WELLINGTON COUNTY – Participation in the county library’s summer reading program has increased dramatically following a decline in 2020-21.
“We were definitely happy with our stats this year; it was great to see everyone was eager to get back into the library and participate,” said Wellington County information services librarian Danielle Drimmie.
Though not a return to the pre-pandemic level of 3,203 participants seen in 2019, this summer’s 2,980 participants was a 70 per cent increase over the number of participants last year, and a whopping 536% increase over the 468 participants in 2020.
According to library data, branches tracked 48,991 total books read across all age groups in the program.
Despite fewer participants, that’s an increase of 2.4 per cent from the 47,850 books read in 2019, when participation was greater.
Drimmie said operating restrictions coupled with digital exhaustion contributed to two years of reduced participation.
There were plenty of shifts throughout the pandemic, and although the libraries offered in-person alternatives, such as take-home craft kits and virtual reading times, children and families were already spending much of their days online.
“Kids and families, we were getting feedback that they were sort of just not interested in the virtual programs, they were sort of over it, which is understandable,” Drimmie said.
The in-person programming is the very thing drawing families into branches over the summer, because it allows kids in similar age groups to hang out and stay engaged with learning and literacy skills during the summer school break. All of that gets missed online.
The library’s Summer Reading Club launched June 25 with participants of all ages able to track their reading progress online or on paper.
New this year, kids received a bead for each “book” read and a “brag tag” for every 10 read.
“They’ve got something at the end of the summer that shows all the great reading they’ve done, and we had a lot of great feedback this year from the kids on those,” Drimmie said.
The program also connects with adults who may not have their nose buried in books by encouraging them to read what they want, and making different formats, such as audiobooks, accessible.
“You can count something like reading a magazine or a graphic novel or even listening to an audiobook,” Drimmie explained.
“Those all count as reading in our eyes, so if those help a not-so-avid reader come in and take something off our shelf or get involved, we’re happy.”
Children up to 13 years old accounted for 72%, or 2,145 of this year’s total participants, reading 44,378 items, or roughly 20 items per child.
There were 241 children aged 13 to 19 who read 1,033 items, and 594 adults who read 3,495 items.
Aside from raw data, the library relies on anecdotal feedback to gauge the summer reading club’s success.
“I know there’s often kids who will come in at the beginning of summer not super keen on reading, but their parents have signed them up, and by the end of the summer they’ve come in with their sheet absolutely filled with all of the titles they’ve read,” Drimmie said.
“Those are the stories we really love; seeing those happy faces on people coming into the library is why we love doing it.”
