Summer reading an adventure all its own

Summer vacation may cause us to long for relaxation and new adventures; to want to travel to new places, meet new people and learn new skills; or to spend time with friends and family.  The Lakeview Public Library is a place where you can do that without having to leave your community or spend money you can otherwise save.

Through the library’s summer reading program, people can visit new worlds in books and discover more about themselves in the process. This year’s themes for summer reading in New York libraries are: One World, Many Stories (for children), You Are Here (for teens) and Novel Destinations (for adults). The Lakeview library’s program is among those designed to help build better community reading habits, while simultaneously helping people make the most of their summers.

The summer reading themes encourage you to let your mind travel to new destinations through books. You will read stories from different parts of the world, read about foreign places and fantasy worlds, read historical books or those set in modern times, all the while learning about how others live from your very own home or here at the library.

Reading is rewarding for a number of reasons. It helps people build their vocabularies and comprehension skills, which leads to stronger writing and speaking capabilities. This is particularly helpful for children who need to perform better in school. Reading can help improve memory and increase self-esteem. It connects people with others, with the world around them and with themselves. While these benefits speak for themselves, the library is offering an additional incentive to encourage participation in the summer reading program: it will award prizes to those who read and fill out simple forms.

Children are more likely to develop into lifelong readers when they have positive reading experiences — and the summer reading program is the ideal way to show kids just how pleasurable and rewarding reading can be. Parents and adults can lead by example and serve as reading role models simply by reading along with their children.

We value our position as community hub in the Lakeview community. We strive to make the most out of our budget and have an accommodating selection and volume of programs and services. People can do more than just read here: they can ask questions, use computers, study, meet, listen to audio books, read magazines and participate in seminars and workshops. Even when the library is closed, patrons have access to online databases accessible with Lakeview library cards. They can download e-books and audiobooks for free using the card, or participate in Universal Class, which provides free continuing education courses in various subjects.

The library will kick off its summer reading program on Monday, June 27, from 2 to 6 p.m. with ice cream, games and community networking. Those interested in participating in the program can come to sign up and pick up bags and other incentive gifts at the library. There will be a party at the end of the summer to celebrate those who completed the program and participated in various special events throughout the summer.

For more information, visit summerreadingnys.org, or visit the Lakeview library, located at 1120 Woodfield Road in Rockville Centre. You can also call the library at (516) 536-3071.