BENTON – This summer approximately 570 students read over 7,500 books thanks to the Marshall County Public Library’s Summer Reading Program.
“The goal of our Summer Reading Program is to get kids in the library and keep their minds active while school is not in session,” says Beth Kerrick, Children’s Librarian. “Our program not only promotes reading, but also offers a variety of educational programs throughout the summer months.”
According to Kerrick, attendance at the library’s programs for children and teens totaled over 2,200 by the end of the summer.
“We’re seeing big numbers at all of our programs throughout the summer. More and more families are hearing about what we are doing and are taking advantage of the free services and programs we offer,” says Director Kristi Tucker. “It’s exciting to walk into one of our branches on programming days and see the building filled with children checking out books and using the computers.”
The library offered two different programs over the summer, one for elementary-aged children and another for teens in middle and high school. Each program consisted of a reading challenge, weekly programs, special events, and weekly iSpy challenges. Performers included Animal Tales, Kentucky Down Under, magicians, and scientists.
“When people hear about summer reading programs, they typically think of young children, but we’re lucky to be able to offer programming to our teens as well,” says Tucker. “This year we had over 100 middle and high school students participate in our program, and the Ultimate Fandom Party, our big end-of-summer mega-event, drew in a crowd of 65 teens.”
The Ultimate Fandom Party was held on August 1 at the @Benton branch of the library. Teens were encouraged to cosplay as their favorite characters and participated in an Ultimate Fandom Trivia game.
The Marshall County Public Library offers programming for all age groups not just during the summer, but throughout the year. For a schedule of upcoming program and events, visit www.marshallcolibrary.org.
