Lee County Library System’s 2022 Summer Reading Program saw recording-breaking numbers and participation.
Participants of all ages logged more than 1 million minutes of reading during the nine weeks, topping last year’s total of 469,711.
The program featured an online reading challenge, engaging weekly programs, drop-in activities for families and free books for children and teens. This summer, more than 13,000 books were distributed and 407 programs held at the county’s 13 library locations, many featuring local presenters and organizations.
Each summer, the Lee County Library System hosts the program to foster the love of reading and to prevent summer learning loss during school break.
This year’s national Summer Reading Program theme, Oceans of Possibilities, was ideal for the Lee County community. Program examples included:
• Adam’s Animal Encounters during which families learned about native and invasive animals;
• Fishing 101 with Capt. Debbie Hanson; and,
• A program in which children dissected squid under the direction of Sanibel Sea School’s Sea Lab.
Lee County Library System staff said they noticed more families incorporating library visits into their summer schedule. Many made a library part of their weekly summer routine. “Families attend programs, search for books and movies, use computers and participate in activities like scavenger hunts,” Library Director Mindi Simon said.
“For families who may not have been able to experience the summer reading program inside the library, we sent our mobile outreach team to visit more than 20 locations reaching 2,500 children.”
For more information about the Lee County Library System, visit www.leelibrary.net. To receive updates from Lee County Government, sign up for the newsletter here: www.leegov.com/resources/newsletters.
Original source can be found here.
