LETTER: Writer says thanks for help with young adult reading program

The 2008 Newton Public Library Young Adult Summer Reading Program “Metamorphosis @ Your Library” has come to an end. It was a fun and exciting summer! Young adults ages 12 to 18 went through a lot of “transformations” at NPL this summer. One-hundred seven signed up for the 2008 YA SRP, with 27 finishing reading logs of 1,000 pages or more. They read a total of 115,048 pages! Teens had fun and learning experiences at “Thursdays mean a Change in Your Plans!” workshops. They transformed old books at “Altered Books” with artist Susan Bartel. They created fun things from duct tape like wallets and learning to be more “green.” Grand Champion Logan Veer was awarded $15 and 2nd place winner William Davis received a geography book and maps at the Geography Bowl. Congratulations to all of the really smart participants for their great sportsmanship! Cathy Anderson, Newton Yoga Center, helped change our insides and we made jewelry from hardware to change our outside. Special thanks to Newton High and Bethel grad Jesse Graber who talked about being a working artist and showed a book he was illustrating. Two-hundred seventy-nine young adults participated in these programs. Thanks to the Friends of Newton Public Library donation of a Wii™ gaming system and the Helen Claassen Foundation donation for the NPL mobile laptop lab, teens could change their Monday afternoons at “Gaming Mondays” which included “Wii Sports” video games, laptop use, board games and chatting about what’s new at NPL for young adults. Teens can continue to join in the Gaming Mondays activities each Monday from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. in the Bessmer Room. Teens were also invited to get out of the heat for cool movies on “Movie Saturdays,” complete with snacks to top off those lazy Kansas summer afternoons. Thank you to The Newton Kansan and First Bank for helping promote the YA SRP activities and to our generous donors Friends of NPL, Florence Bessmer Foundation, Ruth Hartzler, Jon and Phyllis Reisch, Smyth Process Service and Wichita Electric Company. They helped support the Change workshops, provided t-shirts for each participant who turned in reading logs and prizes for young adults who read 5,000+ pages. Congratulations and thanks to the amazing young adults who participated in “Metamorphosis @ Your Library” and to the people who helped change their summer of 2008. — Angie Vogelman, youth services assistant supervisor, Newton Public Library