Washington Public Library, school district, partner to launch ‘caught reading’ campaign

Elementary students in the Washington Community School District will soon see new posters around the library and schools, advertising people in the community who were 'caught reading” as part of a new partnership campaign to encourage kids to read by the Washington Public Library and the school district.

Pictures of various community members, such as Washington Police Officer Seth Adam and Washington Community School District Superintendent Willie Stone, holding books and 'caught reading” will be made into posters and hung around the schools. The idea is reminiscent of the 'got milk” campaign of the early ‘90s that featured various athletes with milk mustaches and the phrase, 'got milk?” at the bottom.

Washington Public Library Director Bryna Walker said the idea came from her previous experience as a school librarian. The goal is for students to see books in the hands of community members they know and look up to and feel a pull to read also.

'Basically it's a subtle way to show kids that everybody reads, including people that they know and look up to in the community,” she said. 'It also condones lifelong reading and it's not just a task you have to do in school. It's something that you're learning to enjoy.”

Walker said oftentimes in school, students only read for education but with this new idea, she hopes they will be encouraged to read for entertainment as well. In her previous experience with this campaign, she saw positive results with students getting excited to see familiar faces on the posters and felt it helped them get excited about reading.

'It's a fun back to school thing that we can do together. It's a cool thing that I'm bringing to the table, because I've had a lot of public library dynamics, and we're also just taking that extra piece of the community and businesses and putting those people in the spotlight as well for reading,” she said.

Willie Stone, superintendent of Washington Community Schools said he was thrilled with the idea and wanted to partake in the fun. He said he hoped that by students being able to see teachers and other community members they knew on the posters, they would be inspired to read more because reading is not just an educational tool, but a lifelong skill.

'(It's) letting our kids know it's important to gain knowledge and just to do it for pleasure. The more they read the better reader they'll become,” he said.

Jenisa Harris, Youth Services Librarian, has been tasked with taking all of the pictures. Once finished, the 11x17 posters will be hung up around Stewart and Lincoln Elementary Schools as well as the library in Washington. After hearing about Walker's idea, Harris said she was immediately on board because she felt it was a great way to encourage kids to read because she feels kids often look up to role models in the community more than people think.

'There are so many studies that say kids who see their parents read find a love for reading, so as adults we need to set great examples for the kids. If we're asking them to read and love reading, we should be doing that as well because we should be following our own great advice,” she said.

Harris said she also hopes the program will encourage students to get involved in the library in general. Although they are known for books, the library is also home to a variety of activities open to all ages.

'I think it's a great resource. It's awesome that schools have libraries, but I feel like we can help partner with the schools to get some books they don't have and we don't just have books we have great online resources and clubs and activities they can be a part of so it's a great way to get them through the doors and get them into what we're doing,” she said.