NB 698
June 1, 2006
FREDERICTON (CNB) - Youth in New Brunswick are invited to sign up for the annual Summer Reading Club at their local public library. The club, which is organized by the New Brunswick Public Library Service, was officially launched today at the Fredericton Public Library. This year's theme is Crack the Case @ Your Library.
"The Summer Reading Club provides fun and exciting activities for youth of all ages while they improve their reading skills," said Post-Secondary Education and Training Minister Jody Carr. "The theme, Crack the Case @ Your Library, reminds children of the many mysteries that are waiting to be solved in all kinds of different books."
The Summer Reading Club is a free, non-competitive program offered by the province's 62 public libraries and four bookmobiles during the months of July and August. There will be a number of activities scheduled for youth to take part in throughout the summer.
Participants in the program will receive a reading logbook to keep track of the books that they have read, as well as a bookmark and stickers. At the end of the summer, every participant will receive a certificate of achievement signed by Chief Superintendent Jim Payne, officer in charge of criminal investigations New Brunswick at RCMP J Division.
More than 10,000 children participate in the Summer Reading Club each summer. With many books waiting to be discovered, and many unique activities being planned by the province's libraries and bookmobiles, there is something for youth of all ages.
The Summer Reading Club will also include online activities on the New Brunswick Public Library Service website at www.gnb.ca (Keyword: libraries), beginning June 26.
"By encouraging literacy and promoting public libraries to youth at an early age we are laying the foundation for lifelong learning," Carr said. "Libraries are integral to helping New Brunswick achieve its goal of becoming the smart province. This means having the highest increase of workers with a post-secondary education in Canada within the next five years."
The Department of Post-Secondary Education and Training also supports the Summer Reading Club by subsidizing 79 positions for students who will be hired to organize and promote the club's activities through the province's public libraries. This initiative is made possible through the Summer Student Employment Program.
"This represents an investment of more than $230,000 to help students gain valuable skills and work experience during the summer months," Carr said.
To register for the 2006 Summer Reading Club, young people can visit their local New Brunswick public library, or visit one of the bookmobiles that travel throughout the province this summer.
06/06/01
MEDIA CONTACT: Shawn Hearn, communications, Post-Secondary Education and Training, 506-453-2568.
06/06/01