The 2023 Summer Reading Program concluded on Saturday, July 29th with a grand finale performance by world-record-holding juggler David Cousin! Almost 150 patrons attended the awe-inspiring show at Goleta Valley Library, which celebrated all of the fantastic reading that participants completed since the program launched in early June. To recognize your accomplishment, we wanted to share a few of our final numbers with you and to thank our community for bringing this year’s theme – All Together Now – to life!
- Over the course of seven weeks, more than 60 teen and adult volunteers worked with staff to host events, listen to readers report on their books, and award prizes generously donated by 37 local businesses and organizations
- 1,870 community members attended 11 events sponsored by the Friends of the Goleta Valley Library
- 1,551 children and teens registered for the Summer Reading Program, more than double our 2022 program
- Adults read 821 books, a 4% increase from last year
- Our Stuffed Animal Sleepover had a record-breaking 300 stuffies spend the weekend at the library
Thank you to our community for spending the summer with us! We look forward to seeing you at the library again soon. Be sure to check our online calendar and visit our website at www.goletavalleylibrary.org to stay in-the-know on all our services and upcoming programs!
The Goleta & Santa Ynez Valley Libraries would like to thank the generous sponsors of the 2023 Summer Reading Program: Albertsons, Birkholms Bakery, Blenders in the Grass, The Book Loft, California Pizza Kitchen, Casa Cassara Winery & Vineyard, Chipotle, Chomp!, Creation Station, The Elverhoj Museum, Friends of the Goleta Valley Library, Goleta Depot, Golf ‘N’ Stuff, Kyle’s Kitchen, Ice in Paradise, Ingeborg’s Danish Chocolates, Isla Vista Food Co-op, Islands Burgers, Los Arroyos, Mother Hubbards, MOXI Museum, Mystic Merchant, Nathalie’s Dollhouse, New Frontiers Natural Marketplace, Nothing Bundt Cakes, Ocean Nails & Spa, Old Town Coffee, Pattibakes, Santa Barbara Maritime Museum, Santa Ynez Valley Historical Museum & Parks-Janeway Carriage House, Senshin Center Aikido, Solvang Bakery, South Coast Deli, South Coast Montessori, Stuart C. Gildred YMCA, The Wildling Museum, and Woodstock’s Pizza.
Photos from 2023 Summer Reading Program
Stuffie sleepover story time
Luce Puppet Co. performance
Wildlife Care Network presentation