Culture

1847 Books and a Parade of Pets: Summer at the Library

Summer is an especially exciting and busy season at NGPL, including the Summer Reading Program and the Pet Show.

Summer Reading
We have our Summer Reading Program off and running: sign-up is through 7/6 and the program ends on 8/20. The program is for all ages. For those who may not know, SRP is a program with the goal of keeping young people reading and learning while they are out of school. We do not want children to suffer from what is known as Summer Slide wherein they lose some of what they have achieved in school due to downtime from their lessons. We hope to keep kids engaged and, as we all assuredly know, reading is necessary no matter what our young people strive for as they grow.

The theme this year is A Universe of Stories and we have customized our program around that topic. Our goal is to collectively read 1847 books. Those who wish to take part sign a contract and decide how many books they want to try to read by the end of the program. Bear in mind that the best way to keep children interested in reading is for them to see adults, especially Mom and Dad, reading for enjoyment on a regular basis. Adults have the choice of signing a contract and setting a goal or being what we refer to as a Ghost Reader whereby no contract need be signed but you let us know how many books you have read to help us reach 1847 books! When you come in to the library, notice the rockets around the perimeter of the circulation desk area in various colors. All who join SRP sign a rocket and this gives everyone a visual of how many folks are involved. Please call 926-4840 or stop in to NGPL for the particulars.

On August 20th we will gather to celebrate the end of SRP.  The New Gloucester Library Players put on a play which is written by a local young person and it is always appropriate to the theme and extremely clever. Children of all ages are invited to take part and can have speaking roles or non-speaking roles. Casting call is Wednesday, July 31st at 6:30. Call Suzan for more information.

Annual Pet Show
We also will be having our 17th annual Pet Show on Tuesday, July 9th at 6:30. We use the term Pet loosely here as we have had horses, goats, chickens, ducks, and various other animals attend that some might not consider pets, but that’s ok and adds to the fun. If you wish to bring a pet, please call us at 926-4840 or stop in to the library to sign up as pre-registration is appreciated. However, if you decide at the last moment to come with a pet, that is fine also. The pet must be leashed or crated for the safety and comfort of attendees. The Gray New Gloucester Animal Hospital will be here with a table set up and lots of interesting and some kind of yucky things for all to see, from x-rays of objects animals have swallowed to little containers with tapeworms and the like in them. What could be better? Our extra presentation will be by two adults and their very special canines. They will explain to us how their dogs are trained and what they are trained to do…it’s a mystery…one of the things we like best here at NGPL. So, come with your chairs, blankets, dinner, and bug spray and gather around the Bob Leighton Memorial Gazebo for this special night. I hope to see lots of you here.

Carla McAllister
Assistant Librarian