For Immediate Release: 5/13/2009

"Be Creative @ Your Library" by Joining the
Oakland Public Library’s 2009 Summer Reading Program

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( Oakland, CA)—The Oakland Public Library invites Oakland’s youth to “Be Creative @ Your Library” this summer. That’s the theme of the 2009 Summer Reading Program, a chance for young bookworms, ages 13 and under, to read their way to great prizes starting June 13 and running though August 9, 2009. Kids, ages 13 and under, are encouraged to visit one of our branches, the bookmobile, or the Main Library’s Children’s Room to sign up and start reading. (Pre-readers can participate by having someone read to them.) Prizes include books and tickets to some of Oakland’s hottest attractions.

The Summer Reading Program is a fun way to encourage kids to maintain their reading skills over the summer. Children may read anything they want for the program, so they can develop their own interests and a love of reading. Numerous studies have found that children who select books for themselves, and participate in reading as a leisure activity, improve their reading comprehension, vocabulary, spelling, and writing skills.

To entice young people to use Oakland’s libraries, we’ve lined up a summer’s worth of free events featuring live animals, puppet shows, storytelling, music, magic, comedy, arts and crafts, and more. The fun begins with a Summer Reading Program Kick-Off Party on Saturday, June 13, 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. out on the Children’s Room patio, at the Main Library, 125 14th Street. Children will be treated to face painting, sidewalk chalk art, ice cream, a scavenger hunt, music, and creative projects by the East Bay Depot for Creative Re-Use. And, back by popular demand, kids will get an opportunity to Dunk the Librarian!

On Sunday, August 9, 2009, come celebrate when the Oakland Public Library and the Oakland Museum of California partner to host a Summer Reading Program Finale from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. Admission is free. The program will feature face painting, art activities, story times, a scavenger hunt, a cartooning demonstration with Oliver Chin, games, and magician Timothy James. All activities will take place on the lawn at the Oakland Museum of California, 1000 Oak Street.

Sponsors of the 2009 Summer Reading Program include The Stocker Foundation, Alameda/Oakland Ferry Service, California Academy of Sciences, Chabot Space & Science Center, Children’s Fairyland, Renaissance Rialto Theaters (Grand Lake Theater), Hometown Buffet, Lawrence Hall of Science, Oakland A’s Baseball Team, Oakland Ice Center, Oakland Museum of California, Round Table Pizza, Zeum, MOChA (Museum of Children’s Art) and the Friends of the Oakland Public Library.

For more information about the program or to see a schedule of the many free events taking place this summer at your neighborhood library, please call (510) 238-3615, or visit the library’s Website at www.oaklandlibrary.org. Your branch can also provide you with a calendar of its events. The Oakland Public Library is a department of the City of Oakland.

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