Our Summer Reading Program is well on the way!

Even in the month of July, participants can still sign up and take part in the many activities that we have planned at all of our library branches. Even though we are off to a great start, having a strong completion rate for our Summer Reading Program is just as important to us.

We encourage participants in each category to strive to complete your summer reading goals. Here’s how you can do it.

For the category, Read-2-Me (Infants) to age 12: reading 10 books will earn you a certificate, a magnetic photo frame and your name in the newspaper. You don’t have to stop there. After reading 20 books, you will receive one red sports bag and you will be eligible to place your name in a prize drawing.

For ages 13 to 18: to complete your program, you will have to read three books (Suggestion: Make it count. Read your school reading titles as part of this program.) Upon completing your three books, you will receive a reading certificate, one blue sports bag and your name in the newspaper.

For adults, ages 19 and above, read three books and your name will be placed in a drawing to win one of two Kindle Paperwhite E-readers.

Many thanks to our Friends of the St. John the Baptist Parish Library for funding our prize incentives.

For information about our Friends group, please call our Central Library at 985-652-6857, Option 1.

Another highlight of this article is to gear up parents and students for back-to-school preparations. When gathering your school supplies, don’t forget the library.

The best back-to-school tool to have along with everything else is a library card. Just visit any of our libraries in LaPlace, Garyville, Edgard or Reserve to obtain a card (one card can be used at any location). If you never had one of our library cards before and if you live, work or go to school in our parish, getting a card is simple and it’s FREE.

And remember, if you are already a library cardholder and if you have not updated your contact information or have questions about your card, call any library location for assistance. Your library card will allow you to take advantage of the many free educational services we have to offer.

Not only can you check out items, but you can have access to our many online databases. We consider our website, stjohn.lib.la.us, your one-stop place for information. Some of the databases you will find are: Gale Literature Criticism Online, ScienceFlix, Gale Biography in Context, Career Cruising, World Book Online, A to Z to USA and A to Z World Culture.

All of these can help students gather information for class assignments and reports. Our website now has a fresh, new look. Patrons will find it user friendly and will find a wealth of information right on our homepage. Don’t forget that titles can be downloaded to your electronic device by using OverDrive and after your homework is done, you can even download music or stream movies by using Freegal.

Don’t hesitate to call any of our locations for information. We look forward to serving you.

Roberta Zeno August is the St. John the Baptist Parish library director. She can be reached at rzaugust@stjohn.lib.la.us.