It’s Summer Reading time again at Durham County Library. Please read on to see the difference Summer Reading made in the life of one little girl.

“At the end of kindergarten in June 2009, my daughter signed up for Summer Reading.  By the end of the summer she was reading at the level of Amelia Bedelia and Henry and Mudge. In August, we went to the Summer Reading Club celebration.  As she began to pick out her free Reading is Fundamental (RIF) book, she was drawn to some very simple picture books for her “pretend preschool class.”  With my encouragement, she started to look at other books.  She finally chose, to my surprise, a Jigsaw Jones chapter book.  Her very first chapter book, but certainly not her last.  Over the next six months, she read Judy Blume, Beverly Cleary’s Ramona books, Jigsaw Jones, Ivy and Bean books, the original Winnie the Pooh, Wayside School books by Louis Sachar and more. Getting the book at Summer Reading kicked her reading to a new level while increasing her confidence.” Aviva Starr

Thanks to the Durham County Library’s Summer Reading Club, two very important factors are affecting Aviva’s daughter.   First, she is developing a love for reading that will serve her well in life.  Research has shown that in early grades reading proficiency is a significant indicator of future success and that early success in school is a determinant in the prevention of truancy and dropout.  Secondly, she is not a victim of “summer slide.” Very simply stated, “summer slide” is the phenomenon of children forgetting what they learned in school while their minds are idle for months at a time during summer vacation.  Research has also demonstrated that a key to the attainment and maintenance of reading proficiency in early grades is the retention of reading skills over the summer recess period. 

Every year, the Durham County Library strives to instill a life-long love of reading and to prevent “summer slide.”  More than 11,000 children are engaged in our Summer Reading Club, participating in creative programs and activities that encourage them to read each day.   Every summer, children in the Summer Reading Club read daily, keeping their minds active and their imaginations sparked, and increasing their chances for success in school and in life.

While tax dollars provide for maintaining the library, special programs like Summer Reading Club are made possible in part with funding from the Durham Library Foundation.  The Foundation is committed to providing funds that help the library maintain a “margin of excellence” in the programs and services that are so important to all of us. 

Will you help me and the Durham Library Foundation continue to provide programming that enriches lives and helps the children of Durham County to succeed in school and in life?

We’ve already kicked off the Summer Reading Club for 2010 with a “splash.”  With your support, we can ensure that it is a successful summer for thousands of children.  We’re looking forward to a summer full of programming that supports academics and literacy and that builds on the successes our children have achieved.  Your gift to the Foundation ensures that the library will continue to be a positive part of children’s lives, now and in the future.

Please give to the Durham Library Foundation today and help a child learn, grow and succeed.

Sincerely,

Ann Craver, President,
Durham Library Foundation