[kids-lib] In the News: Are Summer Reading Programs Also Irrelevant?

[Rick Samuelson]

A friend of mine who works at the Spokane County Library shared with me the fact that they stopped offering incentive prizes for SRP a few years back.  After their first year with the new (BIG) change, she said that their enrollment and participation numbers weren't changed in any noticeable way.  Looking at their current materials, I see that they encourage families to "plan a special activity to do" to celebrate completion of the program.

Although I have had plenty of parents tell me that their children were motivated to read so they could get x, y and z, I am not convinced that the same kids wouldn't have read anyhow.

I've always thought books as prizes are great (they generally fit with our missions of promoting literacy).  Most of the other prizes out there?  Meh.

Rick Samuelson, Youth Services Librarian
Washington County Cooperative Library Services
(503) 648-9785 x5#
________________________________
From: kids-lib-bounces at listsmart.osl.state.or.us [mailto:kids-lib-bounces at listsmart.osl.state.or.us] On Behalf Of Katie Anderson
Sent: Thursday, May 31, 2012 12:09 PM
To: (kids-lib at listsmart.osl.state.or.us)
Subject: [kids-lib] In the News: Are Summer Reading Programs Also Irrelevant?

Here is an interesting blog post to get your mind (and perhaps your heart rate) moving!

Are Summer Reading Programs Also Irrelevant?

http://21stcenturylibrary.com/2012/05/30/are-summer-reading-programs-also-irrelevant/
While we all can rattle off research, statistics, and personal anecdotes about why library summer reading programs are important, the author poses some very important questions about keeping SRP relevant.

Here are a few more/related questions that popped to my mind:

?         Is SRP the 'sacred cow' at the library or is it planned and evaluated the same way other library programs are?

?         What are the outcomes we want SRP participants to achieve by the end of the summer and how does each SRP activity, event and resource help participants achieve the outcomes?

?         How do we evaluate the effectiveness of the SRP and then use the evaluation results to plan the next SRP?

?         How are we partnering with local schools so that the SRP is an effective bridge each summer?

?         How often do we makes changes to the SRP to account for changing trends, advances in technology, and shifting demographics in our communities?

?         When was the last time we reviewed and updated how prizes are used to attract and retain SRP participants?

Thoughts? Ideas? Examples to share?

Katie
Katie Anderson, Library Development Services
* Youth Services Consultant * Oregon Center for the Book Coordinator *
Oregon State Library, 250 Winter St. NE, Salem, OR 97301
katie.anderson at state.or.us<mailto:katie.anderson at state.or.us>, 503-378-2528
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