Summer reading program

Sharon Rawlins, Youth Services Consultant, srawlins@njstatelib.org, 609-278-2640 ext. 116.

Statewide Summer Reading Program

2012 Summer Reading Program Statistics:

Total books read   - all ages                                       2,064,590

Total registration -  all ages                                          139,757

Total participants - all ages                                           155,847

Total programs  - all ages                                               31,636

Total program attendance - all ages                             635,267

See attachment at end for list of previous years' statistics

2013 Theme is "Underground"

• Children's Slogan - "Dig Into Reading" - Artwork by Scott Nash, illustrator of Flat Stanley and others
• Teen Slogan - "Beneath the Surface" - Artwork by Duncan Long, illustrator of  the Spider Worlds trilogy (HarperCollins), and the Night Stalkers series (HarperCollins) and others
• Adult Slogan - "Groundbreaking Reads" - Artwork by Shane Rebenschied, best known for his photo illustrations, the realism of his 2D digital designs, and science-fiction and fantasy book covers.

2014 Theme is "Science"

• Children's Slogan - "Fizz, Boom, Read!" - Artwork by Dan Santat, illustrator of The Three Ninja Pigs; Oh No!: Or How My Science Project Destroyed the World; & Oh No! Not Again!: (Or How I Built a Time Machine to save History) (Or at Least My History Grade), and others.
• Teen Slogan - "Spark a Reaction" - Artwork by Tim O'Brien, illustrator of the Hunger Games trilogy
• Adult Slogan - "Literary Elements"

2015 Theme is "Heroes"

Sponsorship

New Jersey is a member of the Collaborative Summer Library Program (CSLP).  All fifty states, including the District of Columbia, American Samoa and the Mariana Islands are members of CSLP.  The CSLP website allows any New Jersey public library access to special features and an online order form, but you now must follow the easy registration process to access the membership area of the website. Any public library staff member is eligible to use the registration system to access this members-only area.

The New Jersey Summer Reading Program, coordinated by the New Jersey Statewide Summer Reading Committee through the NJ Library Association, with funding from the New Jersey State Library, encourages children and families to read for fun during the summer.  The NJ Summer Reading Program’s website maintains a directory of performers; programming ideas for children, teens and adults; information about discounts for summer reading prizes; registration information for summer reading workshops; a survey link for statistics from your program and a message board for librarians to share their ideas and suggestions pertaining to the summer reading program. The program is in Flickr and on Facebook.

Materials

Manual, Incentives, Clip Art, Reproducible Forms

All public libraries receive one free children's, teen and adult manual with  accompanying DVDs and an order form for summer reading materials from the Upstart Company, the contracted vendor for CSLP. Public libraries participating in the 2012 Summer Reading Program will receive a children’s banner, children’s and teen posters and bookmarks for free courtesy of the NJ Summer Reading Program.

Clip art is available in color and black and white on DVDs included in the 2012 manual. Clip art is also available in the manual in black and white for photocopying. There are also reproducible forms and handouts included on the DVD.

You can also create your own supplementary materials if you prefer and adapt the program to your community’s needs by using the materials, clip art, and digital art that come with the manual and the accompanying DVD. There are rules for use of the artwork, so please respect these and general copyright laws.

Adult Summer Reading Program

The CSLP is once again offering an adult summer reading program. The NJ Summer Reading Program does include a printed adult summer reading manual which was sent to all public libraries but isn't supplying any free incentives for this program.  You can order materials for this program directly from Upstart.

Early Literacy Summer Reading Manual and Other Downloadable Materials

The CSLP is once again offering an early literacy summer reading manual that is only available at the CSLP website under "Downloads" after you log onto the website. You can also find downloadable children's signing videos, slogans in Spanish and PSAs for the summer reading programs on the Downloads page.

Evaluation

If you participate in the summer reading program, the New Jersey Statewide Summer Reading Committee would like to have some feedback. A link to a survey will be posted on the NJ Summer Reading website at the end of summer. Be sure that you keep statistics of the number of participants, programs offered and the attendance, and number of books read during the summer reading program, preferably using the Evanced Summer Reader software, so that you will be prepared to report back. This report will be due in October of each year.

Advocating for the Summer Reading Program

You may also want to check these resources if you want to explain why your summer reading program needs community financial support: CSLP’s Summer Reading Research Page.

Promoting Your Program

To hear and download radio public service announcements for the 2012 summer reading programs for children and teens, visit the CSLP web page, where these are posted in the spring for easy downloading. (If your community doesn’t have a local radio station, perhaps your school would play them on the morning announcements).

Also available at this site are video spots and tips about how to use these announcements to promote your library’s programs. If you have a library website, you might want to run these on your web page. Other tips for publicizing your summer reading program for maximum participation are available in this year’s manual.

For More Information

Questions should be addressed to the NJ Summer Reading Program Co-Chairs Allison Santos, asantos@princetonlibrary.org; Michelle Willis, mwillis@scotlib.org or the Project Manager, Sharon Rawlins, srawlins@njstatelib.org.