The St. Tammany Parish Library (STPL) launches the 2022 Summer Reading Challenge (SRC) — Oceans of Possibilities — for all ages, Friday May 20. This year’s ocean-themed challenge is to read (or be read to) for 20 minutes each day or 720 minutes until the Challenge ends July 30. Patrons can create an account for themselves and/or their children at sttammanylibrary.org using the Beanstack app, or in one of the 12 St. Tammany Parish Library Branch locations. There are prizes for sign-up, challenges, and completions. The Community Challenge this year is for all of St. Tammany Parish to read 1,000,000 minutes collectively.
The 2022 SRC kicks off with a Community Party on Saturday, May 21, from 1 p.m. – 4p.m. at the Madisonville Branch, 1123 Main Street. This event is free and open to the public. Enjoy live entertainment by musical guests —The Poprocks. Crafts, games, and summer safety education, are among the many additional events planned for this kick-off event. We will also provide special programs from the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Aquatic Volunteer Instructor Program which will include fish prints, nautical knot tying, and casting. Remember to stock up on some books for Summer Reading while you’re there!
“Every year we look forward to Summer Reading to remind people of all ages how important it is to keep reading, especially as we ease into summertime,” said Kelly LaRocca, Director, St. Tammany Parish Library. “This year though, we are especially looking forward to enjoying the 2022 Summer Reading Challenge with more in-person events, and hands-on experiences we have missed in recent years.”
More than reading, the 2022 SRC offers programming for Children, Teens, Tweens and Adults. Programming choices will be primarily in-person, with additional virtual offerings as well.
Public libraries offer their communities a constructive way to spend the summer. The Summer Reading Challenge seeks to instill a lifelong love of reading in St. Tammany Parish youth and to involve them in rewarding and stimulating activities. Studies have shown that the effects of summer reading programs improve reading comprehension skills between school years. An additional purpose of the SRC is to combat the “Summer Slide” — which Scholastica defines as: “…when children kids lose significant knowledge in reading and math over summer break, which tends to have a snowball effect as they experience subsequent skill loss each year.” Reading — especially reading for leisure — is one way to combat the Summer Slide.
To participate, patrons should register for the 2022 SRC at www.stttammanylibrary.org, opens a new window, or come into one of the STPL’s 12 branch locations to register and pick up a reading log. Beginning Friday, May 20, 2022, track the minutes spent reading in the Beanstack App, from Google Play or the App Store and earn points. Points translate to opportunities to win prizes!
