The Lompoc Public Library System’s 2022 Summer Reading Challenge challenged the Lompoc Valley to “Read Beyond the Beaten Path.”
The library encouraged the public to sign up on Beanstack to track their reading minutes, write book reviews and participate in activities that promote literacy, nutrition and the outdoors.
The 2022 Summer Reading Challenge was the first summer reading challenge since 2019 to include in-person programs. A total of 69 programs and events were held for “Read Beyond the Beaten Path” including classes, parties, shows, book clubs and craft days at the Lompoc and Vandenberg Village libraries.
Total attendance for programs and events held for the 2022 Summer Reading Challenge that ran from June 1 through July 31 was 746. In June and July, 347 people signed up for the challenge and read a cumulative 155,915 minutes. Participants also wrote 216 book reviews and read 2,181 books.
The Lompoc Library provided 228 books to participants who signed up for the challenge and handed out 37 brag tags to youth who completed the program. In addition, the Lompoc Library gave out 400 books to children in the Miguelito Summer School during a pop up library program that encouraged students to eat lunch and nurture both their body and mind.
The summer reading challenge was broken down into four age groups with each group eligible for weekly prizes and a grand prize. The Lompoc Library system gave out 34 library-themed swag bags.
For the grand prize, the Lompoc Library gave out an iPad and case to an adult reader, OwlCrates to a teen, Kindle Fire 7 tablet to a child and a fort building set and blocks set for an early learner.
The Charlotte’s Web Mobile Children’s Library, affectionately called the bookmobile, held stops throughout the Lompoc Valley this summer, visiting summer camps, neighborhoods, special events and Old Town Market. In all, 2,992 people visited the bookmobile this summer, checking out 2,458 books.
Sarah Bleyl, library director for the Lompoc Public Library System, said the program was a great success this year.
“The amount of reading completed is amazing: 155,915 minutes is the same as reading 24 hours a day for 108 days straight! Thank you to everyone who helped us surpass our original summer reading challenge goal of 100,000 minutes. Make sure to check out our other reading challenges on Beanstack, and let’s keep the fun going into the fall and beyond.”
email: mmcmahon@newspress.com
