2008 Statewide Summer Reading Program 

Wild Reads at Your Library!

The Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners, with funding from the Library Services and Technology Act, is pleased to be able to help promote the 2008 Statewide Summer Reading Program. The Wild Reads at Your Library! statewide summer reading program provides children and teens the opportunity to go beyond reading to the worlds of imagination and creativity which reading can open. Wild Reads! allows kids to select what they want to read, set goals, track their progress on-line and some libraries offer prizes including passes to attractions across the state.

Public and school librarians have always known that kids who read for the joy of it are the best readers. Wild Reads! offers programs for preschool children, school-aged children; young adults and families. The benefits of  Wild Reads! summer reading program include:

• Skill maintenance and improvement: reading over the summer helps kids maintain skills they’ve learned over the academic year and grow towards the skills required for the next school year
• Test score improvement: children who participate in summer reading programs show an increase in vocabulary scores on standardized testing and an increase in comprehension scores
• The fun of reading for pleasure: participants explore current interests and discover new subjects by choosing what they want to read
• Recognition: participants set goals and track their progress on-line to earn a certificate of completion (many earn prizes/passes to attractions across the state) 
• Cost savings: participation in the program is free of charge  

More than 400 libraries across the Commonwealth are participating in Wild Reads at Your Library!. Each library offers programs that meet the needs of their own community and many work closely with schools to create a strong reading support network.

In 2007 over 130,000 people had fun and improved their skills through participation in Massachusetts public library summer reading programs. Be a part of the fun this year! To sign up for Wild Reads at Your Library! visit  www.ReadsinMA.org. or contact your local library. To find your local library visit www.mass.gov/libraries.