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Summer Reading: Creative Planning for Success 

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As library staff across Colorado dive into summer reading planning, many of us are asking the same big questions:
How do we fund the fun? How do we keep patrons engaged? How to incorporate the theme?

Here’s a roundup of ideas, resources, and links library staff shared while gearing up for Summer Reading 2026 from our Summer Drop in session in January. 

Funding Your Summer

One librarian raised a challenge many of us face each year: finding flexible funding for prizes/ incentives, programs, and supplies. Their current strategy is simple and effective—Amazon wishlists for incentives and prizes, linked directly in newsletters sent to patrons, families, and local businesses. This gives supporters a concrete, low‑effort way to contribute. 

We also discussed the idea of using fundraising as marketing:

  • Asking local businesses for financial support doubles as program promotion.
  • Local experts—historians, archeologists, reenactors or even authors—may be willing to offer their services as volunteers, stretching limited budgets.
  • Gift cards donated by community partners can serve as fantastic incentives—especially for teens.

One library had great success giving gift cards to local businesses in $5 increments for every 5 books read. Teens loved it, and businesses appreciated the increased foot traffic.

Program themes

Some libraries are looking to weave the 250th anniversary of the U.S. and the 150th Colorado anniversary into their summer programming and others shared plenty of creative ways to bring history alive or experiences of dinosaurs, paleontogy and archaeology to complement the Unearth a Story theme from CSLP 2026.

Tracking Reading: Beyond Books & Into Experiences

While some libraries talked about tracking books or minutes read, some libraries are focusing on challenges and experiences. 

  • Beanstack for Minute Tracking
  • Era-Themed Challenge Passports
  • Bingo Sheets with a mix of reading and experiences around history
  • Book reviews for a way to earn prizes for teens and adults 

Volunteers

  • Teen advisory boards 
  • Recruit volunteers through website. List help you need (date/time/event type) and patrons can sign-up for the volunteer opportunities that interest them
  • 4H, honors society or high school requirements 

Incentives and prizes

  • Raffle tickets for donated baskets or for bigger prizes like gift cards to local businesses, lotto tickets, movie tickets
  • Mineral Excavation Kit 
  • DIY Dinosaur Eggs
  • Books: using scholastic to purchase a variety of books on theme as well as Amazon 
  • Teens that do a certain number of book reviews get invited to a “lights out at the library” event 

Marketing

  • Newsletter announcements
  • Calendar inserts
  • School visits—still one of the most effective outreach tools
  • Pep rally!

Ideas to Flesh Out

We talked about the local author Amy Atwater, who wrote The Fossil Keeper’s Treasure: With Amazing Fossils to Touch. She has a podcast and might be willing to come talk about her book or work as the director of paleontology at Dinosaur Ridge in Morrison, Co.

Beat the Burn with Strong Plans

Many of the libraries talked about having 8-9 weeks of full programming and how that can lead to burn out. A few ideas that were discussed to beat the burn:

  • Holding programs outside to enjoy the sun and nature
  • Hiring experts to facilitate programs or asking other city departments to lead a program or two
  • Using volunteers 
  • Plan early 

Join us for the next drop in chats on Feb 20, March 12, and March 20. Register at COstatelibrary LibCAL. If you can’t join a chat you can always reach out with questions for the group to brainstorm.

Kate Compton
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