Class after class of Washington Elementary School summer school students walked outside the gym Tuesday to see a table with books — in both English and Spanish — and a bin on the ground with toys in front of the Waukegan Public Library’s new van.
Rewards for completing the library’s summer reading program, each student like rising sixth grader Sylas Sandifer took a toy and perused the books on the table before choosing one.
“I really like reading,” Sylas said. “I like to read. I like comic books, and other kinds of books.”
While summer school remains in session through Monday, Jennyfer Cordova, the library’s communications and community engagement manager, said the van is on a mission to bring books and toys to students who completed the program.
All 120 Washington summer school students successfully did so.
The newly acquired and outfitted Waukegan library van began making appearances throughout the community on June 1 at the Waukegan Pride Festival, and will provide a variety of services around the city.
Library Executive Director Tiffany Verzani said the van offers multifaceted opportunities, from visiting schools, to creating a presence at events like resource fairs, to delivering books or other materials to patrons.
“We can set up anywhere,” she said. “We can do literacy workshops. It allows us to make deliveries. We started doing making deliveries during COVID, and we’ve kept it up. We can go to hospitals. People can check out books electronically.”
Cordova said the van will be a regular participant at the Waukegan Park District’s Arts Park program each Wednesday for the rest of the summer.
When the van arrived at Washington Elementary School, Cordova and Annalisa Teresi, a children’s librarian, took a table from the back, set it up and then stocked it with books. They varied the selection to fit the grade level of each class.
Though summer school ends Monday, the reading program for youngsters continues through July 27 and prizes remain available. Cordova said participants earn rewards by completing three of five tasks.
To qualify for a prize, Cordova said a participant must read, or be read to for 10 days, read a book on a new subject, read a book checked out from the library, attend a library program or take a picture of a favorite reading spot. Doing three earns a book and a prize.
Nicole Lemberger, the North Elementary School principal, said she is proud of the students from both schools who completed the program. Summer school for North and Washington students takes place on the Washington campus. She looks forward to more van visits.
“It’s a wonderful collaboration between community partners and the schools,” Lemberger said. “It creates a lot of energy and excitement when they come. The reading program helps promote a love of literacy.”
At one time, Verzani said the library had a bookmobile. It outlived its useful life, but the van allows a host of additional opportunities. The bookmobile was essentially a mobile library set up for little more than lending books.
“It allows a lot of flexibility,” she said. “It allows us to take computers and do a training session with different community partners. We can take what we need to do classes.”
Verzani said the cost of the van and outfitting it was approximately $58,000. Help came from the Great Lakes Credit Union and the Consumer Credit Union for $25,000 each, and $8,000 from the Waukegan Public Library Foundation.
