Wichita Public Library - "Summer Reading Program" Episode 1

Each summer, the Wichita Public Library hosts the Summer Reading Program for kids and teens ages 0-18. This annual program provides a space for kids and teens to read, participate in learning activities, connect with other kids and teens, and win cool prizes for meeting their reading goals. It’s designed to combat the “summer slide,” or learning loss from the summer break from school. In 2020, the Wichita Public Library had no choice but to take the annual Summer Reading Program virtual due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This shift lowered the participation numbers because many kids without access to adequate internet activity at home were unable to participate.

In 2021, the Wichita Public Library offered a hybrid Summer Reading Program, with programming taking place outside and through virtual platforms, like Zoom and Vimeo. Participation numbers increased, but the Library did not see pre-Pandemic participation. This episode takes you on a deep-dive into the 2021 Summer Reading Program. In this episode, we will discuss attendance numbers to in-person and virtual programs, provide sonifications that compare to the data, and talk about children and teen book check outs during the summer.

Episode Notes

Thank you to Jeff Tate (Digital Services Manager), Sean Jones (Communications Specialist), Kyle Holly (Digital Content Creator), Janelle Mercer (Technology Trainer) and Sarah Kittrell (Collection Development Manager) of the Wichita Public Library.

This podcast was created as part of ‘Data-Driven Storytelling: Making Civic Data Accessible with Audio’; a production, training and research program delivered by Sonify, Wichita Community Foundation and Envision. For this year-long initiative, three hyperlocal newsroom teams in Wichita Kansas worked with fifteen advisors from the blind and visually impaired community to create audio podcasts featuring data sonification. The project was supported by the Knight Foundation as one of seven national winners of their ‘Data For Civic Engagement Challenge’. To learn more, visit https://www.wichita.sonify.io.