Libraries prepare to kick-off summer reading programs

Barbara Appleby considers herself to be a detective at heart, and her favorite part of being branch manager at the Malcolm Purvis Library in Magnolia is finding the answers to the questions people bring to the library's reference desk.

"People come to the library for all sorts of interesting information," Appleby said. "I can't tell you how many times in a day or week someone says, 'I know this is going to be the weirdest question you've ever been asked.'"

Appleby does not stop until she finds the answer to the question.

Since joining the library staff in 2001, she has seen the library go through many changes, most recently expanding into the former Montgomery County Tax Office in 2010. The expansion allowed the library to move the children's section to the end of the library and have a separate story time area.

After working for a number of years as a paralegal, Lynn Flanigan decided she wanted to do something to serve the community and give back. She first considered teaching, and in working in a fifth grade class, she witnessed many students reading at a first or second grade level.

"I felt my calling was to reach those children when they're toddler- and preschool-age and get them excited about books and learning," Flanigan said. "If you start them early, it will help them be literate and successful later in life."

As assistant branch librarian, Flanigan helps oversee a number of literacy programs year round, including after-school programs, Spanish story time and Montgomery County Pet Partners. The latter involves children from 4–12 years old reading books to trained dogs to boost the self-esteem and confidence of those kids that have trouble with reading.

Barbara Appleby, Branch Manager, Malcolm Purvis Library

Why are libraries an asset to the community?

There's so many people in this area who don't have any other place to go for the resources we have here. It's just vital here [to have] those things available for free. I have customers who've been coming here for many years, when it was a small library behind the old courthouse. When we have books come in, my circulation staff knows who's going to want to read what—they're very tuned into the patrons here. Also, we have high speed Internet and there are a lot of places in this area where you can't get high speed Internet. We almost always have a waiting line at our computers.

Talk about your summer programs.

We have summer programs for all age groups on Wednesdays and Thursdays. The kids keep reading logs and there's a grand prize at the end of the program, as well as prizes during program days. We have a lot of different things planned out, including an end of the summer pizza party. We have an infant "mommy and me" program on Tuesdays. We also have an adult summer reading program now, where [participants] turn in tags for books they read during the summer, and we have prize drawings. This is the third year we've done that.

What are the biggest challenges facing the library?

Funding is the biggest challenge. You just keep making do, and one of the scariest parts is you don't really know what's coming down the road with all the electronic stuff. The e-books that people can download from the website have gotten incredibly expensive. [Publishers] only allow a certain number of checkouts, and then you have to buy that book again. The money keeps shrinking, and people want more and more. Libraries in general are very good with consortia arrangements—where we share materials. And people who have a Tomball library card can use it here. No library can own everything, so libraries have been very good about sharing. We could never exist without our consortia.

How do donations play a part in the library's success?

The Magnolia Library Friends group have helped a great deal with donations—they're very generous in buying disposable things like snacks and prizes [for our summer reading programs] that the county has no budget for. We really depend on them a lot. They come in and volunteer and help with corralling kids—they're wonderful.

Lynn Flanigan, Assistant Branch Librarian, LSC–Tomball Community Library

Talk about your summer reading programs.

Our programs start on June 4 and go through Aug. 11. Our children's services are for children from birth to age 12, then we have a teen program and we also have a program for adults. For the children's program, they have to read at least 10 books or 500 minutes or 500 pages throughout the summer, and they'll get a free book and a certificate signed by the governor. They can listen to audio books or read from magazines. On Mondays at 3 p.m., we'll be having special performers come in for the kids—it could be either a puppet show, magic show, mad science, [or] story book opera from the Houston Grand Opera. At the end of the summer, we'll have a pizza party. The Friends of the Tomball Library are the ones responsible for me being able to give kids free books and paying for our programs this summer.

What other literacy programs does the library offer?

We start our children's programs with Baby Bounce and have two toddler and three preschool story times. We have a Spanish story time—that's part of our literacy efforts. We also offer the Choo Choo Club from January to May, and we'll also have a session in the fall. It's for kids ages two to six, and it involves parents and children working together. We introduce them to one letter or concept and get them used to print. It's a good way to get them off to a good start before they start school.

What are the biggest challenges the library faces?

With e-readers, the challenge is to keep up with technology and be able to help our customers also keep up with technology. We have digital books online, and customers who have their Kindles, Nooks and iPads can download books from our website. We've started training classes on it. That's one of the biggest challenges—there's still a divide between people who have access to computers and a group of people that don't have access. The library's here to fill that gap—they can use our computers and even see what the iPad, Kindle and Nook have to offer. We have all kinds of other computer classes for adults, as well.

What is the most rewarding part of your job?

There's so many wonderful parts. I enjoy helping the children be successful with their school work, whether it's helping them get something done on the computer or finding a book for their research. It's fun to get involved with helping them pick books and get the children involved in reading for pleasure.