Kindness, Friendship & Community are at the Center of the 2023 Citrus Libraries Summer Reading Program

On June 1 at 10:00 AM, join the Youth Librarians at each of our five branches as they bring us “All Together Now” for the library’s annual Summer Reading Program! Then, beginning Monday, June 5 there will be six weeks of reading, learning, activities and fun! These programs are open to children of all ages, and are split into two age groups, those who are 6-9 and then those who are 10-13 years old, where there is sure to be something for everyone.

This year, there are four special Saturday programs that are specifically geared towards families. On Saturday, June 10 at 10:30 AM the Lakes Region branch in Inverness will be hosting a Touch-a-Truck program that will bring in trucks, and a boat, from organizations around the county. On Saturday, June 17 at 10:30 AM families are invited to the Central Ridge branch in Beverly Hills to play Putt Putt with Parents through the library. Then, come back to the Central Ridge branch on Saturday, June 24 for an Indoor StoryWalk Citrus at 10:30 AM, where families will journey through the library reading a story. Finally, on Saturday, July 8 at the Homosassa branch, we will have an encore Touch-a-Truck program at 10:30 AM for families showcasing additional Citrus County vehicles.

Returning again this summer, children ages 5-17 will be able to log their summer reading through the library’s digital reading app, Beanstack! With this app, readers will be able to keep track of how many minutes they read all while unlocking digital badges and tickets that can be added to prize drawings happening at the end of the summer. By signing up for summer reading through Beanstack, you will automatically unlock your first badge! Each child is eligible to receive up to 20 digital tickets that can be used in the prize drawings.

In addition to the digital tickets, readers who log their minutes each week will have a chance to be selected as a “Reader of the Week”! This new incentive will launch on Monday, June 12, with a new reader being chosen from each branch, each week. The winners will receive a special prize bag, with items generously donated by the Friends of the Library. “By adding the ‘Reader of the Week’ this year, we are more than doubling the number of children that we will be able to recognize for their reading this summer,” said Adam Chang, Library Director. “We are thankful to have such amazing Friends that are willing to support young readers in our community.”

Also back this summer is the ever-popular Reading with the Rays program. This is an opportunity for kids to read 24 hours during the summer and be rewarded with free tickets to a Tampa Bay Rays baseball game. As you read your way around the bases, you can bring your completed trackers back in to redeem awesome prizes courtesy of the Tampa Bay Rays!

So what are the prizes for reading this summer? Well, once again there will be 10 kayak trips up for grabs. Each trip is good for one child and their parent/guardian, donated by Hunter Springs Kayaks in Crystal River. Each branch will also have a DIVE into Summer basket, donated by the Homosassa Walmart and a BUILDing Memories basket, donated by the Friends of the Library. All readers ages 5-17 will have the opportunity to earn tickets through the Beanstack app for these prizes by reading and participating in activities this summer.

There will also be a grand prize drawing for anyone who reads 300 minutes by July 15! This year’s grand prize is a two-hour manatee tour and fishing trip for up to 4 people with local boat captains. So, make sure you’re logging your reading because this is one prize you won’t want to miss!

Check out our website at www.citruslibraries.org/summerreading for all of the details about summer programming. You can also stay up-to-date on all of the happenings at Citrus Libraries by following us @citruslibraries on Facebook and Instagram.