Library Roundup

Summer at the Goshen Public Library is all about reading, relaxing and having fun, and our patrons did all three during the five weeks of summer reading. Our theme this summer was “Unearth a Story” and we encouraged everyone to dig into their favorite books, join us for exciting programs and have fun at the library! We can safely say that the people of Goshen were up for the challenge!

In June we visited all of the classes at the Scotchtown Avenue School and the Goshen Intermediate School to encourage all the kids to join our summer reading program this summer. We challenged them to read as many pages as they could during the five-week program to prevent the “summer slide” and spend some time screen free this summer. The kids in Goshen took the challenge seriously, with 329 children registered for summer reading at the library and together those 329 children read over 250,000 pages this summer. They read everything from picture books to graphic novels to chapter books by themselves and with their families. We are so happy that our Goshen kids are so excited about reading. Along with reading all of those pages, the kids completed over 800 games, puzzles and activities through our Beanstack summer reading app. They completed these activities and learned all about prehistoric times, dinosaurs and ancient history. They also spent a lot of time at the library; checking out books and coming to programs. We offered 55 programs for kids of all ages this summer at the library on topics ranging from Pokemon to Fossils to Prehistoric Plants. Those programs were attended by 1,080 children. We are overwhelmed by the enthusiasm of all of these kids who were so eager to join in the fun.

We were also joined by an impressive number of teens and tweens this summer at the library. We had 68 kids in grades 7-12 register for our summer reading program, and they read a total of 609 books this summer. They also completed 125 book reviews and over 1,000 activities, puzzles and games on Beanstack. They also joined us in the library for a series of craft programs, dungeons and dragons, chess and volunteering. Over 100 teens and tweens volunteered at the library this summer, helping us make summer reading special for all of the kids participating. Those volunteers gave us over 750 hours of their time this summer. We are so grateful to all of them for their hard work and dedication in making our summer reading program such a success.

Summer reading isn’t just for kids, and we had over 60 adults registered for our summer reading program. Those dedicated readers read a total of 73,177 pages and reviewed 58 books. They also had fun in the library this summer with 796 people attending the 37 adult programs we offered this summer. We are so fortunate to have such dedicated patrons supporting us and spending time with us all summer.

Just because summer reading is over doesn’t mean the fun at the library will end, stop in and see us anytime to see what’s happening next month at the library!