Summer Reading
Helping children maintain or improve their reading readiness when they go back to school
Summer reading programs are designed to help children maintain or improve the reading skills they developed during the school year, so that when school resumes in the fall, they are ready to continue moving forward. There is no statewide summer reading program in Idaho; rather, Idaho libraries host programs that are implemented and funded locally. The Idaho Commission for Libraries provides the following support for Idaho summer reading programs:
Summer Learning Loss
To see a handout with summer reading research and Idaho statistics click on Summer Learning Loss and Library Summer Reading Programs.
Annual Membership in the CSLP
The CSLP is a Collaborative Summer Library Program which contains many feature rich resources for members. Idaho is a member state of the CSLP which means that all publicly-funded libraries in Idaho have been included in our membership charter.
Evaluating Your Summer Reading Program
If you are an Idaho library planning to offer a children’s and/or teen summer reading program, please prepare to collect participation statistics this summer and submit them to the ICfL by September 15. (Link to report is at bottom of page.)
Summer reading program materials, such as CSLP program manuals and Bright Futures materials, are LSTA-funded. Every public library is required to submit a report, which includes participation numbers (if your library is not hosting a summer reading program, simply indicate this on the report). These statistics are used by ICfL to fulfill reporting requirements issued by IMLS (the Institute of Museum and Library Services), which administers LSTA at the federal level. In the event we receive future Fred Meyer Corporation funds (or other funds/materials) to purchase books, we will use your SRP statistics to determine how many books you will receive. Failure to report your data will jeopardize your library’s eligibility for future summer reading books and materials.
See a preview of the data you will be asked to submit: Report Questions
This preview will allow you to design data collection instruments and procedures at the beginning of your summer reading program. You can even download the Word doc and work on it in increments throughout the summer, then transfer the information to the online report below.
Thank you in advance for helping us collect this important data!
Questions can be directed to staci.shaw@libraries.idaho.gov
