Monday, August 22, 2011

Summer Reading Soars @ the Library


Who says people don’t read any more and libraries are obsolete?  Participation in the Summer Reading Program at the Ridgefield Library soared to new heights this year, aided in part by the use of new online reading log software and promotion via social media.

A record 1,553 young people read an astonishing 48,490 books.  That’s 31 books per student – enough to stretch all the way to the Danbury Fair mall if laid end to end!

We are especially proud of Ridgefield’s teen summer readers, whose ranks grew by more than 100, to 263 sixth through twelfth graders.  Even more astonishing is that the number of books these kids logged was up by 67%, to 6,222.  Teen Services Librarian Geri Diorio attributes this impressive increase to “going where they live,” i.e. making the program available in the online environment they frequent and using social media like Facebook to spread the buzz.

Adults also seemed to like the new system, with the number of participants up 7% and the number of books logged up by 29%.

We have received so much positive feedback that we are exploring ways to turn the success of Summer Reading into a year-round opportunity for Ridgefielders of all ages to track and share what they’re reading.

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