The Summer Reading Program got underway June 10 at the Goleta and Santa Ynez Valley Libraries with 1,965 community members visiting the libraries over the program’s opening weekend.
Teen volunteers were ready to sign people up and hand out reading logs. This year’s team of 59 teen volunteers is a record for the Summer Reading Program.
Titled All Together Now, the 2023 program is open to children, teens and adults, and will run through July 29. To participate, stop by the Goleta Valley Library, Bookvan, Buellton Library, or Solvang Library to pick up a reading log.
“We love to see our community get excited about reading during the Summer Reading Program,” said Elizabeth Saucedo, supervising librarian. “It is one of the most important programs we do all year because it helps to set up our local students for success during the months in between school years.
“Thanks to the generosity of our local sponsors, we are able to offer fun prizes for every age category to encourage everyone to reach their reading goals this summer.”
Local businesses play a key part in helping to motivate readers by donating prizes that participants can earn at different milestones based on the number of books they read.
Participants in the Youth category (grades 6 and below) earn prizes for every five books they read, and participants in the Teen category (grades 7-12) earn prizes for every book they read.
Similarly, participants in the Adult category (ages 18 and older) receive one prize drawing ticket for each book they read, which they can enter in the library’s weekly prize drawings.
The full list of prizes at Goleta Valley Library is available here on page 2.
Reading in all formats is welcome, including print books, graphic novels, eBooks, and audiobooks. Click here to access eBooks and audiobooks for free with your library card.
The Summer Reading Program also includes special events for all ages. Each week, programs and performances will be held at the three library locations.
On Thursday, June 15 magician Shawn McMaster will present two shows. He will perform at Solvang Library at 10:30 a.m. and at Goleta Valley Library at 2:30 p.m.
Future programs will include a puppet show, a stuffed animal sleepover, and Bookworm Bingo for adults. The full event schedule is available on our website calendar, or download a copy of the event schedule for Goleta Valley Library and Solvang Library.
Reading recommendation lists for all ages are available here, including the 2023-24 Battle of the Books list and Book Club Kits that can be shared.
The Goleta & Santa Ynez Valley Libraries thanks the sponsors of the 2023 Summer Reading Program:
Albertsons, Birkholms Bakery, Blenders in the Grass, The Book Loft, California Pizza Kitchen, Casa Cassara Winery & Vineyard, Chipotle, Chomp!, Creation Station, The Elverhoj Museum, Friends of the Goleta Valley Library, Goleta Depot, Golf ‘N’ Stuff.
Also, Kyle’s Kitchen, Ice in Paradise, Ingeborg’s Danish Chocolates, Isla Vista Food Co-op, Islands Burgers, Los Arroyos, Mother Hubbards, MOXI Museum, Mystic Merchant, Nathalie’s Dollhouse, New Frontiers Natural Marketplace, Nothing Bundt Cakes.
Also, Ocean Nails & Spa, Old Town Coffee, Pattibakes, Santa Barbara Maritime Museum, Santa Ynez Valley Historical Museum & Parks-Janeway Carriage House, Solvang Bakery, South Coast Deli, South Coast Montessori, Stuart C. Gildred YMCA, The Wildling Museum, and Woodstock’s Pizza.