Get Reading-Fit! Join HSPLS Summer Reading 2016 Program

Get Reading-Fit! Join HSPLS Summer Reading 2016 Program

The Hawaii State Public Library System (HSPLS) invites readers of all ages to sign up and participate in the HSPLS 2016 Summer Reading Program fromJune 5 through July 16.  “Health and Fitness for the Mind, Body and Soul”is this year’s theme.

Registration for the free six-week program at all 50 public libraries statewide begins on May 31.  Contact your local library for details and guidelines.

“Staying fit includes giving our amazing reading muscles a work out!,” saidState Librarian Stacey Aldrich.  “We are encouraging everyone to read at least 20 minutes a day.  For students, it can help prevent the summer reading slide and improve vocabulary.  For families, it’s a great way to spend quality time reading together.  We hope everyone will join and have a fun and reading-fit summer!”

Weekly incentives for participants will be provided, including a Marcus Mariota READ Poster, while supplies last.  New this year, participants who complete 4 or more weeks will receive afree book!  We are very grateful to Kristi Yamaguchi’s Always Dream Foundation for making a donation of Leap Frog books such as Disney-Pixar’s “Brave” and “Monsters University,” and Nickelodeon’s “Dora the Explorer,” for participating children from babies to grade 5.

The Summer Reading Program will also feature lucky drawings for prizes and performances by artists from the University of Hawaii at Manoa’s Statewide Cultural Extension Program.  Performance programs will be highlighted on the HSPLS website.

On Oahu on Saturday, June 4, the Summer Reading Kick-off Event “READ. MOVE. GET FIT!” will be conducted at the Hawaii State Library from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.    The event will feature Olympic Gold Medalist Kristi Yamaguchi’s Reading Adventure with very special guest readers: Kristi Yamaguchi (also an Early Literacy Advocate and Children’s Book Author), Auli‘i Cravalho, voice of Moana in the upcoming Walt Disney Animation Studios feature “Moana,”Clyde Aikau, Quicksilver Eddie Aikau Big Wave Surfing Champion and Inspirational Educator, plus other special guest readers inside the Library.       

Entertainer and Children’s Book Author Shannon Scott will emcee this special free event.  Everyone can join in a variety of fun and interactive health and fitness activities and enjoy lively performances on the Library’s Great Lawn.  For more information about this Event, visit www.librarieshawaii.org or call the Hawaii State Library at 586-3500.

The Library’s Passport Acceptance Service in the Federal Documents Section will not be available on June 4 due to the Summer Reading Kick-off Event. This popular Passport service will resume on Monday, June 6 at 10 a.m.  The regular hours for this service are Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon.

Sponsors for the 2016 Summer Reading Programs include the Friends of the Library of Hawaii, Hawaii State Federal Credit Union, Hawaiian Electric Companies, Meadow Gold Dairies, HMS Host, Hansen Distribution Group, Roberts Hawaii, Mitsunaga & Associates, HMSA, Aloha United Way, The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, Rotary Club of Windward Oahu, National Football League Charities, and local Friends Chapters.

Corporate sponsors include Hawaii Pizza Hut, McDonald’s Restaurants of Hawaii, First Insurance Company of Hawaii, HouseMart Ace Hardware and HouseMart Ben Franklin Crafts, HONOLULU Family, Frito-Lay of Hawaii, Starbucks Coffee Company, Island Papercraft, Lamination House, and Diamond Bakery.

Performance programs are a production of the University of Hawaii at Manoa Outreach College’s Statewide Cultural Extension Program with additional funding provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, and the University of Hawaii.

For more information about the HSPLS 2016 Summer Reading Program: visit www.librarieshawaii.org like us atwww.facebook.com/HSPLSHIgov, follow us onwww.twitter.com/HSPLSHIgov, or call your local public library.

Photo and Logo courtesy of HSPLS