Learning: Out-of-school cool

Sunday, June 12, 2005

Out-of-school cool

Summer in libraries makes learning fun

By David Vest

Newsfeatures Editor 747-5073 / dvest@pcnh.com

For Sandra Pierce, summer is prime time. She’s the director of Youth Services at the Bay County Public Library, and on June 2 she was thrilled. Close to 200 children and parents filled the second floor of the downtown Panama City library for the launch of Read Around Florida.

The attraction was folksinger Anna Moo, who used music such as The Alligator Song to spice up a lesson about Ponce De Leon and the Fountain of Youth. Moo invited Pierce and several children up for a dance, complete with Cajun fiddle and "chomp chomp" motions.

A day earlier, magician Mr. Wiz — known in less magical circles as Javier Arrillaga — did a show at the Springfield Public Library on School Avenue. He’ll perform at the downtown library at 2 p.m. June 30 and at the Panama City Beach Library at 2 p.m. July 13.

Read Around Florida is a free statewide program for grades one through five.

"What we really gear our thing to in the summertime is just pure fun," Pierce said. But there’s a method to the mirth: "When they go back to school in the fall," she said, "they won’t have lost any ground."

The downtown Panama City library is one of eight sites involved with Read Around Florida through the Northwest Regional Library System. Weekly programs also are scheduled in Panama City Beach, Parker, Springfield, Port St. Joe, Wewahitchka, Bristol and Hosford.

At the smaller library branches in Parker, Springfield and Gulf and Liberty Counties, the weekly emphasis is on stories, arts and crafts and guest speakers. The Lynn Haven Library, operated by the City of Lynn Haven, also will offer those activities.

Though the state program is aimed toward elementary school ages, other ages aren’t left out. The libraries work with schools to offer summer reading recommended by teachers for students of all ages They also schedule story times at child-care centers.

The downtown library has a preschool program this summer for ages 3 to 5 at 10:30 a.m. on Thursdays. The Panama City Beach branch has a session for those ages at 9 a.m. on Wednesdays.

"There are a lot of kids on this beach," says youth librarian Claire Grantham, "and we give them something different to do."

Read Around Florida also will include giveaways of such prizes as bicycles and helmets, gel bracelets and T-shirts, through business sponsors, Pierce said.

After the new Harry Potter book comes out later this summer, the libraries will have copies in stock.

Pierce says the summer program at the downtown library on Government Street brings her full circle. "I grew up here in this library," she said, and spent many summer days browsing its shelves.

Parents as well as children are welcome, she said. "The library is a nice place to come to … we have computers, we have books, it’s an air-conditioned place."

Every year, she said, the library’s summer program "just gets bigger and better."