Jefferson area youth are invited to register now for this year’s Summer Reading Program.

Youth Services Librarian Bailey Mount is excited about the theme, which she knew about last June, which is “Level Up at Your Library.”

“‘Level Up at Your Library’ is all video game and board game inspired. It’s different ways you can level up life skills, level up childhood development, and I’m really excited just to play a bunch of different games, and really just have people think about learning in ways that they don’t expect.” 

Mount points out that libraries are not all about books anymore, with lots of services being digital and within her own department, meeting youth where they are at, is a digital and online world. She encourages families to sign up their child(ren), who are newborns to 18 year olds, either in-person or online through a Google form. 

Mount explains that her department is utilizing Bookopolis for a second consecutive year. She states that the program is a free platform that allows her to specify different items for the different ages in the Summer Reading Program.

“And I add the kids to it and we have different lists that are relevant to the things. So right now, like I’m building lists that are STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) and coding based, I’m building the picks for our ninth through twelfth graders for their book club, I’m building picture books, I’m doing puzzles and games. So it’s just lists that you’ll be able to pick from and do your own reading challenge, and sort of help you read books that are relevant to the theme this year.”

Mount adds that the age groups include newborns to pre-kindergarten, kindergarten through fourth grade, fifth through eighth grade, and ninth through twelfth grades. Registrations are open now and participants can start picking up their packets on June 2nd.