My kids and I went down to the library today to sign up for the Summer Reading Program at the Santa Cruz Public Libraries. This is a yearly treat for my kids: they love to read, and someone pays them to do it! How it works is the kids record what they’ve read through the period of the program, and then their reading is translated into “dollars” that can be spent at a bunch of participating shops. They can earn up to 20 dollars, and those dollars can be traded in for real stuff.
My kids’ favorite participating stores are ones that they always love anyway, like Palace Art Supply, and those that give LOTS of dollars, like Atlantis Fantasyworld, which gives the maximum 20 dollars. [See a list of the merchants here.] When you look at the list, you’ll see that not all participating merchants are created equal. Palace only takes 2 dollars from each kid, which doesn’t pay for much. But each of their locations will take 2, at least. Our friendly neighborhood children’s librarian, Nancy, told us that the owner of Atlantis is so enthusiastic, he’d love to take even more than 20!
A new participating merchant is Swirl, a new yogurt shop downtown. Nancy told us that she had been worried that merchants who had participated in the past wouldn’t want to do it this year, given the economic climate, but she was pleasantly surprised. Not only did most of the previous merchants sign up, but she said that the owner of Swirl, who is giving kids a free yogurt with topping for one of their dollars, called and asked to take part.
There are a few compromises that the library had to make this year. The big one is that the program is no longer going to get its big finale party in Harvey West, as in years past. Another compromise is that the program is much shorter. It started last week and ends on July 30, so if your kids want to take part, rush in to your library soon!
…But first, make sure your library is open. As probably most readers know, the library is in the middle of a painful and heart-wrenching contraction. Nancy said it was awful to say goodbye to some great employees that were being fired, not because they weren’t doing their jobs, but because there’s just no money right now. All the branches have shorter hours and fewer days, effective immediately, but there will be more changes in the near future. The “word on the street” is that branches will be closed to keep the biggest branches open longer.
We in Santa Cruz County obviously love our libraries. We vote to raise our own taxes to support them; we use them heavily. Having your kids take part in the Summer Reading Program can help the libraries continue to show what a great commitment we as a community have to our public libraries and the wonderful programs they offer. Not just families, but seniors, the poor, neighborhood groups, and all sorts of others benefit from the services our libraries offer.
Another way we can support the program is to make sure that we spend a little more than the maximum number of dollars at each store. Last year, because my kids wanted to go to Palace and since you can’t get much for $2, I matched the libary dollars one-to-one, so each of them had four dollars to spend. And when we went to Atlantis Fantasyworld, we didn’t mean to spend three time as much as we got for free, but… I predict that if my kids want to go get their free yogurt, I’ll probably buy one for myself as well.
Let’s make sure to thank the businesses for their participation in these hard times. Their support of the library is also important, especially a business like Atlantis, that “loses” sales to the library.
Finally, one important aspect of the program is going strong: the free performances. Our very favorite local performers, Zunzun, are performing three times. Also, the Great Blindini and another magician are performing a few times. My kids and I wouldn’t miss Zunzun anyway, but this year I think it’s extra important to go and show our support for the libary.
Enjoy, and get started reading!
