During the summer months — when students are out of school — The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County takes its programming to a whole new level, offering up reading incentives, educational “Brain Camps” and meals and snacks at select branches.
Now, in collaboration with Newport’s independent Arcadian Comics shop, graphic novels and comic books will enter the mix.
The all-ages Summer Adventure 2019 program kicks off this Saturday, June 1. The free Adventure Kit includes a Summer Adventure “passport,” a free book and other goodies. Participants track their reading, check in regularly to register for prizes and, through July 31, pursue titles related to weekly themes.
“I think every summer is a chance for people to enjoy reading and talking about the new books they've read,” Arcadian founder Steve Struharik says. “So we’ve hand-picked 15 comics that will be available at each of the 41 branches of the Public Library of Hamilton County throughout Cincinnati.”
Titles vary from those popular with younger readers, like Dear Justice League and Pokémon, to titles featuring Thanos, Venom, Spider-Man and Minecraft. “First issues of great series like Paper Girls, Seven To Eternity and Harrow County are all true gems for practically anyone,” Struharik says, adding that nearly 10,000 comics will make their way to every public library branch in Cincinnati.
Reluctant readers have extra incentive to take the plunge this summer, he says. The program, he says, is “a perfect fit for summer, especially if you don't have the ability to go to an island resort, explore the ghosts of old castles, or travel to medieval France and listen to some Knights Templar talk.”
But the titles that Struharik deals in can also be a gateway to routine reading, regardless of age.
“I‘ve had many people tell me that they learned to read from comic books. Comics evoke an immediate interest with the art, and for young readers, the eagerness to understand all the words — and then find more books — is something I've seen often,” he says. “Turing anyone on to reading more with comics is easy, as long as you're able to find the right book that the individual wants to read.”
This isn’t Arcadian’s first collaboration with the library, and it’s almost assuredly not going to be the last. He says that they’ve worked with libraries for Free Comic Book Day, the library’s Comic-Con and for various reading events about the history of comics. The collaboration, he says, is an important one.
“We encourage people to seek books at the library because we can't all afford to buy everything we need or want to risk $30 on a book that might not be exactly right,” he says. “The libraries around Cincinnati have a fantastic collection of comic book paperbacks.”
The long-term impact of events like the Summer Adventure program goes far beyond garnering new comic book fanatics.
“If we can push more kids to read then the adults around them may start reading more,” Struharik says. “Reading inherently promotes a greater understanding of our world, and it allows people to go places they might never have imagined.”
The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County’s Summer Adventure program runs from June 1–July 31. Details are available at cincinnatilibrary.org/summeradventure.
