National Read-A-Thon Day is Coming...

January 24th, and the Berwyn Public Library is participating. Click here or here for the official event homepages.

We will be offering refreshments for anyone who comes in to the library to read between noon and 4pm that day.  People will log their time reading, and anyone who reads for more than 15 minutes at the library will get a free book of their choice courtesy of the Friends of the Library.

Here is our flyer.

We have not set a goal on the number of hours that we hope to read as an organization because we do not know what to expect. But we are excited to see how long we all read when we put the numbers together.  Patrons will be coming in throughout the day, and staff have been encouraged to take their breaks while reading and enjoying our refreshments.  At the end of the day we will add up the hours and I will report them to the National Book Foundation. We will also make use of the numbers we gather during the event for some local library marketing efforts.

This has been a very easy program to plan.  All we need is a few Friends of the Library to act as hosts in the room, and 1 staff member to get the refreshments, set them up, and check in on the volunteers every now and then. We are getting the free book prizes from the back stock of books for the FOL sale.  We are raising awareness about the library and the FOL. But,what I am most excited about is that it is a way for our community to come together to read.  People are excited to bring their kids and grand-kids and come read as a family. Others have mentioned how fun it will be to meet other readers and talk about what they are reading.

We will be the force responsible for filling a room full of book lovers! It is a dream come true for this RA librarian.

There is still time for you to plan something. If your meeting rooms are already booked for January 24th, you can simply invite people into the building during the day and encourage them to read. Even refreshments at the circulation desk could work to entice people to stay.

Since it is the first year, no one really knows what to expect nor what type of program will work best.  Also it is important to note that while The National Book Foundation is encouraging people to use the event to help them raise money for their programs, you do not have to do the event as a fundraiser to participate.  You can simply use this day to raise awareness about the library and its place as the book and reading HQ in your communities.

Good luck.