Public Libraries are on the literacy front lines, as formal and informal support to youth, parents/caregivers, and even teachers. Helping children learn and encouraging literacy is a core part of what public libraries provide to their communities. In 2010, the American Library Association formally adopted a resolution on the importance of summer learning programs to provide additional learning support for students and youth and CHPL has offered a summer learning/reading program to the community for the past 50 years.
Summer Reading is designed to help all children prevent “summer slide” or summer learning loss. The Library’s program has a specific emphasis on children and teens in high-poverty environments, who often struggle with basic needs like access to healthy food and safe spaces, in addition to learning loss when out of a formal school environment during the summer.
Core elements of the program include:
- activities and programs that encourage 25+ hours of literacy-based learning;
- incentives and rewards for learning challenges;
- free, new diverse books for home libraries (central part of the incentive-based participation); and
- special outreach and incentives for youth and families whose first language is Spanish.
In 2024, more than 29,000 students participated in the Library’s Summer Reading program, which distributed nearly 36,000 free books and held more than 2,000 summer programs.