Dartmouth libraries roll out summer programs for all ages
Dartmouth-area libraries are now kicking off summer programs, including TD Summer Reading Club, which opened registration at branches throughout the Halifax Regional Municipality Wednesday. This year some branches are adding reading challenges for teens and adults.
“Reading club is consistent across the branches,” says Alison Creech, regional youth programming lead with Halifax Public Libraries. “It’s a regional initiative.”
The theme of this year’s reading club — “Dive In!” – celebrates all things aquatic and is illustrated by Canadian artist Andrew Kolb. Several branches are partnering with the Dartmouth-based Back to the Sea Society to bring its portable touch tank into the libraries for kids to explore aquatic life firsthand.
Three of the past five years rank among the busiest in the reading club’s history, Creech says. Registration fell to 1,224 in 2020 amid pandemic-era programming that moved access to the club to phones, email, and even Canada Post. It climbed back to 5,705 by 2022, then topped 7,000 in each of the past three years. Registration peaked at 7,805 in 2024, the highest total in the 13-year record provided by Halifax Public Libraries.
“I can’t really speak to whether kids are reading less,” Creech says. “My experience is kids are coming in and signing up, and at least part of what they’re doing is reading.”
More specific programming outside reading club happens at individual libraries, Creech says.
At Alderney Gate, the summer lineup includes visits from past Canadian champion of magic Patrick Drake and 6 Day Zoo, a touring reptile presentation. Staff have built out remaining programming across age groups:
- Shake, Rattle and Read and Tinkering Toddlers for preschoolers
- weekly crafting and a STEAM session for school-age kids
- teen night (later this summer)
Alderney is also offering Summer Book Bingo, a points-based reading challenge aimed at teens and adults.
“A lot of adults have a kind of nostalgia,” Creech says. “They’re like, ‘I wish we could do something like that.’ We heard that enough that now we do Summer Book Bingo.”
Creech says bingo has been at individual branches before but now everybody’s participating.
Woodlawn Public Library has a family-friendly summer calendar:
- underwater-themed kickoff party on June 29
- weekly summer dance parties for children up to age seven
- Tuesday drop-in and Wednesday-morning program for babies
- weekly teen Crafternoon
- Drama Llamas, a social drop-in for 2SLGBTQIA+ teens and allies
- adult offerings include a weekly stitching circle, paint night, and community health talks
TD Summer Reading Club is a national program co-created and delivered by more than 2,200 libraries across Canada. It is the biggest bilingual summer reading program for kids of all ages, interests, and abilities in the country.
Developed by Toronto Public Library in partnership with Library and Archives Canada, the program is sponsored by TD Ready Commitment, TD Bank Group’s community giving program.