The Vermont Department of Libraries supports the mission of local public libraries to provide quality programming for children, teens, and families.
The Department sponsors an annual Summer Reading Program available to all Vermont public libraries to foster summer reading for youth of all ages. The Summer Reading program encourages a love of reading, introduces new books and authors to expand children and teen leisure reading choices, and works to prevent the loss of reading skills during the summer months (the “summer slide”) when youth are out of school.
The Department is a member of the Collaborative Summer Library Program (CSLP), a nation-wide organization collaborating with libraries to create and present inclusive literacy-based programs that are enjoyable for all ages. Each year CSLP shares this reproducible program with member organizations. The program features a unified theme, professional support services, and a rich variety of program and promotional materials and resources. Through the Department's membership, Vermont public libraries access CSLP's Summer Reading Program.
2024 Summer Reading Program: Adventure Begins at Your Library
Resources
Youth Services Meetups
The Vermont library community is invited to join in-person youth services/Summer Reading program-focused discussions hosted by public libraries around the state. Participants will meet and network with colleagues, share programming ideas, and discuss challenges. Free books and CSLP items will be raffled off.
- Register for the Youth Services Meetup at the Bennington Free Library on Wednesday, April 24, 10:00am - 12:00pm
- Register for the Youth Services Meetup at the Hartland Public Library on Thursday, April 25, 9:00am - 11:00am
- Register for the Youth Services Meetup at the Aldrich Public Library in Barre on Thursday, May 2, 9:00am - 11:00am
- Register for the Youth Services Meetup at the Cobleigh Public Library in Lyndonville on Thursday, May 9, 11:00am - 1:00pm
- Register for the Youth Services Meetup at the Burnham Memorial Library in Colchester on, Tuesday May 14, 10:00am - 12:00pm
- In addition, all are invited to join the next virtual youth services meetup, taking place Tuesday, May 7, from 2:00pm - 3:30pm
Department Information Session
Vermont Department of Libraries Summer Reading 2024 Information Session (Recorded 3/15/24 | YouTube | 1 hour, 57 minutes)
Jonathan Clark the Department's Library Consultant for Children and Teen Services presented this overview of summer program resources, featuring:
- Collaborative Summer Library Program (CSLP) 2024 Theme and Overview | Dawn Krause, Executive Director, CSLP
- Overview of Smokey Bear Reading Challenge | Susan Cox, Conservation Education Coordinator, U.S. Forest Service Eastern Region
- Summer Meal Programs | Tim Morgan, Program Data and Child Nutrition Manager, Hunger Free Vermont
- Beanstack Overview | Rebekah Garrety, Implementation and Library Success Management Team Lead, Beanstack
- Overview of Summer Resources at the ABLE Library & The National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS), Library of Congress, | Karen Gravlin, Director of ABLE Library, Consultant for Inclusive Services, Vermont Department of Libraries
CSLP Symposium
CSLP Summer Symposium webpage featuring videos, slides, and handouts from the Symposium, held December 7, 2023 with a thorough overview of CSLP's 2024 Adventure Begins at Your Library materials, as well as programming, marketing ideas, and inspiration.
Grants
In 2024, the Department offered grants of $300 through the Smith Fund to support Vermont public library summer reading programs. The grant application closed March 17, 2024. More information can be found on the Summer Programming Grants page.
Programming Manual Access
Through the Department's CSLP membership, Vermont public libraries have access to the 2024 Adventure Begins at Your Library programming manual featuring resources, graphics, book lists and more. Instructions to access the manual:
- Request the Programming Manual access code by emailing Jonathan Clark the Department's Library Consultant for Children and Teen Services. Please do not share this code or post it in a publicly accessible location.
- Visit the CSLP website: www.cslpreads.org.
- Hover over the Manual Downloads button located on the menu bar.
- From the drop down-menu, select 2024 Adventure Begins at Your Library.
- At the prompt, enter the access code.
Promotional Materials
The Department offers CSLP summer reading program incentives and promotional materials each year to all Vermont public libraries. Ordering is closed for 2024 materials.
Additional Resources
- Vermont Library Association's Recommended Performer and Speaker List and Submission Form
- Collaborative Summer Library Program (CSLP) website
- VT Authors/Illustrators Guide (2022)
- The USDA Forest Service's Smokey Bear Reading Challenge is a collaborative effort of the USDA Forest Service and public libraries across the country in celebration of Smokey Bear’s 80th Birthday in 2024. Designed to be a fun and easy way to engage children in reading about wildfire prevention, forests, and natural resource careers, while exploring their local environment, the Challenge is available through November of 2024. The Challenge could be a perfect tie-in with the CSLP Adventure Begins at Your Library theme, connecting families to outdoor activities and state/national parks - and library parks passes during the summer. Vermont public libraries have access to the Smokey Bear Reading Challenge Library Toolkit. Free Challenge physical incentives directly shipped to libraries were made available while supplies last. (Libraries signing up to receive incentives can skip #1 and complete the rest of the form. Once submission per library please.)
- Vermont Beanstack offers a Smokey Bear Reading Challenge.
- New England Youth Summits website and a New England library staff crowd-sourced Summer Programming Idea Swap Padlet with resources and program ideas.