My life has felt often times intertwined, in a disjointed kind of way, with the sea. I was nearly born on a beach in Ocean City, MD. My last name translates, roughly, to "pirate." I tried to host my wedding in an aquarium. If I had known "professional mermaid" was a legitimate career choice when I was younger I would definitely not be a librarian today.
Conversely, I get seasick ten minutes into any boat ride and ALL seafood can kill me.
The sea is my most complicated long-term relationship.
For those who don't know, Summer Reading is an essential service of public libraries. There are lots of statistics I could quote here about the lousy reading retention rates of kids between school years, but I don’t want to overwhelm you with hardcore statistics in June. What's important is that Summer is a great time for libraries to remind kids that reading can be fun while sneakily helping them learn.
Collectively, public libraries engage young readers with the Collaborative Summer Library Program, aka Summer Reading. The program chooses a theme for all of us to incorporate into our respective programs, and then the rest is up to us. You can walk into almost any public library this Summer and see something that ties into the Oceans of Possibilities theme, whether it be signage, programming, attire (seriously), or book displays. But beyond the theme, the libraries are responsible for their own creativity. That's the part I love.
And there are so many possible ways to interpret Oceans of Possibilities. In my library, it’s most visible in our programming and displays. For this blog, it’s going to take the form of pertinent book recommendations and reviews, photo essays, and ideas for programming and displays.
I can't wait to take this journey with you guys! If you're ready to dive in, click here for a continuing list of Summer Reading posts.
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