REGION: North County libraries see surge at summer reading programs

High gas prices and this year's "buggy" theme cited as reasons

By BARBARA HENRY - Staff Writer | Saturday, August 2, 2008 4:11 PM PDT ∞

NORTH COUNTY ----- Six-year-old Kyra Linster gave her seventh book report at Carlsbad's main library last week, but she couldn't collect the prize that the library promised as part of its summer reading program.

Every one of the prizes ---- bright green "Catch the Reading Bug" T-shirts ---- was long gone because so many people have participated in this year's program, library volunteers said.

Carlsbad isn't the only public library system with soaring participation rates. Libraries across North County have said that, this year, hundreds more children are signing up for the free programs, which encourage kids to read during the lazy days of summer.

Librarians say that the recent spike in gasoline prices and other economic concerns may be encouraging parents to seek out such activities, rather than taking long summer vacations.

"A lot of moms have told us they're not going on a lot of trips because of the cost of gas," said Marsha Weeks, a senior librarian at Carlsbad's Georgina Cole Library next to City Hall.

Escondido senior librarian Margaret Esther said that parents typically hesitate to sign up their kids for the summer programs, saying they plan to travel a fair bit.

"We are not hearing that as much this year as we have in the past," she said. "It's the lack of those comments that seems to me an indicator that people are staying closer to home ... there's just not the indication that they have those other plans."

Rewarding readers

The cost of gas didn't appear to be keeping many of the families at Carlsbad's main library on Tuesday afternoon from going on summer vacations. Several parents said they were traveling anyway, but added that they also were coming to the library more this year.

Everything from having new readers in the family to the library's great free prizes were cited as reasons.

Kyra's mom, Monique Linster, said she was coming more often because her daughter had just learned to read and she wanted her to receive as much practice as possible. Kyra said she liked the prizes she got for giving book reports to the teen-age library volunteers.

"She loves the library and she loves to earn something, so it's a great motivator," her mom said, adding that Kyra wasn't too disappointed about not getting the T-shirt.

Kyra didn't really want it. She was aiming for the $7 gift certificate prize that she would receive if she read 10 books, her mom said.

John Harrington, a Carlsbad dad, said he was coming more this year because he had two readers ---- 8-year-old Joseph and 6-year-old Angela ---- signed up for the program. By Tuesday, Joseph already had his 10-book prize and Angela was hoping to get there by Friday, when the program ended.

The best prize so far was a plastic bug that could stick to the walls, Joseph said. Others have included bug-shaped pencil sharpeners, an insect jar and a super bouncing ball with a plastic bug inside.

Bring on the bugs

This year's "buggy" theme, which is selected at the national level, has definitely helped bring out kids, said Grace B. Francisco, the youth and literacy services manager at Oceanside's main library.

"The bug theme is very, very popular with both boys and girls," she said.

It's also fun for the library staff, several librarians admitted, adding that next year's proposed "Be Creative" theme may be more of a challenge.

They've been able to tie this year's theme into family movie nights featuring the children's hit "A Bug's Life" and they've hosted science-related presentations on bugs. Escondido hosted an event Thursday where children could meet bugs from around the world ---- and then eat some.

These events have drawn huge crowds. Carlsbad's main branch has been handing out free tickets to its events and has had turn some people away, senior librarian Barbara Chung said.

She added that her library hasn't seen an increase in the number of children signing up for the reading program, but the 2,175 kids who have signed up have come in far more often than last year's participants. For the entire summer last year, kids gave a total of 7,873 book reports. This summer's figure was 9,283 reports by early last week.

"We actually had some days where we had 400 kids report," Chung said.

Meanwhile, the city's downtown branch on Carlsbad Village Drive has seen an increase in both sign-ups and weekly participation rates. At that library, 1,290 youths are signed up ---- a 29 percent increase over last year's figures, staff reported.

Oceanside has had 1,767 kids participating at its libraries, or 288 more children than last year.

The city of Escondido's main library, which still has two weeks left in its summer reading program, has 1,500 children enrolled. That's the same number it had at the end of last year's program, and typically there's a last-minute rush to participate in the final two weeks, a staff member said.

Vista, which is part of the San Diego County library system, also has already matched last year's participation rate with sign-ups totaling 845, though it still has one week left of its programs, children's librarian Donna Melnychenko said Thursday. She added that she's heard participation is up countywide, and some county libraries have run out of prizes, just as Carlsbad's city library system did.

North County Summer Reading Programs

Carlsbad city libraries:

Program ended Friday. Both the Cole and Dove Lane libraries will host end-of-season parties from 10 a.m. to noon Monday.

Escondido city libraries

Program ends Aug. 9. Visit: http://www.ci.escondido.ca.us/library/children/index.htm

Oceanside city libraries:

Program ends Aug. 9. Visit: http://www.library.ci.oceanside.ca.us/#bug

San Diego County library system:

Covers Encinitas, San Marcos, Valley Center and Vista. Ending dates vary ---- San Marcos program ended July 31, Vista continues until Aug. 8. Check individual branches for details.