Fiske Public Library is one of a select group of libraries in Massachusetts to receive Boston Bruins prizes for its outstanding participation in the first ever First Lady of the Commonwealth and Blades Summer Reading Challenge. 

Elizabeth Nadow, Children’s Librarian, was excited to be a prize winner. “Our library users worked hard this summer to reach our goal, and this prize is a testament to their hard work reading.”

The library will use the jersey as a raffle prize during its PJ drive this winter. For each pair of new PJ’s Fiske patrons donate, they will receive a raffle coupon for the jersey. Each winter, the library collects new pajamas in partnership with the Boston Bruins for homeless or low-income children in Massachusetts.

The Boston Bruins and First Lady Lauren Baker teamed up for the challenge this year as a way to keep residents involved with their library’s summer reading program during a time when library buildings were closed because of COVID-19. In total, challenge participants read over 11,000 books and over 1.7 million minutes.

“Summer reading is fun, but it’s also an important part of students’ academic success because it helps them avoid the summer slide,” said James Lonergan, the director of the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners. Children who read just four books over the summer do better on reading-comprehension tests in the fall than their peers who read one or no books over the summer.

In 2019, more than 500,000 people participated in statewide summer reading programs in libraries across the Commonwealth. Massachusetts has offered statewide online summer reading programs since 2007. To learn more about the benefits of summer reading, visit mass.gov/libraries. The statewide Summer Library Program is made possible through federal funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.