By Madison Butkus
Hometown Weekly Reporter
Throughout the summer, the Needham Free Public Library (NFPL) conducted a Summer Reading Program for all ages. Pre-registration began on May 20, logging started on June 25, and logging ended on August 18.
The program featured three categories: Kids Summer Reading (ages 0-12), Tweens & Teens Summer Reading (ages 12-18), and Adult Summer Reading (ages 18+). Each program had different reading challenges and requirements, allowing participants to win prizes and enter for a chance to win grand prizes.
With logging concluding this past week, the NFPL hosted an End of Summer Reading Celebration on Tuesday, August 20. The event, held in the Highland Avenue parking lot, featured prizes and free ice cream. The ice cream, generously donated by Fidelity Bank in Needham, was individually wrapped, with options including Chocolate Eclair Bars, Strawberry Shortcake Bars, Orange Dream Bars, Chocolate Fudge Bars, Strawberry Fruit Bars, and Fla-Vor-Ice Popsicles. Attendees were delighted by the size of the popsicles, especially the younger participants.
As attendees enjoyed their frozen treats, Reference Librarian and Young Adult Specialist Erin Bassett, along with other NFPL librarians, managed the prize booth and ensured everyone was having a good time.
Bassett reported that this year's Summer Reading Program was a great success with a high level of participation. “I ran the Young Adult Program this year,” she explained, “as well as the Adult Program when our supervisor left a little while ago. Paula Dugan who is the Children’s Supervisor ran their program. All of the programs as a whole went over extremely well this year. We had 60 participants for the YA Program which is just so exciting. Considering I just started this program about seven years ago now, we really have been working hard to revamp it and get more of them interested in it. We also have received great feedback from all participants as well which is super helpful.”
One of the best parts about these programs is that it gets Needham residents excited and motivated about reading. “One of the reasons I started doing these programs,” Bassett stated, “is that many of these kids had to read for school anyways so why not motivate them with prizes and candy. Anything we can try at the library to encourage everyone to read is exactly what we want to do. Luckily for us, everyone really seemed to enjoy it, and they are hopefully enjoying themselves now at the party with the free ice cream!”
During the rest of the afternoon, participants could be seen chatting with one another, eating ice cream, winning grand prizes and more! For more information about the NFPL Summer Reading Programs and what they entailed, please visit their website at www.needhamlibrary.org.
