A Universe of Great Reading!
This summer, children visiting the Southworth Library in Dryden will not only be checking out books. They will also be building and launching rockets, creating models of the solar system, and making spacesuits at the library's Summer Kid's Club.
The six-week program featuring science experiments, guest speakers, and free children's books is based on the theme, A Universe of Stories!, developed by the Collaborative Summer Library Program, a national consortium that promotes summer reading at public libraries.
At the Southworth Library, the program is supported by a $2,750 grant from the Sandy and Jay True Fund at Community Foundation of Tompkins County, which will pay for activities materials and books for the children to take home.
"Without that funding, we wouldn't be able to do these amazing, cool things," says Diane Pamel, the library director. "Getting rockets and engines for 12 to 15 kids - that's not something most small libraries can afford."
Over the past nine years, Community Foundation has invested more than $1 million in the 33 libraries in the
Finger Lakes Library System. The annual library grant cycle, which awarded $182,000 to libraries this year, was inspired by the Bernard Carl and Shirley Rosen Library Fund at Community Foundation.
