News Release
SAN JOSE PUBLIC LIBRARY
Contacts:
Elizabeth Castañeda, (408) 458-0662
elizabeth.castaneda@sjlibrary.org
Nancy Macias, (408) 712-2150
nancy.macias@sjlibrary.org
For Immediate Release
June 6, 2024
San Jose Library Sees Spike in Readership Interest this Summer
Registration for San José Public Library’s Summer Learning program and number of book giveaway increases drastically
San José, Calif., June 6, 2024 – The San José Public Library’s (SJPL) annual Summer Learning program is off to a great start as residents and library members head to the library to sign up and participate in the free program, which officially kicked-off June 1st and will conclude on July 31st.
Because SJPL is eager to get back to pre-pandemic numbers, library staff has been outreaching and promoting the Summer Learning program since early May, a strategy that has led the library to see an increase of 26% in its preregistration numbers compared to last year. To date, SJPL has registered more than 5,000 people of all ages and reading levels to participate in the program and saw nearly 72,500 reading minutes tracked in the first three days. The library’s goal for this year’s Summer Learning is to surpass last year’s 10,000 total sign-ups and 4-million minutes read.
In addition to the spike in pre-registrations, SJPL also saw a significant increase of more than 80% in the number of free books library staff gave away during this year’s pre-registration period compared to last year. More than 2,000 books have been distributed via outreach events, school class visits, and other community events, thus far.
Currently, there are over 200 Summer Learning events scheduled across all 25 SJPL locations, which are offered for free and in multiple languages. Two dozen programs have already been offered since the kickoff on June 1st. All SJPL programs include an educational component, aim to encourage a life-long love of learning and reading, as well as fun entertainment for the whole family such as programs with snakes, performances by tropical birds, and petting zoos.
SJPL’s Summer Learning program was specially designed by expert Librarians and library staff to encourage reading and help prevent students from falling behind in their academics during the summer break. Studies show that students can lose up to 40-percent of what they learned during the school year; this concept is known as the “Summer Slide”.
To help combat the “summer slide”, students and families are encouraged to register for Summer Learning online or inperson by visiting any SJPL location. Valuable prizes are offered as incentives to join and participate. The prizes vary based on age groups and range from video projectors, drones, and tickets to a San Francisco Giants baseball game or a Bay FC women’s soccer match.
In conjunction with Summer Learning, people can also participate in SJPL’s annual Graphic Novel Making Contest and Cosplay on Display contest for a chance to win more prizes! For more information, visit: sjpl.org/summer
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About the San José Public Library
San José Public Library (SJPL) is located in the heart of Silicon Valley and in the nation's 13th largest city. SJPL serves a culturally diverse population of nearly one million and has over 650,000 library members, making it one of the busiest library systems nationwide. The library has worked to cultivate and establish a 21st Century library experience dedicated to public service and committed to equity, diversity, and inclusion at the core of its efforts. In addition to providing free library services to the community, SJPL proudly leads two citywide initiatives - the City's Education and Digital Literacy Strategy and the City's SJ Access digital equity initiative, which has become the number one provider of free public access to Wi-Fi connectivity, tech device lending, and multi-lingual digital literacy programs and support in the city. For more information, please visit www.sjpl.org
San José Public Library 150 E. San Fernando St. San José, CA 95112-3580 tel (408) 808-2355 fax (408) 808-2133 web www.sjpl.org
