague are also doing “Color Our World,” though adding their own twists to it.
Librarian Marsha Morgan at Stroud said they’ve been doing their summer reading program since probably the 80s as part of a collaborative national initiative. They usually have around 20 kids attend their program, which runs every Wednesday in June. It includes Tiny Tots from 10 to 10:45 a.m. and K through 5th grade from 2 to 3:30 p.m.
The program is great for keeping kids active and reading. “We usually do, you know, read stories and do a craft item or, you know, if there’s an experiment that is simple, you can do a simple experiment, usually play a little game,” she said.
MeekerPublicLibraryrunsitssummerreadingprogram on Wednesdays from 1 to 3 p.m. In addition to offering fun craft activities, they help the kids set a reading goal, said Library Director Delanya Wolford.
“They have a little book log, and they bring that in each week.And when they bring it in… we calculate how many books they’re reading, and we try to work toward a goal. And at the end, we have a big party,” she said. She added that the kids really go above and beyond. “I think last year we set the goal for like 300, and they read 458 books in our group. So that was quite a big one.”
Wolford said last year they did a scavenger hunt that was a big hit, so she’s bringing it back this year. It gets the community involved, with places like City Hall joining in and offering different activities.
Meeker is an independent library that relies on grants and fundraising through Friends of the Library, which also covers the cost of the summer program. NAME said the goal is to get kids reading and have access to books.
“A lot of times they don’t have access to get to the library as often as we would like them to be. So I figure if we can get an extra book or two in their hands along the way, they, you know, that will help,” she said. “I think that it really helps the kids to enjoy reading. It makes it fun. They’re excited about setting their goal, they’re excited about reading.”
Haynie Public Library in Prague has a twist -- they get the whole community involved. Anyone can register to take part in June, said Librarian Treasure Morgan. They then track their reading in logs and receive weekly prizes, regardless of how much they read.
At the end of the month, those who read the most in their age group receive a grand prize. Currently, there are about 100 or so people signed up. They’ve been doing this program for the last several years, and the community gets excited about it every year.
“One, I think it’s tradition, two, I do think the prizes are incentives,” Morgan said. “It’s not like we say, hey, you’ve got to read 50 pages a week, or you’ve got to do this before. But I find that when you don’t set limits, I feel that people go above and beyond.”
Morgan is a Prague transplant, coming from Oklahoma City, and believes that summer reading programs are special times of the year.
“I think it’s something that if you’re a reader I think you look forward to it as a special activity in addition to you know whatever else that your library has going on but it’s it’s something that for me was a tradition,” she said. “It just gives you that extra added excitement because whether it’s prizes or maybe a library has a special activity planned, it’s kind of like Christmas for them… Christmas for libraries.”