Libraries urge children to be creative this summer
GPLS News, April 2009
David Catrow, a nationally syndicated editorial cartoonist based in Springfield, Ohio, created the art for this year's program.
With "Be Creative @ Your Library," this year's annual Summer Reading Program, Georgia's public libraries will help children expand their imaginations and strive for originality.
According to Elaine Black, director of Youth Services for GPLS, the program's dual goals are to promote family literacy and to demonstrate to kids that reading is fun.
"Studies continue to show that school-age children who read throughout their vacation from school maintain or improve their writing, vocabulary and reading skills," Black said. "Reading as few as five books over the summer months can help children maintain or even build their reading levels so that when school begins, they are ready to move forward. Children who do not read during their vacation are more likely to see those skills decrease."
This will be Georgia's second year as a member of the nationwide Collaborative Summer Library Program (CSLP), Black explained. CSLP is a grassroots consortium of states working together to provide high-quality summer reading program materials for children at the lowest cost possible for their public libraries.
By combining resources and working with a commercial vendor to produce materials designed exclusively for CSLP members, public libraries in participating states can purchase posters, reading logs, bookmarks, certificates and a variety of reading incentives at significant savings.
"Our first year with the program proved to be a great thing for children," Black said. "Those who visited relatives in other states during their summer vacations could travel the country and be part of the same program."
Based on figures included in the annual reports of Georgia's public library systems, the 2008 program set a new record for attendance, with more than 410,000 children attending programs.
Forty-seven states and the District of Columbia will participate this year, Black said, and the consortium is known for delivering an extremely unified and high-quality program. "The themes and slogans are voted on each year by the membership," she explained. "State library staff members make suggestions, and their master list is whittled down to a top five. Representatives from each member state then vote for their choice from that list."
David Catrow, a nationally syndicated editorial cartoonist based in Springfield, Ohio, created the art for this year's program. The award-winning illustrator of numerous books for children, Catrow's honors include a New York Times Best Illustrated Book of the Year award for Kathryn Lasky's She's Wearing a Dead Bird on Her Head. Among his other popular works are Plantzilla Goes to Camp by Jerdine Nolen, Lu and the Swamp Ghost by James Carville and Patricia C. McKissack and Are You Quite Polite? by Alan Katz.
Public libraries across Georgia will support the 2009 summer reading effort by offering reading logs, bookmarks and stickers -- and by hosting activities such as storytimes, puppet shows and other special events such as arts-and-crafts programs and magic shows. As with Georgia's previous programs, children receive rewards for achieving reading goals. Kids can sign up and get their reading materials at public libraries across the state, beginning in May.
Georgia's libraries also hope to meet the evolving development needs of teens this summer with "Express Yourself @ Your Library," a comparable program that is also part of CSLP.
The 2009 teen artwork was created by Brad Sneed of Kansas City, Kan. He is the illustrator of more than a dozen popular books, including Big Bad Wolves at School by Stephen Krensky, The Boy Raised by Librarians by Carla Morris and I Heard Said the Bird by Polly Berrien Berends.
"Express Yourself @ Your Library" encourages teens to read for pleasure at times when they are not in school. Various aspects of the program also provide teens with multiple opportunities to engage in constructive activities, such as volunteering their time at the library or doing other charitable work. "It encourages teens to express themselves in creative ways and to build positive social interactions with their peers and adults," Black said.
The Summer Reading Program is made possible by a grant from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services to the Georgia Public Library Service under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act. For more information on literacy activities, "Be Creative @ Your Library" or "Express Yourself @ Your Library," visit www.georgialibraries.org.