As you start scheduling a summer’s worth of fun, be sure to include “visiting the Library” and “reading for fun” on your to-do list. The Library’s Summer Reading Challenge begins June 1 and wraps up August 31, and we’ve made some exciting changes for 2021.
Gone are the days of stacks of paper, checking off boxes, and forgetting your log at home. Natrona County Library’s Summer Reading Challenge is going virtual using Beanstack, thanks to a generous grant from the Natrona County Recreation Joint Powers Board.
Beanstack is like a “Fitbit for Reading,” where users track reading and earn virtual badges (and prizes!) along the way.
You can log on to Beanstack from the Library’s website or by downloading the mobile app. Register from the comfort of your own home, or wherever you are, at a time that works best for you.
Readers can create individual accounts and better yet, families (or daycares/groups) can create one main account and then add all the readers in their group. Each reader then joins the Summer Reading Challenge that fits their age or grade level. The Kids Challenge is for newborns up to those entering 6th grade in the fall, and the Teens Challenge is for 7th-12th graders. Adult readers also have a reading challenge.
The goal for both Kids and Teens is to read at least 20 minutes per day. Every 25 days of reading earns a (real!) prize. You’ll be alerted when unlocking a prize badge, as well as when that prize will be available for you to pick up from the Library.
Beanstack will save staff time, too. In a matter of clicks, we’ll be able to see how many participants have registered for each challenge, access completion statistics, and select winners for our grand prize drawings.
You’ll be able to participate in the Library’s Beanstack challenges year round. The “100 Books to Read Together” challenge is geared for our younger readers; teen and adult readers can even join our “2021 Staff Reading Challenge”; and there will be more to come.
It’s hard to believe Summer Reading is just around the corner. We are looking forward to 3 months’ worth of excitement and surprises, and we can’t wait for you to join us!