Accessibility
From the plain language summary of the Accessible British Columbia Act on the province of BC’s website:
What is accessibility?
- Accessibility means that all people can take part in their communities through work, play and other daily activities.
- Accessibility is important for everyone, especially people with disabilities.
- Accessibility is about removing barriers and increasing inclusion and independence for everyone.
Accessibility Toolkit
BC Summer Reading Club has created the Accessibility Toolkit to assist staff running SRC at their libraries, and our manual Content Creators in creating accessible and inclusive programs and services as part of their BC SRC offerings and beyond.
Link: https://bcsrc.ca/staff/accessibility-toolkit/
Accessible British Columbia Act
For a plain language summary of the Accessible British Columbia Act and related regulations, please see this link: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/governments/about-the-bc-government/accessibility/legislation/summary
BC Summer Reading Club (organization)
See the “About” section of our website.
Link: https://bcsrc.ca/staff/about-bc-summer-reading-club/
Booklists
The BC SRC publishes a manual of book recommendations, activity sheets, complete storytimes, and program templates to assist you in running SRC at your library. The book recommendations come in the form of booklists divided by type (picture book, novel, graphic novel etc.), and noting which theme each title is related to. There are also markers for titles by BC authors or illustrators, Canadian authors or illustrators, titles available in audio format, and titles available through CELA or NNELS. There is one list of material in French. All of the booklists contain brief annotations for each title. For the past several years, the booklists have been created by Alicia Dobbs and New Westminster Public Library. Thank you Alicia for all of your hard work!
British Columbia Library Association (BCLA)
“BCLA is a non-profit, cross-sectorial association that furthers the interests of libraries and represents individual and institutional members. BCLA offers opportunities for discussion, debate, and activities pertinent to libraries and the Association. BCLA provides professional development for members and advocates for issues that support members, libraries, and the community” (from the link: https://bclaconnect.ca/about/) BC Summer Reading Club is one of the programs run by the BCLA.
Centre for Equitable Library Access (CELA)
The Centre for Equitable Library Access, CELA, is a national not-for-profit organization that provides accessible reading services to the approximately 3 million people across Canada with print disabilities. CELA provides access to a collection of over 1 million titles in multiple accessible formats, including audio, braille, print braille and text. Our services ensure that people with print disabilities across the country are more able to fully participate in learning, work and community life and contribute to the social, cultural, and economic development and success of their local and broader communities. (From the “About Us” Section of the CELA website) CELA works with BC SRC to ensure that the material on our booklists is, as much as possible, available in accessible formats. CELA and NNELS work together on this.
Link: https://celalibrary.ca/about-us
Community Outreach
From the Community-led Libraries Toolkit: “Outreach is a long-standing public library service. At its core, outreach involves delivering a message that the library believes to be important, [in this case that summer reading club is important and fun!]. …we have a message that we need to convey, so we create a service, program, or presentation that allows us to convey the message and then take it out into the community to ensure people understand the important services we offer. Outreach happens in the community … and the focus is on “information out” or service delivery.” See more in the Community-led Libraries Toolkit (2008) at this link: https://www.vpl.ca/working-together-community-led-libraries-toolkit
Inclusion
From the American Library Association’s ODLOS* glossary: “Inclusion means an environment in which all individuals are treated fairly and respectfully; are valued for their distinctive skills, experiences, and perspectives; have equal access to resources and opportunities; and can contribute fully to the organization’s success.” ODLOS stands for the Office for Diversity, Literacy, and Outreach Services.
Medal
Many participating libraries purchase medals from BC SRC as the prize for completing summer reading. Libraries differ in the way they award medals, how strictly they do so, and the criteria for earning a medal. BC SRC can solicit and provide examples of what different libraries do but we do not have our own guidelines for how to hand out medals. Each year, the BCSRC medal is used as a way to entice paticipants to meet their reading goals. BC SRC thanks the Public Libraries Branch, Ministry of Municipal Affairs, and CUPE BC for their generous assistance in the creation and dissemination of the medals to your library.
National Network for Equitable Library Services (NNELS)
The National Network for Equitable Library Service (NNELS) is a repository of content owned and sustained by Canadian public libraries. We work with international partners, libraries, readers, and publishers (particularly Canadian ones) to make copies of books in accessible formats available to readers in Canada who have print disabilities (From the “About NNELS” section of their website). NNELS works in partnership with CELA to ensure that the material on BC SRC’s booklists are, as much as possible, available in accessible formats.
Link: https://nnels.ca/about
Online Tracker
A screencap of the 2022 Online Tracker.
Participants “click” an online button to mark that they completed their goal for the day, and when they have completed 7 days in a row, they earn a theme-related badge (similar to the function of the stickers and the paper Reading Record). The online tracker also plays a sound when a day is checked off, and a celebratory sound when a badge is earned.
Partnerships
BCSRC has partnerships with several other organizations around the province. BC SRC’s partners may promote BC SRC, assist with contests, have ideas for programs, or provide mutual support to BCSRC in other ways. Please see this webpage for information about our current partners:
Link: https://bcsrc.ca/staff/partnerships/
Print Disabilities
From NNELS: “Perceptual disabilities (commonly known as “print disabilities”) include three broad categories of people who require accessible formats: severe or total impairment of sight or hearing or the inability to focus or move one’s eyes, the inability to hold or manipulate a book, or an impairment relating to comprehension.”
Link: https://nnels.ca/about
Reading Record
The Reading Record is the paper/cardstock handout that many participants track completion of their daily goals on. Each year, the Reading Record is designed by the SRC Artist to reflect the year’s theme. Participants colour in a circle for each day that they meet their goal, and there is space for an artist-designed sticker every 7 circles. The Reading Record contains general information about BC SRC in English and French. There are also printable inserts to record the titles participants are reading. Many libraries ask participants to bring their Reading Record to their library at the end of the summer to receive their medal. As of 2020, participants can also use the Online Tracker on the app to mark off days they complete their goal.
Registration
There are two ways to register for BC SRC: through your local library (receiving a paper reading tracker) or online via the app. When participants sign up for the online reading tracker we ask caregivers for the following information:
- Name
- Library System (from a drop-down menu that includes all participating library systems)
- Home Branch (once a system is selected, this menu will show all of that systems branches, if applicable)
When the caregivers make a profile for each of their participating children, we ask for:
- Child’s name or nickname
- Grade (the one they will be entering in September)
- School they attend (from a searchable list with “homeschool” and “other” options)
You will have access to these stats (with personal info removed) from your staff portal of the app.
School Visit
Many participating libraries promote BC Summer Reading Club to their local schools during the month of June. Some systems put reading records or flyers promoting BC SRC into student report cards.
Sponsors
BC SRC’s sponsors provide crucial funding to run the program. The BC Summer Reading Club is sponsored by the British Columbia Library Association (BCLA) and local public libraries, with funding assistance from Public Libraries Branch, BC Ministry of Municipal Affairs, and CUPE BC. Please consider sending thank-you notes to your local CUPE BC office, the Minister of Municipal Affairs, and your local Library Board, letting them know their support is greatly appreciated. Recognize the sponsors in your SRC promotional materials and advertisements, as it is with the support of these institutions that public libraries throughout the province can reach over 173,000 children* with the BC Summer Reading Club program (*In 2019, pre-pandemic numbers). (from the Journey Through Time manual)