From the Friends: Support for Summer Reading

Posted Jun 6, 2018

Thanks to our donors and members, the Friends of the Shorewood Public Library are sponsoring the summer reading programs, Shakespeare in Shorewood and the Summer Celebration this summer.  We are excited to support this important work and to be part of the fun activities at the library this summer.

Last year, 1034 youngsters (age 0 - 12th grade) participated in Shorewood Public Library’s summer reading program. The Friends have helped support summer reading programs at the library since the late 1980s, but Shorewood has offered summer reading programs since at least the 1950s! (Children’s librarian Heide Piehler has seen photos of Shorewood Library summer programs in the 50s; at least one library friend took part in the summer programs in the late 60s!)

Why is the Library's summer reading program so important? Did you know that students who participate in summer reading programs retain and advance their reading skills instead of falling behind on them?

Researchers have studied many aspects of summer reading and have found over and over again that it is important for retaining reading skills and maintaining grade level achievement. View facts about summer reading from Scholastic: mediaroom.scholastic.com/files/10CriticalFactsaboutSummerReading.pdf. Or check out the information and links to studies collected by the California Library Association here: http://www.cla-net.org/?78.

Key findings:

  • Summer reading loss is real.  Teachers and researchers know that students lose some of their skills over the summer.
  • Summer reading loss is cumulative.  Children struggle to catch up in the fall.  Students who consistently lose reading skills over the summer are two years behind their classmates by grade 6.
  • Some of the achievement gap of students living in poverty is due to loss of reading skills in summer.
  • Reading just five books over the summer can prevent summer learning loss.
  • Students who participated in a summer reading program had better reading skills at the end of third grade and scored higher on standardized tests than students who did not participate.

The Friends invite you to support the library and young readers this summer.

  • Bring kids and grandkids to check out books or participate in activities.
  • Let kids choose books that interest them.
  • Read aloud to a child.
  • Listen to books in the car.
  • Contact the Friends to help with Shorewood Library collection and programs.

Shorewood is lucky to have a great library. We hope you and your family will take advantage of its many resources this summer. 

Connect with the Friends online or email shwd.libraryfriends@gmail.com.



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