Sterling Public Library keeps summer reading programs going through July
Sterling families still have until July 31 to join summer reading, with free books, Family Nights and prizes from a sleepover to a Chicago field trip.
Sterling Public Library is keeping its summer reading push active through July 31, and Logan County families still have time to sign up for activities that go well beyond books. The Wendy Marks Summer Reading Program is open to children, teens and adults, giving Sterling residents a structured option while school is out and regular routines are looser.
The program runs June 1 through July 31 and is built around preventing the summer slide, the learning loss that can happen when students step away from school routines for several months. Children who sign up receive a free book and another free book when they reach their reading goal. Sign-up began May 26, logging books started June 1, and the final day to complete the goal and claim the second book is July 31. The Teen and Adult Reading Challenge follows the same June 1 to July 31 schedule.
For children, the 2026 theme is Plant a Seed, Read! The library’s Kids Discovery Zone is set for Monday, July 6, at 10 a.m., when Denise will explore the gold rush days under the theme Unearth Gold. Kids Advisory Board meetings are also open to patrons in third through eighth grade, giving younger readers a chance to help plan events and suggest books.
Family Nights are another major draw, with most sessions scheduled on Tuesdays from 5 to 6 p.m. The first Family Night of the season was Petting Zoo & Pizza on June 1, and upcoming dates include Butterfly Tents on July 7 and Water Day on July 14. The July 14 event is tied to a community prize milestone, keeping the summer calendar connected to the reading challenge itself.
The children’s prize ladder gives families concrete targets to work toward. At 1,500 books, readers qualify for a stuffed-animal sleepover and brunch on July 11. At 3,000 books, the prize is a dunk tank on July 14. At 4,500 books, the reward is a field trip to the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago on July 28. A memorial donation notice says the program supports more than 250 area children each year, underscoring how central it has become to summer in Sterling.
Wendy Marks, the program’s namesake, was a long-time Sterling resident, born in Montreal and a graduate of McGill University with highest honors. She served 25 years on the Sterling Public Library Board, and the library says she was a lifelong advocate for childhood reading and public libraries. That history now sits at the center of one of Sterling’s most visible summer programs, with the library closed June 27 for a staff event and the rest of July packed with ways to keep children, teens and adults reading.
This article was produced by Prism’s automated news system from verified source data, official records, and press releases, then run through automated quality and moderation checks before publishing. The system is built and supervised by the people who set the standards it runs under. Read our full AI policy.
Did this article answer your question?
