Summer Reading Clubs

Summer Reading Kids and Teen Clubs 2008
Nearly 25,000 kids and teens participated in the Summer Reading Club, with over half of them making it all the way to the end of the program. The theme for 2008 was "Flutter, Buzz, Zoom....Read!" for the kids and "My Library, My Space" for the teens. Kids read 168,511 hours, an increase of 19% over last year, and in the teen category, there was a 17.5% increase in those finishing the program. Upon completing eight hours of reading, kids and teens receive a free paperback book on Book Award Day and are entered in prize drawings. Over 10,500 books were awarded to Jefferson County's most rabid readers!

The 2008 Summer Reading Club goal was to have kids and teens read 160,000 hours - readers shattered that mark with a total of 246,664 hours. If the Summer Reading Club goal is exceeded, a $1000 donation is made to a worthy cause. The 2008 recipient is Colorado Homeless Families. Colorado Homeless Families (CHF) is a non-profit transitional housing program based in Arvada. CHF serves families with children who are classified as "New Poor" (families who are homeless for the first time) or "Working Poor" (families who earn low wages and cannot keep up with the rising cost of living, including housing). CHF serves approximately 47 - 72 families annually, with a daily residential population of approximately 240 - 360 individuals.

Participation in the kids and teen clubs has doubled since 2000. The Summer Reading Club fosters literacy, especially among "at-risk" kids who need help with their reading skills, and helps kids and teens develop a lifelong love of reading. The club also encourages parents to become involved in their children’s reading activities.

Running annually from June 1 through July 31, Summer Reading Club is free to library patrons. A different theme is presented each year, along with a variety of educational and entertainment programs for kids and teens. Summer Reading Clubs are funded by the Jefferson County Library Foundation and the Friends of the Jefferson County Public Library.

Summer Reading Adult Club 2008
The 2008 adult summer reading club (ASRC) was a wonderful success. The 2008 ASRC used a travel theme with the tag line, "Book Your Summer at the Library". This year participants were given passport-style reading logs to track the books they read, a travel themed booklist of suggested reads, and submitted prize drawing slips for each book they completed. The Jefferson County Library Foundation generously donated money for a weekly candy guessing jar, two sets of tickets to the InSight InPerson author series and a grand prize of a $500 plane voucher. The library Public Information Office donated JCPL book bags filled with promotional items and the library staff association donated JCPL book bags for local prize drawings.

This year’s participation was up by 13%. A whopping 2,836 participants read 7,228 books, up 46% from last year! According to feedback received, patrons continue to participate in the program for fun, as motivation to read and as a way to model good reading skills for their children.