Inroducing BCLA Summer Reading Club
Summer Reading Club 2010: Reading Rocks!
Summer Reading Club websites:
* SRC 2010 Librarian's website: kidssrc.bclibrary.ca
(available now)
* SRC 2010 Kids website: www.kidssrc.ca
(available in June)
And… check out old SRC websites at http://src.bclibrary.ca
Introduction:
SRC Rocks Twenty Years!
BC Summer Reading Club is twenty years old! In 1990, Children's
Librarians from Lower Mainland libraries, who had been creating
summer reading clubs in their individual libraries took it to
the next level - the Province. They were able to get financial
assistance from the Public Library Services Branch and help with
coordination through the British Columbia Library Association.
Twenty years later, the BC SRC continues to deliver low cost,
high quality Summer Reading Club (SRC) materials such as reading
records, bookmarks, posters and stickers and support via the manual
and websites to public libraries throughout BC (and even into
the Yukon!). Last year about 80,000 children signed up for SRC
in the province of BC. Our thanks go out to those librarians who
began the BC SRC!
The BC SRC is unique! Every year we promote BC talent
by choosing a BC-based illustrator of children's books to create
the images for the SRC materials. We have been thrilled to have
had artwork from such illustrators as Ted Harrison, Kim LaFave,
Dianna Bonder, Kirsti Wakelin and many others. The BC SRC, while
keeping the focus on kids, reading and libraries has also been
able to gently tie-in to provincial events such as the 2010 Winter
Olympics (SRC 2009: Follow the Reader). In 2008 the Province held
a year-long commemoration of 150th year since the founding of
the British crown colony of British Columbia and, with illustrator
Elisa Gutierrez, we created SRC 2008: Read All Over the Map with
a fun focus on BC geography and history. The BC Library Association
was awarded a BC Historical Society Certificate of Merit for helping
to bring BC History to life for children throughout the Province.
Some of the key partners involved in taking the BC SRC through
to completion every year are the BC SRC Committee members, the
paid Coordinator, and creative staff (see the credits); the BC
Library Association; funding assistance from the Public Library
Services Branch, Ministry of Education; Public Library InterLINK
who provide support with shipping; public libraries big and small
in BC whose staff sit on the committee and create content for
SRC as well as run the SRC in libraries; every year our images
are created by a BC illustrator of children's books; United Library
Service for booklists; and RBC Financial Group who have been providing
financial assistance for the medals. Please look for more information
on how to thank our sponsors further on in the SRC manual.
SRC 2010: Reading Rocks!
Welcome to Reading Rocks!, British Columbia’s province-wide
Summer Reading Club for 2010.
Get ready to enjoy the entertainment of a lifetime!
Public Libraries across BC will rock out to the sound of kids
reading, playing and learning all summer long.
SRC 2010 Artwork:
This year's illustrator is Chris Tougas. He currently lives in
Victoria, BC. and is a writer-illustrator who loves dogs, the
great outdoors, writing fun stories and making art. We knew right
away that SRC 2010 would rock because of Chris's zany sense of
humour at our first meeting! See more about him at his blog -
http://christougas.blogspot.com
Materials:
Materials for this year’s Summer Reading Club include the
reading record, posters, bookmarks, stickers, and the ever-popular
rubber stamp! Other promotional items will be for sale - see the
Librarians SRC website at http://www.bcpl.gov.bc.ca/src/ Grants
from the Public Library Services Branch, Ministry of Education
allows BC SRC to give a number of free materials to libraries
every year and offer more materials at a low cost.
How do the materials work?
Each public library creates their own individual summer reading
club using the BC SRC materials as the starting point. Summer
reading clubs have been shown to help kids keep reading during
the summer months and thus maintain or improve their reading skills
and so one of the primary goals is to help kids develop a regular
habit of reading.
The "reading record" is a fun way for
kids to keep track. It has been designed with the idea of daily
reading for 49 days (seven weeks) but it could also be used to
record the number of books or number of pages that participants
have read. The library can suggest a reading goal such as 15 minutes
a day or a book a day or a chapter a day… and/or let the
children determine their own reading goal. The reading record
is designed to be completed by seven stickers - these could be
awarded for each seven days of reading or for each seven books
or pages. Bookmarks can be given out as libraries wish and SRC
medals are designed to be awarded when participants "complete"
the summer reading club program - each library may decide for
themselves exactly what completion entails.
Extra fun things like t-shirts or prize items can
be bought as prizes or incentives. It's up to you! See the list
of materials and extras available on the SRC Librarian's website.
SRC 2010 Manual:
The 2010 SRC manual has been designed to assist in the promotion,
planning and preparation of summer reading club in your community.
We include program outlines, activity sheets, sample letters and
press releases for each of the seven core "weeks" of
the program. For each week there is a theme and programs and activities
and booklists are created for each theme. Programs are geared
towards preschoolers, primary and tween participants. Please use
and modify manual materials as needed for your library. This manual
and other useful resources are also available online at the SRC
Librarian's website at http://kidssrc.bclibrary.ca/
Seven themes correspond with the seven weeks of
reading in the reading record. These seven themes are:
1. Readers Roar!
Suggested subthemes: humour, jokes, animal stories
2. Rock 'n' Roll Reading
Suggested subthemes: music, road trips, transportation
3. Riddled Readers
Suggested subthemes: mystery, riddles, brain teasers
4. A Rocky Read
Suggested subthemes: rocks and minerals, history, dinosaurs
5. Read a Ruckus!
Suggested subthemes: comedy, parties, dancing, noise
6. Rise up Readers!
Suggested subthemes: science fiction, fantasy, sports, inspirational
stories
7. Risky Reads
Suggested subthemes: adventure, heroic figures, extreme sports
Websites:
Besides this print manual, there are also two Summer Reading Club
websites:
* SRC 2010 Librarian's website: kidssrc.bclibrary.ca
(available now)
* SRC 2010 Kids website: www.kidssrc.ca
(available in June)
And… check out old SRC websites at http://src.bclibrary.ca
Sponsors:
SRC is created in cooperation with the British Columbia Library
Association with funding assistance from the Public Library Services
Branch, BC Ministry of Education, Minister Margaret McDiarmid.
The Royal Bank Financial Group has generously provided
funding toward the completion medals.
Your local public library. Public libraries, large
and small, buy extra SRC materials and local staff both create
and support the BC SRC program.
Please consider sending a thank you to your local
RBC branch, the Minister of Education or your own library board.
A note or postcard at the end of the program to let them know
how much we appreciate their support would be wonderful. Recognize
the sponsors in your SRC promotional materials and adverts. It
is with the support of such institutions that we are able to provide
programs such as the Summer Reading Club to over 80,000 youngsters
in BC. See more information in Recognizing Our Sponsors in the
manual.
The 2010 Summer Reading Club Planning Committee
Els Kushner - BC SRC 2010 Coordinator
Children's and Teen Librarian
North Vancouver District Library
Hilary Russell – SRC 2010
Committee Chair/Primary Programs Coordinator
Manager - Abbotsford Libraries
Fraser Valley Regional Library
Jacqueline van Dyk – PLSB
liaison
Director
Public Library Services Branch, Ministry of Education
Anne Martin - SRC 2010 Activity
Sheets
Assistant Manager - Children's Services
Vancouver Public Library
Allison Taylor McBryde - SRC 2010
Booklists
Coordinator of Children's Services
North Vancouver District Library
Ginny Aho - SRC 2010 Preschool
Programs Coordinator
Youth Services Librarian
Surrey Public Library
Ruth Buehler - SRC 2010 Tween Programs
Coordinator
Program Coordinator
Prince George Public Library
Kevin Coates - SRC 2010 Webgame
Customer Services Librarian - Children and Youth Services
Vancouver Island Regional Library
The 2010 Summer Reading Club Contributors
We would like to extend our thanks to the following
libraries for graciously contributing staff time to produce materials
for this year’s manual:
Burns Lake Public Library
Fraser Valley Regional Library
Prince George Public Library
Surrey Public Library
Vancouver Public Library
Vancouver Island Regional Library
Summer Reading Club is made possible with the cooperation and
coordination of staff from public libraries all across BC who
sit on the BC SRC Committee (and some who don’t!) and bring
new and sometimes crazy ideas to the table each year. Please consider
getting involved, either by sharing ideas or being available to
write programs or other content.
Ideas, comments, questions… available? Please
feel free to contact us:
* Els Kushner, BC SRC Coordinator at elskushner@gmail.com
* Hilary Russell (BC SRC Chair) at 604-859-7814 or hilary.russell@fvrl.bc.ca
From Els, Jacqueline, Kevin, Ruth, Allison, Anne,
Ginny and Hilary and the rest of the gang!
Rock on! - Make this the best Summer Reading Club
ever!