More than 1,000 children and teenagers are expected to participate in summer reading program.
Two children play a game on computers at the Chicopee Public Library.CHICOPEE – After dismissal on the last day of school, Nancy M. Contois noticed there was a sudden burst of children filling the library.
They couldn’t wait to sign up for the summer reading program that began on Monday, the day before school was dismissed for the year, Contois, the library director, said.
“They just got out of school and the first thing they do is go to the library. It’s great,” she said.
This year more than 1,000 children and teenagers are expected to participate. And about 200 adults will join their own summer reading program at the library.
The basic program awards children and teens with small gifts and tickets for regular raffles for the number of hours they read. It also has a wide variety of activities for children and adults, she said.
Each program has a subject, which follows a statewide theme. The children’s program is “One World, Many Stories”, the teen theme is “You Are Here” and the adult theme is “Novel Destinations.”
The summer reading program is funded with about $12,500 in grants. The largest one comes from the Dow Jones Foundation and is for $7,500. The Chicopee Cultural Council will give $4,200 and about $800 comes from a federal Library Services and Technology Act, Contois said.
One of the unique parts of the reading program is the third year of the adult portion, Carol Lynn Bagley, senior reference librarian, said.
“A lot of people asked for it. They said you don’t have a summer reading program for adults and we said there is no reason why we can’t,” she said.
Some of the activities geared to adults are Monday foreign film nights that will be held at 6 p.m. on July 18 and 25 and Aug. 8. The films are part of the federal grant that also allowed the library to purchase materials in Arabic, Polish, Spanish and Russian. That grant also will fund different bands that will play polka, South American and French Canadian music.
The summer program will also have history lectures at 6:30 p.m. every Tuesday between July 12 and Aug. 16.
There are a number of family nights. Summer outdoor concerts will be held at 6:30 p.m. every Thursday from July 14 through Aug. 18 and Friday movies will be held at 1:30 p.m. on July 8 and 22 and Aug. 5 and 19, Bagley said.
Most people who participate are younger children, but there are a number of teenagers who join, she said.
“The young adults are very active and have a good time,” Bagley said.
Some programs for teens include an anime club and a newspaper, Bagley said.
A full list of activities is available on the library website at http://www.chicopeepubliclibrary.org/. People can also pick up information at the library on Front Street.