TOP & TOP RIGHT: MARION BROWN; BELOW RIGHT: COURTESY OF GINA MITGANG

morning newspaper with aparent, the challenge shows kids how often reading pops up in their lives.

“ All the thingskids love online or on TV startedwithin the pages of abook,” Loria says.“ It’ s our job to show them they can find that excitementbyreading and not just by jumping online.” Thoughshe admits the incentives add to the excitementofthe challenge, the kids have fun regardless of the prizes, which is why so many of the library’ s programs are so popular.

“ The library events offer asense of community and connectionwith other people that you can’ t get from social media,” she says of programslike“ Read to aDog or Cat,” story times and even their Zumba class for kids, where books about exercise are displayed on anearby table.“ We try to relate everythingback to readingand make it exciting even when there are no prizes,” Loria says.“ The real reward is not winning something, but actually enjoying the time you spend reading.”

At the Mahwah Public Library, older kids can join the teen department’ s“ Winter Reading Challenge,” which has run everyyear for the past decade.“ Last winter Iused abingo

board format and kids had to read a certain number of hours to complete asquare,” says senior teen librarian DeniseJukniewicz.“ Some of the squares have special challenges, like writing an online review or doing community service, soeven reluctant readers aren’ t discouragedfrom joining.”

Participantsinthe program can win prizes ranging from local business coupons to Game Stop giftcardsand iPad minis, but the challenge is popular for more than just those incentives.“ I can’ t lie, the prizes do attract them,” says Jukniewicz,“ but we have alot of kids who really just love coming to the library and love reading. They’ ve grown up coming here and taking part in the programs and they still enjoy doing that.”

The teens can also participate in the statewide summerreading program, achallenge that’ sreally popular in Mahwah’ s children’ s department as well, drawing more than 500 children in 5th gradeand below last summer.

“ New Jersey is amember of The CollaborativeSummer Library Program, which runs the summer reading program, so all of the state’ s libraries

CREATING ACOMMUNITY Ridgewood teens volunteer to read to younger kids in a StoryTeens Storytime afterschool session at the library.