Moore: The Berryville Library is spending the summer moving to its new location, and it's using that energy to challenge readers this summer. The library is inviting readers of all ages to participate in the Summer Reading on the Move Challenge. Julie Hall is the director of the Berryville Library. She says the challenge this summer hinges on one key question.
Hall: Can Berryville read as many books as the library will be moving? Those of you who have seen our library or visited our library will know that it's a small space right now, but it is literally full of books stacked floor to ceiling on our shelves. So we have a lot of books, and we know this is a big challenge. But over the course of raising the money for this new library — which is all privately fundraised from individuals, families and businesses here in our community — mostly the readers of Berryville have stepped up to big challenges. Over the course of three summers in various reading challenges, they read over 50,000 hours. So while we have lots and lots of books, we do think it's a challenge the readers of Berryville can meet, especially if they get some help from friends near and far. We can kind of bring in one last big community win for the readers this summer.
Moore: For many of us growing up, reading during the summer — whether sitting by the poolside or enjoying some air conditioning on your couch with a book in hand — it's a pretty traditional summer activity. But with the proliferation of screens and so much other stuff, it's becoming less and less common and popular. It sounds like you're trying to take some efforts to really combat that trend.
Hall: Yes. As we think about our future and this big move, we really are thinking about our past and celebrating our past as well. Our theme for the summer is celebrating the simple, traditional pleasures of summer, and we definitely include reading as one of them. There have been reports that the United States is in a reading recession, where that traditional activity of just reading for fun, reading for pleasure, by people of all ages, is kind of falling away. So we try to make this challenge fun. It is for all ages. Everybody is tracking books. All sorts of books count. We hope that families will do it together — you don't have to have kids to participate. It really will take all of us. We'll have trackers and we'll try to make it fun, offer small rewards as well, but really focus on this big challenge of: can we read as many books as this library has?
Moore: Speaking of families, throughout June and July your library is going to be hosting events and especially some free family shows on Mondays, beginning today. On Monday, June 1, you're going to have programming starting at 1 p.m. Tell us a little bit about the idea behind having these free family shows.
Hall: We have a Monday Matinee every Monday at 1 p.m. We're lucky to host it at the Berryville High School Performing Arts Center, since we don't have a place in our current library to host them. The special summer programs are another very important part of our summer. We really try to make sure that there are fun, free family activities here in town for those who don't have the resources or ability to get away for any sort of traditional vacation. With the Monday Matinees, we really try to feature regional performers who are bringing different sorts of acts or information that kids here don't really get a chance to see every day. We have a variety of fun acts. The Discovery Center of Springfield is coming with an outreach educator from Springfield, Missouri for a very fun science-related show all about matter. We also have later in the summer science educators from Tulsa, Oklahoma, who bring some raptors. We have some just pure fun acts — we have Spoon Man, who comes all the way from Michigan, and he plays the spoons and, I'm told, a few pieces of other silverware as well. We also have some musical acts, some closer-to-home favorites, like Still on the Hill will be performing, and of course Opera in the Ozarks.
Moore: For those of us who may have missed it or don't remember the details, tell us a little bit about what this new space is going to look like and how it's really going to benefit the community of Berryville.
Hall: The new library is three times the space that we have now. We're in a small, one-room library, 3,000 square feet. We're moving into over 10,000 square feet of space. The new library will have dedicated spaces. Right now all of the books kind of merge into one, but we will have a dedicated children's area, a dedicated teens area, a dedicated adult area. We'll have the computers far away from where people are trying to do other things. We'll have meeting spaces for groups of all sizes, individual study rooms, a conference room, a meeting room. This will allow community members and other groups to come in and host their meetings or host programs at the library. It really will open up a range of possible partnerships and services to the community that we just haven't been able to do in this small library.
Moore: And it really drives home that idea that we've known for a long time: that the library is a third space for people.
Hall: It is a gathering space for many, many people. We average about 250 visitors per day, and we're a pretty small town here in Berryville. People come here for all sorts of reasons. The town needs gathering spaces. There's not a lot of free meeting spaces or public spaces for people just to gather and meet. So we have people coming here just to hang out, but also tutors who come and tutor their clients in our library, people who come and are taking online courses. Lots of different needs.
Moore: I'm gonna put you on the spot here, Julie. When you think about the Summer Reading on the Move Challenge, what's a book that you're excited to crack open, maybe for the first time or maybe revisit, during this challenge?
Hall: I try to read as much as I can. I am in several book clubs, so they often dictate what I'm reading, which isn't always great, but it's a great way to read things that you would never read. I really am hoping to read a couple of fun new mysteries this summer. Right now I'm reading a Tana French book — it's the second book, called "The Hunter." Her third one has just come out, so that's what I'm looking forward to most.
Moore: Julie Hall is the director of the Berryville Library. You can find all the details about those free family shows on Mondays throughout the summer, and much more, when you visit berryvillelibrary.org.
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