REUBEN MCMILLAN FREE LIBRARY ASSOCIATION

THE 2023 SUMMER DISCOVERY PROGRAM FOCUSED ON ENCOURAGING LITERACY AND LEARNING DURING THE SUMMER MONTHS TO PREVENT THE "SUMMER SLIDE" OF SKILLS, PARTICULARLY READING, THAT CAN OCCUR IN SCHOOL AGE CHILDREN WHO AREN'T IN A FORMAL LEARNING ENVIRONMENT DURING THOSE MONTHS. PARTICIPANTS OF ALL AGES WERE CHALLENGED TO COMPLETE READING ACTIVITIES AND ENGAGE WITH THEIR COMMUNITY THROUGH LIBRARY AND COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES. LEARNING ACTIVITIES VARIED BY AGE LEVEL AND WERE CORRELATED TO OHIO DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION CONTENT STANDARDS. FOR EXAMPLE, ACTIVITIES LIKE HAVING A DANCE PARTY AND READING A BOOK ABOUT DANCING ENCOMPASSED THE STANDARDS FOR SOCIAL EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND LANGUAGE AND LITERACY DEVELOPMENT. A FREE BOOK AND OTHER INCENTIVES WERE AWARDED TO THOSE WHO EARNED DAILY POINTS FOR THEIR READING OR ACTIVITIES. ADDITIONALLY, PROGRAMS WERE SCHEDULED TO ENGAGE THE PUBLIC IN CONTINUED LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES AND COMMUNITY CONNECTION OPPORTUNITIES. PROGRAMS ARE SELECTED TO SUPPORT THE SUMMER DISCOVERY THEME AND MANY ARE PRESENTED BY SUBJECT AREA EXPERTS OR ENTERTAINERS FROM OUTSIDE OF OUR SYSTEM. WE HAD SEVERAL PROGRAMS THAT WERE AVAILABLE ALL SUMMER LONG TO HELP ENGAGE YOUTH, TEENS, AND ADULTS IN EXPLORING SCIENCE CONCEPTS, READING, AND SOCIAL CONNECTION. BASED ON FEEDBACK FROM FAMILIES WHO STRUGGLED TO ATTEND A CENTRALIZED CLOSING PARTY, PARTICULARLY DURING WORKING HOURS, END OF SUMMER PARTIES WERE SCHEDULED ACROSS THE SYSTEM AT VARYING TIMES AND ATTENDEES WERE TREATED TO AN ICE CREAM TRUCK, GAMES, AND MORE. THE 2023 SUMMER DISCOVERY PROGRAM FOCUSED ON HELPING READERS ACHIEVE THE COMPLETION GOAL. WE SAW A 66% INCREASE IN TOTAL REGISTRATION AND WE SAW A 34% COMPLETION RATE AMONG THOSE THAT SIGNED UP. WE ASKED PARTICIPANTS TO RATE THEIR SATISFACTION WITH THE PROGRAM ON A SCALE OF 1-5 AND SAW AN AVERAGE RESPONSE RATE OF 4.2.

THE LIBRARY PROVIDES QUALITY, COMPREHENSIVE PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE TO THE RESIDENTS OF MAHONING COUNTY THROUGH OUR 15 LOCATIONS. MAHONING COUNTY HAS 225,596 RESIDENTS AND 117,239 ARE REGISTERED BORROWERS. FOR MANY RESIDENTS, THE PUBLIC LIBRARY IS THEIR ONLY SOURCE OF COMPUTERS, INTERNET, AND/OR WI-FI. THE LIBRARY PROVIDES A LARGE NUMBER OF LEARNING PROGRAMS, HOMEWORK SUPPORT, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT AND WORKFORCE SUPPORT, AND REFERENCE WORK IN OUR BUILDINGS AND THROUGH OUR WEBSITE. WE ALSO HAVE A LARGE COLLECTION OF BOOKS, MUSIC, MOVIES, AND OTHER MATERIALS FOR CIRCULATION BOTH IN PRINT AND ONLINE AVAILABLE TO OUR CARDHOLDERS. OUR TRAVELING OUTREACH TEAM PROVIDES "POP-UP" LIBRARY SERVICE AND COLLECTIONS OFF-SITE TO VARIOUS SECTORS OF THE COMMUNITY INCLUDING SCHOOLS, PARKS, AND OTHER COMMUNITY GATHERING LOCATIONS. OUR SPECIAL DELIVERY PROVIDES SERVICE TO THE HOMEBOUND AND ELDERLY.