State of Education: Summer reading
With summer around the corner, it's time once again for school vacation, but it also means it's time for the Summer Reading at New York Libraries to kick off once again.
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"The state library provides them with materials, but it's carried out on a local level, there are 1100 public libraries in New York State, almost all of them participate, the whole goal is to encourage children and families to continue reading over the summer," said librarian Karen Balsen.
And this happens in many ways, the state has many materials available for public libraries. There's a list available on ways to get children to read, there's an online statewide database for different reading programs- and even a video. Most items can be found on the summerreadingnys.org . You can also, of course, visit your local library.
"The kids sign up , they agree to read a certain amount of hours or minutes over the course of the summer, we have a number of programs for them, lots of activities, but we try to focus on the kids doing some reading , " librarian Joan Weiskotten said.
And the more the program continues, the bigger the resources.
"New York State started promoting a statewide program in 1992- so that you could pool all the resources of librarians throughout the state to help each other come up with ideas for programs, reading lists, all different materials, " said Balsen.
Students who participate in the summer reading program not only receive the support and structure from the public library system, they can also keep their minds active over the summer, which can help when it comes for "back to school time" in September.
"There have been studies that have shown that students who do not read through the summer; their skills drop through the course of the summer and it's almost like starting over," Weiskotten said.
By the way, with all the titles out there, audio books count too.
"Any format is acceptable and the teachers have come to agree that listening to a recorded book can just be as valuable as reading a book,' said Weiskotten.
Just look for these theme posters to be well read this summer.
"They give a title to it- 'Make a Splash'- is for the younger kids and 'Make Waves' at your library is the theme for the teens," Weiskotten said.
You can check online or visit your local library for more information on the Summer Reading at New York Libraries program.