Almost six months in the making, Kate Baughman’s Super Bowl is about to begin.
The Lexington Public Library marketing manager says June starts the busiest season for all the library branches. As schools get out and students flock from the classrooms for break, the risk of “summer slide” sets in.
“You make a ton of progress academically in your reading, writing, math and science skills, then over the summer, unless you are engaging in those skills you tend to lose a little bit of it,” she said.
Looking to combat the slide, the public library’s Summer at the Library program is providing free events and activities for children and families throughout June and July.
The public library will be offering a wide range of programming for kids and the community such as summer movies, STEAM labs, DIY projects, Kentucky Down Under Animal Encounters, board games, language education and more.
Baughman said this year’s plans have been in motion since the end of last summer, with the rubber hitting the road in December to lay out the upcoming year.
The Public Library is celebrating the beginning of the summer with a series of kick-off parties at all branches throughout the first week of June. Activities at the kick-off events will include petting zoos, a free Scholastic Book Fair experience and surprise appearances from book characters.
Here is the schedule:
Northside Branch: June 4, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
Eastside Branch: June 5, 5-7 p.m.
Marksbury Family Branch: June 6, 1-3 p.m.
Beaumont Branch: June 6, 5-7 p.m.
Central Library: June 8, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
Tates Creek Branch: June 8, 3-5 p.m.
Anyone with a student success card can receive a free Lextran ride to public library branches and venues participating in the LexArts Cultural Pass program.
The pilot program also provides free access for youth grades K-12 to Lexington’s arts and cultural institutions, according to the program’s website.
Partnering with Fayette County Public Schools, the public library is also providing free summer lunch at the Marksbury Family Branch (11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.), Tates Creek Branch (11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.) and Northside Branch (12-12:30 p.m.) and afternoon snacks (3-3:30 p.m.) Monday-Friday June 4-July 26 (excluding June 4 at Northside and June 19, July 4-5 at all branches).
“There is going to be a program that’s around (lunches) and typically kids will stick around and participate in the programs,” Baughman said.
A personal goal for Baughman this summer is to extend the public library’s reach not just to children in the area, but families as a whole.
“Summer at the Library is for the whole family,” she said. “We have adult programming, we have teen programming (and) programming that is really intergenerational so the whole family can come out and have a great time.”
For the next 13 weeks, the library will update the community on summer programming and special events from its website and all social media platforms @lexpublib.
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