Evaluating Your Summer Reading Program
If you are taking part in CLA’s 2010 California Summer Reading Program and using the statewide theme of Water for your children’s, teen, or adult summer reading program, please prepare to collect participation statistics this summer and submit them to CLA in September.
The questions we will ask and notes on collecting your data are included below.
The California Summer Reading Program is LSTA-funded, and any libraries using the statewide theme are required to submit their participation statistics to CLA. These statistics are used by the State Library to fulfill reporting requirements issued by IMLS (the Institute for Museum and Library Services), which administers LSTA at the federal level. Failure to report your data will jeopardize your library’s participation in future statewide summer reading activities.
We will collect your data using a zoomerang survey that we will send out in September. The survey should be completed once for each library jurisdiction, with one person responding on behalf of all libraries. Please do not send any data directly to CLA staff.
Thank you, in advance, for collecting your data and submitting them to us! Your information helps us demonstrate the amount of summer reading activity taking place in California’s libraries, and helps us improve the California Summer Reading Program for the future.
If you have any questions, please email CLA Programs Director, Natalie Cole, at ncole@cla-net.org. Thank you.
2010 Summer Reading Participation Survey Questions
(PLEASE ALSO SEE NOTES BELOW.)
Section 1: Background
- How many service points (e.g. main libraries, branch libraries, and bookmobiles) are there in your library jurisdiction?
- How many service points in your jurisdiction offered summer reading for children and/or preschoolers and younger?
- How many service points in your jurisdiction offered summer reading for teens?
- How many service points in your jurisdiction offered summer reading for adults?
Section 2a: At the library – sign ups and completion*
- How many children, in total, signed up for summer reading at your libraries? (If you count preschoolers and younger, please include them here.)
- How many teens, in total, signed up for summer reading at your libraries?
- How many adults, in total, signed up for summer reading at your libraries?
- How many children, in total, completed summer reading at your libraries? (If you count preschoolers and younger, please include them here.)
- How many teens, in total, completed summer reading at your libraries?
- How many adults, in total, completed summer reading at your libraries?
(*Please use your own definition of completion; if you do not count completion, please enter N/A.)
Section 2b: At the library – programs/activities/events
- How many summer reading programs/activities were held in your libraries for children and/or families? (If you offer summer reading-themed programs for preschoolers and younger, please include them here.)
- What was the total number of attendees at these programs?
- How many summer reading programs/activities were held in your libraries for teens?
- What was the total number of attendees at these programs?
- How many summer reading programs/activities were held in your libraries for adults?
- What was the total number of attendees at these programs?
Section 3: Out in the community
- Did you take the summer reading program out to groups in the community?
(e.g. where participants signed up for and participated in the program at a
community site, not at the library.)
If yes: - How many community groups did you work with?
- Please tell us the names of the groups you worked with.
- How many children, in total, participated in summer reading at community sites? (If you count preschoolers and younger, please include them here.)
- How many teens, in total, participated in summer reading at community sites?
- How many adults, in total, participated in summer reading at community sites?
Section 4: Other feedback
- Did you celebrate National Summer Learning Day in June?
- If yes, please tell us briefly what you did.
- Please tell us your best summer reading idea for this year.
- Any other feedback?
Notes on counting programs/activities in the library
- When you are counting programs/activities, please count only those that were part of summer reading. As a guide, please consider whether the program used the summer reading slogans, graphics, or theme (water).
- When counting program attendees, please include everyone who attended, even if they were not part of your target audience (e.g. if parents or older siblings attended a children’s program, if younger siblings attended a teen program, or teens attended an adult summer reading program).
Notes on submitting your summer reading data
- Please compile all data for your library jurisdiction locally. We will ask for one person from each jurisdiction to submit the compiled data on behalf of all your libraries.
- Please do not send any data directly to CLA staff. Please wait until you see a link to the zoomerang survey, which we will send out by email in September. You will have until mid-October to submit your data.
- We will provide you with explanatory notes on entering data into the zoomerang survey. Please read all the notes before starting to enter your data.
- If any questions are not applicable to your program, please enter N/A.
The California Summer Reading Program is a project of the California Library Association, supported by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act, administered in California by the State Librarian.
Collaborative Summer Library Program (CSLP) is the sponsoring organization for the 2010 Summer Library Program. Artwork is for use by CSLP members only. Copyright 2009-2010 by Highsmith Inc. All rights reserved. No images may be reproduced without written permission.
CLA thanks LEGOLAND and Round Table Pizza for supporting summer reading in California’s libraries.