Every year I sponsor a Summer Reading Challenge—a challenge that asks kids to read for 15 minutes a day over the summer months. I’ve always believed that leisure reading is a key to academic success. Exposing kids to books at a very early age can trigger a lifelong love of reading. It builds a foundation for a large vocabulary, and sets the stage for academic success. Please submit your completed summer reading challenges to my office for a certificate and an invitation to a summer reading party. I look forward to meeting many of you.

If kids like to read at home, chances are they will have an easier time in school, which means they will stay in school and have a better chance at a higher paying job when they are older. Literacy is directly connected to our economy’s success. There’s been a push at the local level to raise awareness about literacy and the importance of penetrating language, social and emotional barriers that prevent some children and adults from reading beyond a certain level. The Literacy Coalition of Oswego County is planning its first Literacy Awareness Event Saturday, Sept. 24 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Oswego YMCA Armory located on West First Street in Oswego.

The focus of the event will be to promote literacy services, increase awareness and recognize the importance of literacy for all ages. My office and I are participating in this event with the theme “One World, Many Stories.” In concert with this theme, attendants will receive a “Passport to the World” and will be encouraged to visit the tables throughout the Armory that represent a different country. I hope you can attend and bring your loved ones, too, to learn about the services available for all ages, to help make reading an enjoyable pastime, not a struggle. For more information on local resources, call (315) 342-8839 or visit http://www.oswegocounty.com/literacyco/index.html.

The Literacy Coalition of Onondaga County has been busy, too. The coalition recently partnered with the Dolly Parton Imagination Library. More than 1,000 children under the age of 5 on the city of Syracuse’s North side will receive a book in the mail EVERY month. The program started in May. A LeMoyne College study reports that 30 percent more families read daily to their kids after being in the program for just four months. For more information, visit their website.

Thoughts on Reading

Recently, the following interview was published in the Central New York Library Resources Council newsletter. They asked a few personal questions about my thoughts on libraries and reading. I thought it would be appropriate to share some of those thoughts in this literacy column.

Question: What is your favorite book?

Answer: I don’t really have a favorite book because I’m not sure I could choose just one. I read mostly fiction and am currently reading some Lee Child’s books now. I generally read by author and love action/spy authors like Ken Follett.

Question: What is your favorite aspect about visiting libraries?

Answer: I have two boys, aged 8 and 10, who are both big fans of the library. It’s always enjoyable for me to bring them to the library because it’s so enjoyable for them. And it’s also a great way for me to see the layout of all of the publications.

Question: You are known as a supporter of libraries. What led you to this role?

Answer: A couple of things. I’ve used libraries all of my life. And because I come from a small town, Pulaski, I know the important role libraries play, especially in hard economic times, and the community interest in the library is indicated by the continued support.

Question: Who first introduced you to libraries?

Answer: My mother started taking me to the Pulaski library. But my first memory of a library is really the school library at my elementary school.

Question: Librarians must continually advocate for funding. What advice would you give them?

Answer: Librarians and their stakeholders already do an excellent job lobbying, between their meetings and letters. All I can suggest is to work through the library associations to get a wider breadth of legislators. Nothing is done in Albany with a single voice; it takes numerous voices, so the farther librarians can spread their net, the more effective their lobbying will be.

I’d be interested to hear your thoughts on reading. Visit me on Facebook, Assemblyman Barclay, write me at 200 North Second Street, Fulton, New York 13069, or e-mail me at barclaw@assembly.state.ny.us. I look forward to reviewing those Summer Reading Challenges to find out what local children are reading these days.