The children’s librarian at Barton Library is looking to continue the success of its summer reading program, and a newly awarded grant can only help.
Karla Nelson, who has been with the library for about four years, was recently awarded an Arts on Tour grant from the Arkansas Arts Council for 2019. According to the council, the Arts on Tour program provides a roster of performers, visual artists and exhibitions that are available for touring in Arkansas, and helps cover some of the costs of bringing such a performer or exhibition to the area.
Nelson said she’s carried on the practice of the previous children’s librarian in simply searching for available grants and applying for those that would fit the library’s needs. For this particular grant, she said it will cover 40 percent of the cost of bringing magician Aaron Acosta to El Dorado to perform in June, as part of Nelson’s summer reading program. According to information from the Arkansas Arts Council, Acosta’s fee typically ranges from $300 to $2,500, depending on the size of the show and the venue.
Nelson said Acosta regularly uses live animals and is expected to perform with a bird this summer. According to information from the Arkansas Arts Council, Acosta’s performance is full of illusions and plenty of audience involvement. He primarily works in Arkansas and Memphis and specializes in children and family entertainment, regularly performing at schools, day care centers and libraries.
Acosta’s show will be one of several featured as part of the summer reading program, which emphasizes literacy and has a different theme each summer. Nelson said this year’s theme for the seven-week program is space, featuring stories that are “out of this world.”
But the program also includes hands-on activities for the children, something Nelson emphasized as an important part of a child’s learning process. Nelson, who spent 27 years as a teacher, said she often relies on her school experience when planning programs.
“Being a school teacher, I know how that is, it has to keep their interest and their attention,” Nelson said. “They have to be participants in it as well.”
The summer reading program will also feature the dean of science at the University of Arkansas at Monticello, who will be showing children the phases of the moon, and staff from the Arkansas Museum of Natural Resources, who will show them how to build rockets. Other programs will feature kids in the kitchen, yoga, a touring theater group and demonstrations led by businesses such as Home Depot, CrossFit and Slingin Arrows, she said.
“A lot of (the program) is designed for kids who are disadvantaged, who don’t have the money to go to Little Rock or Shreveport,” Nelson said. “I try to find cultural things that they can do and bring it here.”
The summer program, which is offered free to all area children from kindergarten and up, also includes prizes and food coupons, thanks to a variety of local businesses that agree to contribute, Nelson said.
“The community is wonderful,” Nelson said.
In past years, the summer reading program has led area children to complete nearly 2,000 books in the seven-week program. At the end of each program, Nelson awards prizes to the top readers in every category and the overall winner receives a gift certificate.
For more information on the summer reading program or other events at Barton Library, such as Children’s Story Time, which is held Wednesday mornings, contact the library at 870-863-5447.
Madeleine Leroux can be reached at 870-862-6611 or [email protected].