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School library promotes love of summer reading Volunteers keep learning alive By VICKI GUARINO Summer has barely begun, and Morgan Pratt is still months away from starting kindergarten. But the eager 5-year-old already is checking out books at the school library, and earning perfect scores on computerized reading comprehension tests. In just a few weeks, Morgan and her two older brothers have become regulars at a new summer library program at Oak Grove School. With nearly every Oak Grove teacher, plus librarian Susan Schweitzer and Principal Art Peterson volunteering their time, the Oak Grove library is open 9-11 a.m. Wednesdays. The school is the only Medford elementary keeping library hours all summer long, Peterson says. The effort is an experiment in encouraging summertime reading. The better a youngster reads, says Peterson, the more the child achieves in all subjects. "And the more you read, the better you get," he reminds Morgan's family. "There's no substitute for practice." For the Pratts, there's really no substitute for the Oak Grove School library. Older brothers Austin, first grade, and Travis, second grade, know the library well and are able to continue their classroom reading assignments all summer. Travis has been keeping up with the storybook adventures of child travelers Jack and Annie from the tropical rain forest of the Amazon to the rolling farm fields of Pennsylvania. In just a couple of weeks, the library program has become an import part of the Pratt family's summer reading. "We still go to the public library," says mom Carolyn Pratt, "but this offers more books at my children's age levels." And the Oak Grove library is a comfortable, familiar place for the whole family to browse for books, says Dan Pratt. And Morgan is pleased that she can finally accompany her older brothers to school. Since the program began three weeks ago, Schweitzer has averaged about 15 youngsters each session. The number has been going up week by week, and Schweitzer expects many more students when the school's summer session and summer lunch program begin July 26. Most encouraging to Schweitzer is the number of younger children like Morgan who are using the library for the first time. "They've been coming in with sisters and brothers," she says. Preschoolers, and even young friends and visitors who aren't enrolled at Oak Grove, are welcome at the summer session as long as they're with an Oak Grove student who can check out books and take responsibility for them. "I figure if the books get read, that's what they're there for," Schweitzer says. The summer schedule is a continuation of a volunteer effort begun during the school year to extend library hours. Teachers took turns in the library, allowing it to stay open until 5:30 on weekdays. Schweitzer has further expansion in mind. She wants to have the library open two days a week next summer, and three days the following summer. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA