West Springfield Public Library
Reminder Publishing file photo
WEST SPRINGFIELD — The West Springfield Public Library began its summer reading program on June 18, and it will run until Aug. 2. This year’s theme is Color our World.
Youth Services Supervisor Rhoda Crowell discussed the summer reading program which includes five age-based tiers.
The read-to-me program is for children who have not yet been to first grade, independent readers is for children who are entering into grades 2-5, middle school readers is for children entering grades 6-8, the teen program is for children ages 13 to 18 years old and the adult program is for ages 18 years and older.
Crowell said the younger kids get instant prizes and the older kids get raffled tickets towards larger prizes. If they hit a 10-hour goal, there are grand prizes and they also get invited to an ice cream party donated by Gooseberry Farms.
Crowell talked about the importance of summer reading programs.
“Our biggest thing is the summer reading program. The teachers always call the summer months ‘the summer slumps’ because the kids revert back if they’re not learning, if [they] aren’t keeping their brains active; by the time they get back in the fall it takes a month to get them back up to speed again,” Crowell explained.
For the summer reading program, Crowell said they also try to have performers come to the library for a family-friendly experience including Lupa Zoo, magicians, musical acts and puppet shows and workshops.
Last year, the summer reading program saw nearly 500 kids sign up and are at approximately 400 kids so far this year.
Adult Services Supervisor Kaitlin Clark explained that for the teen and adult summer reading program, anyone who registers automatically gets entered into the library’s big prize pack. Five people will be randomly selected for a prize.
For the teen adult program, teens who read will get a badge for every hour they read. Clark said, “Teens will be tracking their reading, but they also have some drop in crafts that they’ll be making throughout the month as well.”
She also explained that the adult summer reading program will not be doing any prizes for reading because she said, “It’s a short amount of time and people read at their own pace.”
This year, the library will attempt to bring more people in with interactive crafts and events. They introduced bingo cards where participants can fill out the squares based on attending certain events, checking out databases or doing something locally in town like walking around a library or trying a book in a different genre.
Anyone who gets bingo on their physical or online bingo card by the end of the summer reading program will get entered to win a prize.
Clark said there is also a schedule of craft events over the summer for adults to tie into the Color our World theme. No registration is required to attend a craft event.
Clark talked about the importance of the library in the summer months and offering a variety of programs. She said, “This kind of reflects our views that the library is much more than just books. We offer services for helping people with their resumes, we offer lots of classes for muted English speakers, book clubs and stitch clubs. There’s always something happening here and all kinds of things that are absolutely 100% free to the public, and it’s a great way to connect with the community and invest back into the community as well by attending some of these programs. You get a chance to make new friends and build your own community.”
Crowell said besides the summer reading program, the library also offers other free youth programs including Lego programs, a summer story time program, science programs, Curious Kids, arts and science rocks, pajama story time, video game night, Monday movie matinee and craft programs.
Registration is still open for the summer reading program and readers interested can register online at wspl.readsquared.com or in-person at the library, located at 200 Park St.
The library’s summer hours are 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Wednesdays, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays. For more information, visit wspl.org.
