by Anna Street, CCPL Circulation Services Manager
June 5 was a beautiful, sunny afternoon at Campbell County Public Library as we launched a summer reading party outside, with our annual Author Fair and Writers Workshop inside. The 2021 summer reading theme of Tails and Tales made the events a great match! Your libraries in Gillette and Wright continue summer reading fun through August with exciting events and activities.
If you are a child, teen, or adult in Gillette and 1) enjoy reading, and 2) love winning prizes, check out our website and sign up for our READsquared program to start logging your reading and increase your prize winning chances. You can also keep track of your reading on paper logs, available upon request at CCPL. If you’re a child, teen, or adult in Wright who enjoys reading, stop by Wright Branch Library and pick up a reading log to record your reading time. Prizes are also being awarded at WBL!
The first summer reading programs in our country began in approximately the 1890s, which is the same year Wyoming gained statehood. This is not long after the creation of the first modern public library supported by its community taxes in Peterborough, New Hampshire in 1833. Shortly after, the American Library Association was founded in 1876 by innovative librarians, one of which was Melvil Dewey. You guessed it: the creator of the Dewey Decimal System.
Summer programs, just like public libraries, have evolved and changed over time, becoming community-based in their offerings and including programming, speakers, and events so that local populations learn more about their own communities, each other and the world.
During our June 5 event, community agencies including 4-H, Campbell County Animal Shelter, Rockpile Museum, a number of food concessions, as well as characters from Nickelodeon’s PAW Patrol gathered on the library’s front steps and parking lot. Staff signed up patrons for library cards and helped teams compete in an Egg Drop STEAM Challenge. It was a successful and fun day enjoyed by all.
Dewey once said “A library’s function is to give the public in the quickest and cheapest way possible: information, inspiration and recreation.” At the heart of this quote is the concept that, year-round, public libraries are here as a resource to our communities and as a place to learn and be inspired. Stop by your library this summer — adventure starts here!