Every week, librarian Randall Studstill leads storytime activities in the community room of the San José Public Library’s (SJPL) West Valley Branch. A gaggle of toddlers appear once the doors open, and they crowd around Randall with questions left and right. They’re curious, spirited, and excited to learn.
As parents settle in their seats and enjoy a period of rest, the sessions begin with follow-along songs and chants. However, before storytime begins, it’s routine for Randall to flip through and advocate for a slideshow of summer programs. Most notably, Summer Learning.
“I tell them every single week about Summer Learning,” Randall said. Simply by people participating and spreading awareness, the Summer Learning program has thrived for over 15 years. It’s undergone numerous name changes and rebrands, but the overall skeleton remains the same: the Summer Learning annual reading program hosted by the San Jose Public Library to encourage people of all ages to continue reading throughout the summer. Participants log up to eight books or eight hours on Beanstack to enter themselves as contestants for a variety of prizes.
For younger children, Summer Learning prevents the “summer slide” phenomenon. “Educators talk about, for example, a second grader: when they start third grade, they lose about three or four months of reading progress because they’re not reading during the summer,” Randall explained. “The program is to encourage reading so that doesn’t happen.”
If the idea of winning some prizes is encouraging you to sign up for Beanstack this summer, you are not alone. Summer Learning increased in popularity this past summer: “We’ve had higher sign ups this year than we had in years past,” Paul Wilson, also a librarian and director of Summer Learning, said.
By completing Summer Learning, participants have the opportunity to win a grand prize.“We give away about 125 total grand prizes in different categories by age,” Paul said.
This year, grand prizes for each age category include a toy projector (ages 0-5), a portable soccer equipment set (5-10), a space projector and rocket lamp (10-12), a record player (12-18) and a travel coffee and tea kettle (18+). If you’re interested, the summer’s not over yet, and neither is Summer Learning!
A committee meets regularly to decide the prizes of Summer Learning. “They usually have a good time with it,” Wilson said. The only restrictions for the prizes are they must be education related and they have a price point of $50-$75 per prize. Every summer, each age category has five winners. Now that’s a lot of prizes!
But how does the San José Public Library afford that many prizes?
In partnership with the SJPL’s Summer Learning, the Foundation supports Read to Raise, a fundraiser for participants of Summer Learning to have their friends and family support their read-a-thon journey.
Read to Raise started only a few years ago as a means to fund Summer Learning. Paul explained: “We wanted a way to support the program in the absence of city funding because we only get a small amount of annual fund from the city, but it’s usually not enough for the summer programs and for the summer reading program.”
“This is the third time around that we’ve done it, and it’s earned us about 8,000 total dollars,” Wilson said. Read to Raise donations massively support Summer Learning’s budget, supporting amazing prize possibilities and fueling the popularity of the program.
Reading is a calm activity, but the thought of winning prizes sparks excitement and motivation among younger crowds. Randall explained, “The prizes motivate the kids to do [the program]. As they do it, they learn along the way, ‘oh yeah, this is enjoyable.’”
He added that “a lot of the success of Summer Learning has a lot to do with parental involvement. I tell the parents that storytime is for all ages, so hopefully you can sign up and read together as a family.”
Libraries bring people together in families, neighborhoods, and cities. Consequently, Paul encourages anyone and everyone to participate in Summer Learning. “The library is a hub of the community, a gathering place, as well as a place to learn, have fun, and stay engaged with the surrounding community for all ages,” he said. “I would hope that the program would just boost awareness and appeal of the library as a community meeting place, and encourage people to learn and stay engaged with the city and the neighborhood that the library is part of.”
Written by Jillian Cheng, Communications Intern