Your Summer Reading Program: More than fun and games!

Summer’s here. School’s out. It’s time for fun and games and the library’s Summer Reading Program.

Kids love the Summer Reading Program. They like the incentives, the prizes, and being able to read what they want from the library’s great selection of books and magazines.

But what they don’t know is how important summer reading is. Since 1978, study after study has reinforced research showing that children who read during the summer become better readers than students who don’t.

Research Shows Academic Gains
Research shows book reading during the summer is directly related to academic gains. It’s important for all social groups and income levels. And the major factor determining whether a child reads over the summer is whether the child uses the public library (see locations). More than any other public institution, including schools, the public library contributes to the intellectual growth of children during the summer.

Kids who don’t read over the summer slip back a little bit each year, falling further and further behind. And this is a society in which reading skills are essential.

Literacy Makes For Successful Lives
Literacy is crucial to the success of individuals in both their career aspirations and their quality of life. Strong literacy skills are closely linked to the probability of having a good job, decent earnings, and access to training opportunities. Individuals with weak literacy skills are more likely to be unemployed or, if employed, to be in jobs that pay little or that offer poor hours or working conditions. Increased literacy skills have been shown to strengthen family relationships, improve parenting skills, and to be deeply tied to an individual’s self esteem, confidence and personal empowerment.

So if you’re a kid or teen, sign up for the program. If you’re a parent or grandparent, make sure the kids get signed up. It’s important and it’s fun. (See events at your local library.)