BRUCE COUNTY – Bruce County Public Library (BCPL) is thrilled to announce the outstanding success of its 2023 Summer Reading Club, which shattered all previous years’ records with an incredible 280,142 minutes of reading logged.
BCPL held its annual Summer Reading Club kick-off event at the Lucknow branch on June 17. This much-anticipated event started with the always entertaining magic of Scott Dietrich and author readings with Dorothy Ladd and Doug Archer. Throughout the day, families could experience science through STEAM (science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics) activities with Nuclear Innovation Institute while being transformed into mythical creatures through the face-painting talents of Wyllow’s Whimsies. It was a perfect way to start summer.
Branches hosted weekly Summer Reading Club meetings all summer long, based on a theme that fell under the summer heading of “Check It Out!” Each meeting included staff-created programs with literacy-focused activities, games, and story times. There were also many special programs and visits to the branches all through the summer. Canadian Raptor Conservatory brought its Birds of Prey show to Tobermory and Port Elgin branches, and an incredible 173 people came out to visit the Scales Nature Reserve’s reptiles and amphibians presentation at Chesley Park.
This year, the Summer Reading Club introduced bingo through the online reading challenge platform ‘Beanstack.’ Beanstack auto-filled the reader’s card as they earned virtual reading and activity badges. Kids who finished the entire card by completing 40 hours of reading and all eight activities received an additional book prize. Forty-four children across Bruce County reached this milestone.
“The response from the community has been truly heartwarming, as we all worked together to combat the summer slide. We couldn’t be prouder of our readers for their enthusiasm and our library staff who promoted the magic of reading weekly through their Summer Reading Club meetings,” said program co-ordinator Nancy Kuhl.
You can participate in reading challenges all year long online through Beanstack. Beanstack is a free service provided by the Bruce County Public Library. It is a fun way to track your reading, complete challenges, and win prizes.
