Clallam County public libraries, the Port Townsend Public Library and the Jefferson County Library plan a variety of activities this summer that encourage reading, inspire creativity and learning and provide opportunities to connect to the community.
The libraries’ summer reading program activities are designed to engage young people and families to help prevent the “summer slide” and build a lifelong love of reading.
Library officials said youths who don’t read during the summer can lose up to a third of what they learned in the previous school year.
Clallam County libraries
Young people are invited to sign up for the Summer Reading Challenge at a Clallam County public library beginning Saturday. Each will receive a free book.
The North Olympic Library System (NOLS) oversees public libraries in Port Angeles, Sequim, Forks and Clallam Bay.
It will celebrate the start of the Summer Reading Program with the Hands On Children’s Museum from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday at the Port Angeles Library, 2210 S. Peabody St.
The museum includes interactive exhibits and programs for children, families and school groups.
Children also are invited to build a planter box at 2 p.m. at the Forks Library, 171 Forks Ave. All supplies will be provided by Sequim’s Home Depot and store employees are volunteering their time to offer the workshops.
An adult must accompany children younger than 8.
Participants are encouraged to bring their own hammers (if they have them), but the library also will have hammers available for use.
The reading program also will be presented at the Sequim Library at 630 N. Sequim Ave., and the Clallam Bay Library, 16990 state Highway 112.
The 2018 Summer Reading Program includes a reading challenge with incentives to earn a free book and T-shirt, chances to win prizes and events for all ages happening both within and beyond library walls — from music to magic, bowling parties to beach walks, storytimes to science.
Participants can track their reading from this Saturday to Aug. 18 and earn prizes made possible by local Friends of the Library groups. They will earn a free book just for signing up and receive a NOLS Summer Reading Challenge T-shirt when they have read for 30 days.
Every 15 days of reading, participants can submit a ticket to a grand prize drawing for a chance to win a scenic plane ride with Rite Brothers Aviation, a whale watching tour, a $100 gift card to a local book store or restaurant or a LEGO set.
For more information about the Summer Reading Program and other events, visit https://www.nols.org/srp/, call 360-417-8500 or email discover@nols.org.
Jefferson County Library
The Jefferson County Library will kick off its Summer Reading Program at 6:30 p.m. Monday at the Port Hadlock facility, 620 Cedar Ave., with a special show by magician Jeff Evans.
The free program in the Humphrey Room at the library is intended to help readers “discover the amazing things that happen when they discover the magic of reading, ” according to the library’s website at https://jclibrary.info/.
There will be opportunities to register for the reading program after the show or any time during the summer.
At 2 p.m. Tuesday the library will host Idea Hatchery’s Heidi Larsen for an exploration of sound at the Quilcene Community Center, 294952 U.S. Highway 101.
Participants will make music with a wind tunnel, a musical bench and a variety of PVC pipe instruments.
For a complete listing of summer reading events, see the library website.
Receive free books
Each person who signs up for the 2018 Summer Reading Program will receive a book. Each will be given a second book after completing 10 hours of reading.
In addition, every five hours that children and teens read will earn the reader one entry in a contest for prizes.
Each participant who reads for 50 hours will earn a T-shirt.
Adults get one entry for the prize drawing for every 10 hours read, and earn a T-shirt by reading 100 hours.
Readers can sign up at the Jefferson County Library or on the Jefferson County Library bookmobile.
For more information, visit the library website or call 360-385-6544.
Port Townsend Public Library
The Port Townsend Library will begin its summer reading program Tuesday with a celebration at the library at 1220 Lawrence St., from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Participants can sign up for the program and choose a free book. They also can decorate the sidewalk with chalk, make a musical instrument, join a kazoo ensemble, eat snacks and join Aaron Vallat and Jill Alban for African drumming and dance.
Events are planned throughout the summer until the closing party from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Aug. 10.
For more information, see www.ptpubliclibrary.org, or call 360-385-3181.
