Kids will ‘elect’ favorite books at Grafton Library
Grafton Public Library is joining libraries across the Commonwealth in Kids Cast Your Vote, a statewide election of the best books.
Kids of all ages are invited to go online and cast their vote for their favorite book on KidsVoteForBooks.com. Voting opens October 26 and ends November 9. The Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners will tally up the votes and release the top 25 books as recommended by Massachusetts kids.
“It’s a fun way to connect kids to the national and statewide elections and it gives them a voice in an election of their own,” said Sarah Banister, Children’s Librarian.
The list of “candidate” books for Kids Cast Your Vote came directly from Massachusetts kids. During the statewide summer library program in 2019, kids shared their favorite books with the MBLC, which resulted in 500 books, too many for an election. The MBLC narrowed the list down to 52 books. Kids can vote for their favorite candidate from the 52 or write in a candidate. The books are available for checkout through the Library’s eBook program and by request through curbside pickup.
“It’s exciting that this all came from Massachusetts kids. It’s about what they like and what they’re reading,” Banister said. “As librarians, we know that one of the best ways to help kids fall in love with reading is to let them choose. The candidate books give them some wonderful choices and the great thing about libraries is that we can always help them find more options.”
While libraries have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, they continue to find creative ways to serve residents. Over 435,000 children, teens, and adults recently participated in statewide summer library programming and many libraries are experiencing double digit increases in eBook checkouts.
The MBLC has developed a statewide calendar of virtual library events at https://libraries.state.ma.us/calendar which allows residents to see what events are happening around the state and attend them no matter which library is hosting. The First Lady of the Commonwealth joined the MBLC to create a video library at https://www.mavideolibrary.org/ with fun and educational videos that parents can use anytime. These are available through mass.gov/libraries.
Check out Grafton Public Library’s website at graftonlibrary.org for more offerings for all ages.
