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Receive a presentation from the Department of Library Services on the 2016 Summer Reading Challenge held at public libraries throughout the county and the final results
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Published Notice Required? Yes ____ No _X _
Public Hearing Required? Yes ____ No _X _
DEPARTMENTAL RECOMMENDATION:
The Department of Library Services recommends that the Board of Supervisors receive a presentation from the Library providing a final report on the 2016 Summer Reading Challenge held at the public libraries throughout the county.
SUMMARY:
The Library's Summer Reading Challenge is a program designed to help with literacy throughout the county. Library participants included the County Library, which provides library services in five of the seven cities within the county, the Benicia Public Library and the Dixon Public Library. The Summer Reading Challenge is one way to get books into the hands of children and to help combat the loss of learning that occurs throughout the summer commonly known as the "summer slide". It is also a way to encourage adult learning and to promote a life-long love of books.
Here are some highlights from the Library's summer program:
Total number of Solano County Library (SCL) participants registered: 6,581
Total number of SCL participants who completed the program: 3,095 (47%)
Total number of SCL books read: 34,114
Total number of Dixon Public Library participants registered: 646
Total number of Benicia Public Library pages read: 69,100
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
There is no cost to the General Fund as the Library is funded entirely through property and sales tax revenue.
DISCUSSION:
Literacy starts with children. The Library's Summer Reading Challenge particularly targets children. Lack of formal schooling during the summer creates a tendency for children to lose some of the achievement gains they made during the previous school year. This is known as the "summer slide", and occurs when children fall behind in reading an...
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