Lee County Library System celebrates successful Summer Reading Program
Lee County Library System’s 2023 Summer Reading Program saw thousands of books go into the hands of children and teens along with outstanding participation from all ages.
This annual program fosters the love of reading and helps prevent summer learning loss by students on school break. As part of that effort, nearly 13,000 free books were distributed to kids and teens both in and outside of Lee County library branches.
The national Summer Reading Program theme, All Together Now, encouraged the community to spread kindness and connect with others at their local library. Lee County Library branches hosted programs like Adam’s Animal Encounters where teens learned about wildlife management, Bunny Yoga and Mindfulness, storytelling through puppetry, and magic and science shows.
Participants of all ages logged more than 700,000 books read as part of the online reading challenge. Additionally, the “Kindness Bingo” offline challenge had 7,830 people engaging in good deeds and reading. Lee County Library System hosted 10 kick-off events, offered 452 programs and staff visited 100 off-site locations to reach more than 20,000 members of the community.
“Library staff engaged with patrons all summer to share the joy of reading,” says Library Director Mindi Simon. “Our staff make a difference in the community that have lasting, positive impacts for the youth who participate. Our libraries are a great place for families to be together — attending programs, borrowing books and movies, using computers and participating in activities.”
The Lee County Library System, founded in 1964, has 13 branches to serve Lee County residents. Library programs are always free and open to the public. Patrons can sign up for the library email newsletter or view the schedule of events online to see what is happening in the library branches. For more information about the Lee County Library System, visit leelibrary.net or call 239-479-4636.
Source: Lee County Library System