LIBRARY: Summer Reading Program in full swing

Published 11:29 am Thursday, July 3, 2025

Summer is here at your Milledgeville libraries, and we’ve been juggling a recent temporary relocation as we continue our regular summer programming. 

As many of you already know, the Mary Vinson Memorial Library is currently closed and undergoing exciting, much-needed renovations. What you may not know is that the branch’s staff and part of its collection have temporarily relocated to the City of Milledgeville’s East Annex, which is across from the post office. This relocation is a temporary expansion into our current Hancock Branch, which is located on Hancock Street. We encourage you to step in and explore both collections! We’ve adapted nicely to our temporary space and are happily serving our patrons Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., and on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. 

The renovation of the Mary Vinson Memorial Library is going well, and we are so pleased with the progress! We’re eager to share this redesigned space with our community, so please stay tuned for updates. With the relocation settled, we’re launching into our favorite (and busiest) time of the year: the Summer Reading Program! The theme for this year is “Color Our World,” and the biggest thing to keep in mind is that the Summer Reading Program is for ALL ages! Babies, toddlers, kids, teens and adults can all enjoy prizes earned from time spent reading. Graphic novels, audiobooks, ebooks and printed materials all count. 

All time spent reading goes toward the goals needed to redeem prizes. Remember, we track the reading time, not the number of books, so no matter your reading level or speed, you can join in on the fun. Don’t forget to pick up our summer program guide, which features programs from all the Middle Georgia Regional Library branches so you can be sure not to miss the great events planned. The guides are available now at the Hancock Branch and the Lake Sinclair Library. 

This year the Middle Georgia Regional Library system has a goal of 5 million minutes for our communities’ readers. As in past years, there will be prizes available for reaching 12.5 hours and 25 hours of reading logged. Patrons can track their reading using Beanstack, our online reading challenge platform, or using paper logs that are available at all of our locations. 

We launched our official kickoff for Summer Reading Program on June 4, with an event for teens with slime, snacks and crafts. The kids’ Kickoff Carnival was held on June 7, with popcorn, carnival games, facepainting and more. Adults were able to enjoy an event with local author T.M. “Mike” Brown, who also came on June 7 to read from his book, The Last Laird of Sapelo. 

Great fun was had by all, but it’s far from over! As a community-based library, one of the most important parts of the Summer Reading Program are all the activities we have planned. Yoga Storytime, Babytime and Crafty Kids are all in the lineup in our children’s department, as well as fun partnerships with Allied Arts, Georgia College, and Georgia Farm Bureau. Our halfway point is fast approaching on July 5, and we’re celebrating it with Flow to the Finish! It’ll be an epic “silent” dance party with kid-friendly tunes and fun activities to encourage movement and help us flow all the way to the finish line with our reading goals. The finale will be a Comic Book Workshop on July 19, where kids can learn to make their own comic books. The full schedule of Summer Reading events for July is available at all of our locations. Awesome events for teens in July include Junk Journaling on July 3, Lego & Art STEM kits on July 10, and making your own smoothie on July 17! There’s also a Teen Book Club on July 18 – “A Show For Two” by Tashie Bhuiyan. 

Snag a calendar with all events and times from any of our branches in order to plan accordingly! We haven’t forgotten about great programs for our adults! We offer free yoga classes with Liz Havey on Wednesday evenings, as well as Petals and Pages on July 10 and Art Trivia Night on July 17. The After Hours Book Club will be discussing “Snow Flower and the Secret Fan” by Lisa See on July 30. See your friendly library staff to get your copies. 

Check our online calendar for these events or grab a paper version at your nearest branch. Last but certainly not least, our Lake Sinclair branch is offering a lot of great drop-in family programming, such as monthly Lego Meet-Ups, Scrabble Meet-Ups, Chess Meet-Ups, and Community Puzzle Days! 

No prior experience required – we’d love to have you stop by and learn. All of our programs are free to the public and we hope to see you there soon! In the meantime, happy reading.

—Emily Emmons is branch manager of Twin Lakes Libraries in Milledgeville.