Teri Rankin, Youth Services Manager, reported on the amazing stats from this year’s Summer Reading Program in the recent O’Fallon Weekly.
“Collectively, registrants read a total of 283,448 minutes! The average number of minutes per person was 226 minutes. Our top juvenile reader spent 3,675 minutes reading!” Teri said, “That’s a lot of time reading and a lot of time logging minutes.” Through Beanstack, our new online reading registration and management product, people could keep track of time spent reading as well as the number of library programs they attended, she said.
“Congratulations to everyone who participated,” Teri said. “We hope you enjoyed the reading groups, entertainers, craft days, and contests we offered this summer. More importantly, we hope you continue to read each day!”
Teri said there is still plenty of summer left to read and visit the library. “Our certified therapy dogs are calm and like nothing better than cuddling up with you and your child (and a good book,)” she said. The next Fun and Furry Read to a Dog is Thursday, August 2 and Tuesday, August 14.
Other popular kids’ clubs include:
Lego Club 2:30-3:30, Sunday, August 12, and selected Sundays, for all ages
Chess Club, 10:30 am, August 18, and the third Saturday each month, for all ages.
Quadricorns Book Club, 4:30 pm, Wednesday, August 22, and the fourth Wednesday of each month for 9-12 year olds.
Science Club 4:30 pm, Monday, August 27, for 9-year-olds and up. Registration is not required, but you can sign up for email reminders.
Teri also announced the return of Eco Club, Saturday, August 11, at 1-2 pm. Eco Club is facilitated by Youth Services Assistant Edward who has worked for the World Bird Sanctuary and the St. Louis Science Center, “has great ideas and projects for connecting to the natural world.” We will learn how to reduce our environmental footprint, care for natural spaces and wildlife, and become an ally for Earth.
This meeting will focus on the impact of single-use plastics on our environment. Following a brief presentation and kid-friendly discussion, we will decorate reusable shopping totes to take home.
Tote bags are limited and registration is required if you wish to decorate a tote bag. You do not need to register if you do not plan to decorate and take a tote!
Teri said that regular children’s story times and programs will resume in August. Preschool Story Time will return, Monday, August 20, at 10:30 am. Teri said, “This fall we are offering a series of sessions with a one or two week break between. Be sure to check the calendar.
Book Babies (9:15 am) and Toddler Tales (10:15) resume Wednesday, August 15. Register by clicking on the links above.
Another upcoming program is How to Find and Owl in Your Neighborhood, Thursday, August 9, 6-8 pm. Award-winning naturalist Mark H.X. Glenshaw aka “The Owl Man” will show you where and how to look for them, what to listen for, and much more, Teri said.
“Speaking of owls, enter our Draw-Our-Mascot contest!” Teri urged. “We are adopting an owl mascot (O-FOWL-ON…haha! Get it?) and you can submit an original drawing of an owl that we will feature on social media, display slides and all over the library!”
Send your submissions to our Social Media Coordinator at Jessi@ofpl.info by Tuesday, July 31. Teri said the top three submissions will be posted on Facebook and the winner will be determined by the number of votes. After an owl is chosen, Teri said we will name our bird. This contest is open to all ages. Good luck!
These are just a few of the many events at the library. Be sure to check out our calendar for activities and our website to access the many resources available with your library card.
Check out the next “Library News & Notes” in the O’Fallon Weekly on newsstands and online each Wednesday.
The O'Fallon Public Library News 