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‘Books for Bricks’ will let kids read to help build library
By Justin Goble
This summer, kids in Jackson County can help put books in the proposed new library by checking books out from the old one.
Friends of the Library are spearheading the second annual “Books for Bricks” campaign, which starts Saturday, June 10. The program will raise money for the new library while encouraging kids from kindergarten to eighth-grade to read this summer.
After children register, they must seek sponsors to donate money for the books they read. Sponsors pledge $1 for each book read throughout the summer. Participants keep track of the number of books they read and turn money in once the program is completed. Children can register at either the library or the Friends’ Bookstore before or on Saturday, June 10. They will have until Tuesday, Aug. 15 to read books to raise money for the library.
Money must be turned in to either the library or the Friends’ Bookstore by Saturday, Aug. 19.
Wal-Mart gift certificates will be given to top fund-raisers. Grand prize is $30, with $25 for the first runner-up; $20 for the second runner-up; $15 for the third runner-up; and $10 for the fourth runner-up. Winners will be recognized at the Monday, Aug. 21 county commissioners’ meeting.
A party for all participants will he held at Mark Watson Park on Saturday, July 29.
Friends member Nancy P. Coward, who has worked on the Books for Bricks program since its inception, said there is no restrictions on what children read during the program. Any books they read will help both them and the library, she said.
“We decided to let the kids and parents do what they wanted to in terms of what to read,” Coward, a retired English teacher, said. “If the kids are hooked on something, let them keep on reading it. As long as there’s words in there, we’re OK with it.”
According to Friends President Mary Selzer, the idea for the program came from Joyce Moore at City Lights Bookstore, who had heard concerns about summer reading from teachers in the area.
“We’re all hoping that the program encourages kids to read during the summer,” Selzer said. “Teachers have told us they think it’s imperative to keep kids reading during the break.”
Due to the strain of end-of-year activities, Selzer said the Friends have tried not to ask too much of the teachers in the county. However, she said they have been helpful in getting the information to their students.
“The teachers have been helping us get the brochures to the kids,” Selzer said. “We wanted to work with the schools, but we didn’t want to put a burden on them. During this time of year, they’re already busy with end-of-grade testing and other things. But the teachers are an excellent channel to get the information to the kids, which we hope in turn gets to the parents.”
Selzer said the program also aims to get children involved in the public library, which in turn, she hopes will get them excited about the new library.
“New books are expensive,” Selzer said. “Hopefully, this will encourage them to use the library. We’re also trying to encourage kids to participate in the summer reading program at the library. That program has a slightly different focus, but the two programs coincide really well. We thought that if they were going to read those books from the library, they might as well get credit for them if they have sponsors.
“We’re also hoping to start getting them excited about the new library now,” Selzer said. “It’s a civic project. We’re asking the kids and the parents to tell us what they want to see. We’re wanting to collect those wish lists soon, with the design of the new library starting soon.”
Currently, FOL is concerning itself with getting kids to sign up for the program. Coward said she wants kids to get as many sponsors as they can, since that will allow them to raise more money for each book they read.
“The more sponsors, the merrier,” Coward said. “If a child has 15 sponsors, that comes out to $15 per book they read.”
Registration and reading forms can be obtained from either the library or the Friends’ Bookstore. Forms and information are also available at the FOL Web site, www.fojcml.org.
For additional information, contact Selzer at 293-0074 or Coward at 586-8564.
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