Library has successful Summer Reading Program

The Yoakum Carl and Mary Welhausen Library had one of its most successful summer reading programs of all time.

There was a total of 333 reading program participants with 104 adults, 27 teenagers, and 202 children ages zero to 12. People spent over 2,993 hours reading for the program. A total of 1,883 people participated in the summer programs the library had to offer.

Compared to ten years ago in 2014, there were a total of 50 reading participants and 762 program participants.

“This was by far our most successful year in the last eleven years,” Library Director Gena Jiral said. “We brought in the most reading participants in our history. A lot of it has to do with our partnership formed with Tammy Steinmann at the Grand Theater. She had helped us with our promotion this year and hosted some of our programs. That extra space at the theater helped a lot. Between the staff’s hard work and the sponsorships, we received this year, it helped us a lot. We have some of the most gracious sponsors and I thank them from the bottom of our hearts, and we couldn’t do it without them.”

The library was able to get $11,000 in grants through some foundations according to Jiral.

Jiral said that the children who attended the programs were the most engaged in the activities compared to prior years.

“We had a lot of new faces that we saw this year,” Jiral said. “A lot of grandparents brought their grandkids to the programs, and I think a lot of the grownups were just as engaged as the kids were in some of the programs. The program presenters do a really good job of not only educating the kids and attendees but educating them in a fun way.”

Some of the most exciting programs for the children according to Jiral were animal shows and magic shows.

“We try to bring in at least a couple of animal and magic shows every summer,” Jiral said. “The most successful animal show was our ‘Zoomagination’ program this year. They brought a sloth, a possum, a boa constrictor, and a baby kangaroo. That was our most attended program, and our second most attended program was our magic show.”

The library also hosted a bookmark contest with 31 entries in four different categories. The winners were Ania Napiwocki, age seven; Azlynn Messick, age 11; Nathan Vo, age 16; and Karla Flanary, who was an adult.

The library also had 1,180 raffle tickets and 1,527 scratch off tickets during the summer.

Jiral is already preparing for fall activities.

“Right now we have some back-to-school take and make kits,” Jiral said. “They are basically a craft kit that students can make for school. September will be ‘library card sign up month,’ so we have a lot of fun activities planned for that. October is ‘National Book Month’ and we will try to promote that."

The library also formed new partnerships with the Golden Crescent Regional Planning Commission and will be offering some services to senior citizens and new and expecting moms.