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 Get
a Clue @ Your Library (Kindergarten to 5) and YNK @ your library (Grades
6-8) gave Jersey City children the chance to solve mysteries, read, see
a magic show, hear a “ghost storyteller,” participate in trips,
crafts, movies…in a lively and fun environment that was jam-packed
with programs that don’t leave your child…er, clueless.
The annual Summer Reading Club ran from
Monday, June 25th to Friday, August 17th at the Jersey City Free Public
Library, and remains the primary summer program, where reading logs chronicle
the child’s adventures with the printed page.
This year, for the first time, the Summer
Reading Program offered activities especially for patrons who are young
adults (YA) – the YA version, YNK @ Your Library (You Never Know)
offered them some different mysteries to encounter.
YAs, or young adults, are those in the 6th,
7th and 8th grades. Special arrangements had been made in the 2007 Summer
Reading Program (SRP) to entice young adults back into the fold, specifically
welcoming them back into the library system. This outreach effort to young
adults is system-wide, except at Marion and West Bergen, due to the small
size of the branches.
“We took great care to create programs
that will appeal to young adults, make them feel special,” said
Assistant Library Director Sonia Araujo, who oversees the Summer Reading
Committee, composed of staff members who develop the themed programs that
will occupy city children constructively during the summer. “We
want the young adults to know that the Library is still a place where
they can feel comfortable, so they will return every year. We want them
to know that the Library, while still a great place to find information
for school, is also a place to have a great Summer. We understand that
being a young adult is very different from being a youngster.”
Delving into the depths of mystery, the
Get a Clue and YNK summer reading programs at the Jersey City Free Public
Library offered specialized themed programming with three entities: Newark
Museum, Educational Arts Team and the Jersey City Police Department. These
programs were offered system-wide to all participating youth.
Additional trips were available for the
hardest working readers, which honored their greater efforts and gave
them the opportunity of field trips as a special incentive. For example,
the reading incentive for YAs was a trip to Great Adventure. 
“Each year, we make sure that Jersey
City children can expect their library system to bring them fun and fascinating
things to do during the summer,” said Library Director Priscilla
Gardner. “Last year, the library encouraged 700 youthful patrons
to become absorbed in its Reading Clubs, and 1,000, total, to enjoy SRP
activities. This year is the first year that the SRP will include the
young adults (and it will be done system-wide), which is an age group
that is mostly forgotten. They are not children and they are not adults,
yet, they are our future leaders.”
Two sets of videos were shown, each catering
to its clientele. These are some of the projected offerings, with some
titles possibly being substituted, in accordance to grade level: YAs (Young
Adults) – Akeelah & The Bee, Harry Potter & the Goblet of
Fire, The Goonies, National Treasure, Bridge to Terabithia, High School
Musical and Eragon. Grades K-5 – Charlotte’s Web, The Great
Mouse Detective, A Night at the Museum, Goosebumps: Scary House, Happy
Feet, The Secret of NIMH, Scooby-Doo! Pirates Ahoy! and Inspector Gadget.
The regional branches and the Main Library
again hosted the performers that delight our Summer Readers each year,
with Francis Menotti mysteriously making his magic and Kathy Pierce piercing
the mists with ghost storytelling. Both appeared in July – with
magician Francis Menotti on July 23 & 24, and ghost storyteller Kathy
Pierce on July 30 & 31.
Magician Francis
Menotti
Ghost Storytelling
Camp Liberty
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