Welcome to iREAD. For more than 29 years we have developed successful summer reading programs. Our mission is to provide high quality, low cost resources and products that enable local library staff to motivate children to read. As a coordinated, self-supporting effort between Illinois librarians and the Illinois Library Association every purchase from iREAD supports library advocacy.
2010 Summer Reading Program: Scare Up a Good Book!
The 2010 summer reading program theme is Scare Up a Good Book! and features artwork by Jill Thompson, author of Scary Godmother and Magic Trixie. 2010 will also include artwork from iREAD contest winner Michaela F. of Morrison Talbot Public Library.
iREAD programming is developed by librarians for librarians and includes activities, games, art, reading lists and much more for children, teens and adults. Our catalog of fun and scary reading incentives will be available in August 2009.
iREAD: Everything you need for a successful summer reading program!
Download Catalog
The catalog and order form are available as a PDF (requires Acrobat Reader).
iREAD is now on Twitter! Check out updates and ideas as we post them. Recent tweets appear below, and you can visit our Twitter page to read older tweets or to follow us.
2010 Summer Reading Program PSA
Young Adult Art Contest for 2010's Scare Up a Good Book
Thanks to all those that have participated in the 2010 Young Adult Art Contest, both artists and librarians and to everyone that voted. Congratulations to Michaela for winning the poster contest and $1000. Click here to see the 2010 YA Poster Winner! Click here for info on the contest for the 2011 campaign!
iREAD Photostream Click here to visit a Flickr page that has images of crafts from the current iREAD Summer Reading Program.
History of the iREAD Summer Reading Program Click here to download a PDF article "Happy Twenty-fifth Birthday iREAD!"
Contribute to iREAD
Submit Ideas for the 2011 Guide
If you have ideas or suggestions for the 2011 "A Midsummer Knight's Read" Resource Guide, submit
them to iREAD. The deadline for the 2011 Guide is January
18, 2010. Submit your ideas now!
Young Adult Art Contest
The ILA and iREAD are sponsoring an art contest to promote teen reading. The contest is open to all middle and high school artists, and the poster should be related to reading and the 2011 theme, “A Midsummer Knight’s Read”. All entries are due by September 28, 2009.
Volunteer You can volunteer to be part of the iREAD team. Besides having lots of fun, you'll have the pleasure of knowing that you've helped librarians all across Illinois.
Planning a Summer Reading Program and Research on the Effects on Student Achievement
If you would like to read more about planning a summer reading program and/or studies on the impact of summer reading programs, check out the following:
Fiore, Carole D. Fiore’s Summer Library Reading Program Handbook. New York: Neal-Schumann, 2005.
Kan, Katharine L. Sizzling Summer Reading Programs for Young Adults, Second Edition. Chicago: American Library Association, 2006.
Kim, Jimmy. Summer Book Reading and the Achievement Gap: The Role of Public Libraries. Cambridge, Mass.: Center for Evaluation, Harvard University, 2004.
Krashen, Stephen and Fay Shin. “Summer Reading and the Potential Contribution of the Public Library in Improving Reading for Children of Poverty,” Public Library Quarterly, Vol. 23: 3/4, 2004.
Johnson, Wayne L. and Yvette C. Johnson. Summer Reading Program Fun: Ten Thrilling, Inspiring, Wacky Board Games for Kids. Chicago: American Library Association, 1999.
