Halloween in the Library?

The casual visitor to the Boyertown Community Library today (Halloween) saw a few changes in the usual attire. We had a Blues Brother, 2 Pirates, a Spider Woman, a Halloween Alien, and a Pumpkin instead of our normal business attired staff. We had quite a few double-takes, several laughs and we awed many children, but I don't think we actually scared anyone. Which is (as Martha would say) a good thing.

While handing out treats to our visitors who came in dressed for Halloween (many children and several adults, as well) we had a discussion every once in a while about the pros and cons of dressing up and celebrating this "holiday". We had prepared a story time that would be satisfactory for either type of family. If there were children present whose parents preferred to not have Halloween as the theme we had stories, songs, rhymes and finger plays all about pumpkins instead of the usual Halloween stories (which were also available) such as Cliffird's First Halloween by Bridwell, Corduroy's Best Halloween Ever! by Freeman or Halloween Cats by Marzollo. The pumpkin stories we had to offer were Where is Baby's Pumpkin by Katz, The Biggest Pumpkin Ever by Kroll, and Pumpkins by Ray.

In the end, everyone had fun when they came to the library today. The staff and the regular visitors, as well as the new people coming in for the first time. I guess we didn't scare anyone away.

Summer's Ended but...

We have some great news about some of our summer activities here at BCL.

First of all, as reported earlier we had a whopping 993 kids aged 0-18 turn in at least one reading log with the equivalent of 5 books listed on it! That was more than at any other Berks County library this year!

Second, the grand prize winner was one of our regular visitors (Justin Alderfer) who turned in quite a few reading logs with the help of his mother (Dawn). Justin's log was drawn from among all the other logs that were turned in all over Berks County. The random drawing was held earlier this month. He and big brother Mark will be at the library this week to collect his brand new laptop computer. We're just as excited as the Alderfer family.

Third, we had a great first time turn-out for the adult summer reading program. I will include the actual numbers in a later update to this post. Each week an entry was randomly selected to win a couple food coupons and a half dozen home-baked chocolate chip cookies (baked by little ole me). Weekly winners included: Cheryl Bernstiel, Steve Shirey, Carol DeHaven, Rebecca Frey, Erica Fisher, Cindy Bortz, Betty Shenk, Dawn Alderfer, and Monica Hallman. The grand prize was $50 in gift certificates to Applebee's restaurant and was won in another random drawing of all the tickets entered throughout the summer by adults aged at least 18 years old by... Mary Fenyus.

Adult Summer Reads @ BCL...

If You Could See What I See by Sylvia Brown. Comment: "It gives you a bigger outlook on the meaning of life." - Karen C.
Tears of the Giraffe by Alexander McCall Smith. Comment: "I love the unique style of these books - an interesting story." - Dawn A.
True Betrayals by Nora Roberts. Comment: "Great." - Kristy B.
Blood Test by Jonathan Kellerman. Comment: "This was a rather predictable book about trying to solve a series of mysteries." - Carol D.
You Can Write a Children's Book by Tracy E. Dils. Comment: "Workbook with good guidance to getting started writing for this genre." - Lisa H.
Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling. Comment: "Awesome - it ended just like I had hoped!" - Karen K.
The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde. Comment: "Interesting read. Couldn't put it down." - Robert M.
Spare Change by Robert B. Parker. Comment: "Great story line - keeps you guessing - a fast read." - Betty S.
Walt Disney Cruise Line 2007 by Birnbaum. Comment: "Handbook jam-packed with every detail regarding your Disney Cruise. Including all options that you can take care of before you leave home." - Lisa H.

Welcome! Here's what's going on...

We have just completed another successful Summer Reading Program at the Boyertown Community Library. This year we had even more children reading more books than ever. 992 kids, age 0-18, read books (or had books read to them), and reported on them. 42 more than last year. We are proud of this high level of participation in this great program that helps foster an enjoyment of books and reading as well as helping to promote literacy.
This year we developed a Summer Reading Program for our adult visitors, too. For several years we had adults who were helping children with their book reading logs say to us... "I'd like to read for prizes, too!" We listened. You can check out a separate post here that includes a list of some of the books these adults read and their comments on them. Maybe you will find a title you'll be interested in "checking out!"