June 16, 2016
For more information, contact:
Jen Pace Dickenson
Phone: 828-894-8721 x227
jdickenson@polklibrary.org

Be Active with 2016 Summer Reading

COLUMBUS, N. C., (June 16, 2016) – When students escape the classroom for a joyous summer, make sure reading is on the list of fun things to do. The 2016 Summer Reading Program at Polk County Public Library encourages youth to get busy! The children’s theme, On Your Mark, Get Set, Read, and teen theme, Get in the Game: Read, both celebrate the link between a fit body and a fit mind.

A key goal of the Summer Reading Program is to maintain reading skills during the summer, and research has shown that time spent reading is effective in stopping the “summer slide.” The State Library of North Carolina sponsors the program at state-aid eligible libraries statewide with allocations from the legislature. The goals are to motivate families and children to read for pleasure, help school-aged children maintain reading skills, establish the library as a vital part of the community, and encourage partnerships with schools. The program enables children to improve academic skills during the summer and is particularly beneficial to low income students with combating summer learning loss.

Polk County Public Library will provide programs for children (up to rising 5th graders) on Wednesdays at 11am in Columbus and 2pm in Saluda. Children can also read to Foothills Humane Society dogs on Tuesdays during “Tales to Tails.” Teen programs (rising 6th to rising 12th graders) are at 2pm on Mondays in Saluda and Thursdays in Columbus. A teen Dungeons & Dragons gaming group will also meet on alternating Tuesdays. The library’s Baby Bookworms storytime for ages 0-2 continues year-round on Thursdays. For more event details, visit the library’s website at www.polklibrary.org.

Youth who read 10 hours this summer will get to pick out a prize and the first 60 participants to meet that goal will receive tickets to an end-of-summer party at Gibson Pool. In addition to these incentives, the Friends of the Polk County Public Library will donate $1 for every 5 hours read to the Foothills Humane Society (up to $1000 total). Come by either library now to sign up for the program and receive your reading log!

Thank you to our sponsors who helped make this year’s Summer Reading Program possible, including our kick-off event, the PCPL Mutt Strut 5K, which was held on June 18. Sponsors include the Friends of the Polk County Public Library, Feagan Law Firm, Wilderness Cove Tubing, Purrrfect Bark, The Purple Onion, PRO Physical Therapy, Edney Orthodontics, Bi-Lo, Bojangles, Landrum Veterinary Hospital, Entegra Bank, Chimney Rock Park, and The Gorge Zipline.

“Public libraries provide not just reading during the summer, but other types of learning. STEAM programming and resources, art, humanities and poetry immersion, and some even provide camp-like activities,” says Youth Services Consultant Lori Special from the State Library of North Carolina. “What your public library offers is rich and varied and youth serving library staff members are excited and ready to help everyone get into the game this summer!”

Polk County Public Library has a Main Library in Columbus and a branch in Saluda, as well as outreach services. PCPL offers books, movies, music, audiobooks, and downloadable eBooks and audiobooks, as well as public computers and wireless internet access. PCPL offers regularly scheduled programs for people of all ages. To learn more, visit www.polklibrary.org.

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