Lee County Library System’s Summer Reading Program a colorful success
Lee County Library System‘s 2025 Summer Reading Program gave more than 14,000 books to Lee County children and teens and welcomed outstanding participation by all age groups.
The annual Summer Reading Program fosters the love of reading and helps students on break avoid summer learning loss. This past summer, themed “Color Our World,” encouraged everyone to explore their creativity by providing fun learning experiences to all readers. The library hosted programs featuring creative expression, health and wellness, storytelling with puppetry, as well as art, magic and science shows to spark imagination.
Library branches hosted 11 kickoff parties that brought 4,767 people to celebrate the start of the summer. Between June 2 and Aug.2, the Lee County Library System offered 471 programs in branches, with almost 18,000 attendees. Library staff also coordinated 119 outreach visits to camps, community centers, parks and more, reaching an additional 14,179 people in the community.
Summer participants of all ages logged nearly 24,000 books read as part of the online reading challenge, a 40 percent increase from last year. Additionally, a paper activity challenge was offered this year and 8,900 people joined in the fun using this offline reading option.
Teen Summer of Service, a partner program, also offered teens the chance to earn community service hours through a six-week, virtual program series. Teens completed more than 200 projects which were delivered to community partners along with two van loads of supplies donated to Lee County’s Human & Veteran Services and Domestic Animal Services. Participating teens logged 725 volunteer service hours.
Library programs take place all year long and are always free and open to the public. The Lee County Library System has 13 branches to serve Lee County residents. For information about library locations, online access to e-books and streaming content, program information, newsletters and more, or call 239-479-4636.
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