Erin Baber, Public Relations Coordinator at GC Library
By Erin Baber
The Garland County Library concluded its annual Summer Reading Program on July 31st. The end of the program usually earns a collective sigh of relief from all involved, especially the youth services staff.
End of summer typically means a few quiet weeks before diving back into school outreach visits, storytimes, and business as usual. Except it’s not business as usual anymore. It’s business as unusual.
The whole summer was unusual. We had the kids and teen summer reading program down to an art: promote program with massive kick-off party, host daily in-person programs, reward readers for hours read, end program with even more massive party, and finally, throw a special party for the 100+ hour readers.
We took everything we knew about summer programming and threw it out the window. This year’s Summer Reading Program started on May 1st while the library was closed for COVID. Many of our regular programs were adapted for Google Meet or Zoom. Storytimes went virtual on Facebook Live.
And the youth services staff made home deliveries of ice cream treats for the young readers participating in the program. The youth services staff went above and beyond to provide a semblance of a normal reading program – and it paid off. There were 598 kids and teens in Garland County who logged 27,615 hours spent reading over the summer and 3,669 people “attended” the 97 virtual programs we hosted. Pretty darn good considering a global pandemic and all.
Connect with the Garland County Library at www.gclibrary.com or by calling 501-623-4161.
Erin Baber is the Public Relations Coordinator at the Garland County Library located at 1427 Malvern Avenue. For more information about library hours, programs, or services, visit www.gclibrary.com or call 501-623-4161. Follow the library on Facebook: Garland County Library.
