Summer Reading Program is Back

Kids in grades K-12 are invited to kickstart their summer with the Summer Reading Program, "Tails and Tales," sponsored by the Eddy-New Rockford Public Library. The kick-off party is scheduled for Friday, June 4 from 2:00 - 3:00 p.m. in Centennial Park downtown.

At the event, kids will play a variety of yard games, including life-size Jenga, Yahtzee and dominoes, as well as cornhole, lawn darts and carnival toss games. The lawn games, which were purchased with grant funding from the North Dakota Library Coordinating Council, will stay at the library. Patrons will be able to "check out" the games starting June 8, so they can take the fun home to their family and friends for birthday parties, backyard barbecues, family reunions and other celebrations.

Come for the games, but stay for the great reads! In between rounds of Yahtzee and cornhole, make sure to sign up for the summer reading program. The program is simple: from June 4 - Aug. 20, readers will receive a prize for every five books they read. Also, each child is entered into a grand prize drawing each time they read five books. A grand surprise is in store for one lucky reader after the program closes on Aug. 20.

Librarian Susie Sharp said she's ready to engage with youth again this summer. Last year, the program was held virtually due to the pandemic. She hopes to see kids at the library every day this summer, working to meet their reading goals. There will be new titles on the shelves too, as the grant from the coordinating council also covered the cost of several new books that youth can check out. All children in grades K-12 are welcome to participate, whether they are permanent residents of Eddy County, or are here for a few weeks to visit grandparents over the summer.

"Tails and Tales" is a product of the Collaborative Summer Library Program, which has provided quality summer programming for libraries across the country since 1987, when 10 Minnesota regional library systems developed a summer library program for children with the theme "Paws at your library." They created artwork and selected incentives that public libraries in their regions could purchase and use.

The Summer Reading Program is not all that's new at the local library. By Tuesday, June 1, Sharp said she plans to have two brand new public access computers available for use by patrons. The funds for the new computers came from the New Rockford Lions Club, and Sharp is grateful for the funds. For a while now, only one public access computer has been available to patrons, so Sharp said she is eager to get back to the "regular access" that patrons expected in the past.

Patrons who haven't visited the library for a while will also notice the new electronic book check system. Choose a book from among the 12,000 titles inside, and Sharp will scan its barcode with an infrared scanner. Once scanned, she'll assign the book to the patron's library card, and the patron will receive a "receipt" showing the date of check-in and deadline for return. When the book is returned, it is scanned again and then removed from the patron's list so it can be checked out again.

The library has gone more than a year without doing any fundraising due to the pandemic, and as a result their reserves are low. The library board decided not to hold its annual Independence Day brunch fundraiser for a second year in a row, this time due to lack of volunteers. However, a special event is in the works for this fall, so stay tuned for more information.

The library board typically budgets $3,000 per year for books, and the vast majority of the funds to purchase those books come from fundraising and direct donations. Sharp has a growing list of children's titles, large print books and, of course, the latest best sellers and engaging new releases, and as funds allow she adds to the library's collection to keep readers coming back for more. Readers with interest in supporting the library can send monetary donations to Eddy-New Rockford Public Library, 10 - 8th St N, New Rockford, ND 58356. Book store and Amazon gift cards also work well, as the funds will be set aside specifically for books. Also, community volunteers are needed for the kick-off party on Friday, so anyone interested in helping out for a few hours that afternoon is asked to contact Susie at (701) 947-5540.

State Library to Host Virtual Summer

Reading Kick Off Next Week

Bismarck, ND – The North Dakota State Library (NDSL) has partnered with libraries across the state to bring a virtual summer reading kickoff on June 9, 10, and 11. This free Facebook event will take place each day from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM, starting with a keynote presentation.

On Wednesday, June 9, Cynde McInnis will tell you all about Nile, a humpback whale, and then take you "virtually" inside a life-sized model to learn how humans and whales are similar.

On Thursday, June 10, Karen Land will talk about Iditarod dog mushing and show off part of her "string of dogs," which includes an Alaskan husky named Noggin and a Corgi-Springer mix named Chloe.

On Friday, June 11, Kevin Locke will present his Hoop of Life Program which incorporates Indigenous Flute music samples from the prairies and beyond, Sign Language, Prayer songs in Lakota language, storytelling, and much more.

The rest of the events will include crafts, storytimes, yoga, puppet shows, a safari, and much more presented by North Dakota libraries.

Whether you can stay for the entire event or just a few of them, you won't want to miss out on all the fun! The event can be found on Facebook at https://fb.me/e/Yl350oi2.

Please contact the State Library at 701-328-4622 or [email protected] if you have any questions.