Manchester City Library

You didn’t even have to swim to Make a Splash at the Manchester City Library this summer. Children and teens alike participated in our annual summer reading program. The theme for children, pre-school to fifth grade was Make a Splash-Read! This summer we saw a huge increase in participation with 414 children with over half of them, 217 met their goal. They read a total of 2604 books in all.
At the main library, we kicked off the celebration with a beach party where we ate ice pops and created masterpieces with color sand. Many children attended our weekly theme related storytimes and programs. Thursday morning crafts and Friday’s Make a Splat outside art program were a huge success. On Wednesday mornings, we were treated to music by our budding musicians, ages 2 to 5 years old during the special Little Movers Storytime. Children’s movies on Monday afternoon were well attended and gave our youngest patrons a chance to get out of the heat and see some of their most favorite films. During July, we painted with bubbles of all shapes and sizes. We also had a visit from the Blue Ocean Society who brought tide pool animals to learn about and even touch.
Over on the West side, Magician Debbie O’Carroll kicked off the summer program with an amazing performance. Weekly events such as make/take crafts, movies and storytimes were a huge success. Family Bingo sponsored by our Friends group and a visit from the Blue Ocean Society drew huge crowds that had a blast escaping the summer heat! Children always looked forward to seeing what they could grab from the treasure chest.
The teen summer reading theme was Make Waves @ Your Library. 60 teens participated, who read a total of 125 books. Special events included Anime Club, Guitar Hero tournament, cooking club, tie-dying t-shirts, as well as a water game party.
The Majestic Theatre helped us wrap up the summer festivities by entertaining us with their performance of a western called The Taming of Katie Lou. So with lots of raffles and refreshments, we ended our summer fun. Many thanks are extended to McDonalds, Ben & Jerry’s, Blake’s Ice Cream and Mel’s Funway for their generous support.