The “Make a Splash at the Sidney-Richland County Library” resulted in a hugely successful summer reading program for almost 400 participants of all ages.

The six-week program encourages everyone, especially children, to read in order to maintain and improve vital reading skills over the summer. Weekly activities included watching “Alice in Wonderland,” origami and balloon tying (a la Heather Cotter, balloon tier extraordinaire), board game day, a demonstration by dog trainer Bob Crandall and his hunting dog Belle, catching some rays with fun in the sun day, and making a real splash at the Sidney swimming pool for the grand finale. Always contributing to the success of the program are the many parent/caregivers who encourage their children’s involvement.

To beef up the reading fun factor, wonderful local businesses, organizations, and people donated items and funds to enable the library to give out great prizes. There were prizes for everyone, but the more time spent reading earned participants more chances in prize drawings. Grand prize winners were: Family – Cori, Dan, Sierra, and Tiana Crowe who won a portable DVD player and a digital camera funded by XTO Energy Inc. and Millers Corner, Adult – Dawn Greenwood who won county fair night show and rodeo tickets, Teen-Tudie Crosby and Amanda Herbst who each won an iPod Shuffle donated by B&B Builders, fifth and sixth – Emily Carda and Sierra Crowe who won a county fair ride bracelet and a county fair ride button respectively, third and fourth – Kyle Topp and Madison Gorde who each won county fair ride bracelets, first and second – Shayanne Castro and Daniel Schneider who each won bicycles funded by Nick Lonski, Edward Jones and Preschool-Kindergarten – Rylee Dean and Daisy Snow who won county fair ride certificates. Teen participation tripled from last year and overall membership doubled. An average of 1147.56 hours were read by preschoolers (read to me group) to adults. One individual read more than 400 hours. The Sidney-Richland County Library is proud to be a part of helping to inspire and motivate children to read and encouraging the love of reading in all ages. By developing strong reading skills children open the door to additional learning that can benefit them throughout their lives: “The more you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you will go,” – Dr. Seuss.