MEGAN LEE Star-Tribune staff writer | Posted: Wednesday, July 1, 2009 12:00 am
The kids knew it wasn't real magic - just sleight of hand - but they didn't care.
When Jim Loshbaugh of Denver performed his magic and puppet show for them, they were captivated, giggling loudly at his jokes, pointing and yelling answers to his questions, and blushing when his puppets interacted with them.
For the kids in his audience, the library became more than a building full of books. It was transformed into a place of games, laughter and summer fun.
That's the point of the Natrona County Public Library's summer reading program, according to Jerry Jones, youth services coordinator for the library.
Thanks to Loshbaugh, magic books will fly off the shelves in the coming days, she said.
"[Performers] are very good about promoting the book part [of the program]," Jones said. "They're very pro-library."
Loshbaugh has every reason to promote libraries. He wouldn't be where he is today if it weren't for books.
"I virtually taught myself everything from books," Loshbaugh said. "Everything I do, I went to libraries to learn. I'm one of the greatest examples of someone who teaches himself everything."
The former math and science teacher began performing magic tricks and puppet shows for children in 1979, and has since done more than 20,000 shows.
And magic books aren't the only kind flying off the shelves. With more than 3,000 kids and teens enrolled in the summer reading program, the library is experiencing a checkout boom.
"The past month, we had our most checkouts ever," said Brenda Thomson, community relations coordinator for the library. "The past month has been 68,000 checkouts; a regular month is 40,000. So we've definitely gone up."
Through the summer reading program, kids receive prizes by keeping track of the number of books read or time spent reading.
"It's all to encourage kids to read during the summer," Jones said.
Jones finds acts and activities for the program by talking with other librarians and researching on the Internet.
"I've been here long enough that we have a pretty good group of people that come from one year to the next," she said. "Of course, we try to do a variety of different things.
For children who aren't able to come to the library for events, Jones said the performers also sometimes go to the Boys and Girls Club and other summer day camps.
"We take them to those sites so those kids can learn about the summer reading program, so they can enjoy summer reading, too."
Contact reporter Megan Lee at (307) 266-0616 or megan.lee@trib.com.
Summer reading events
For a list of upcoming kid and teen reading program events at the library, call 577-READ, visit www.natronacountylibrary.org, or go to the Natrona County Public Library at 307 E. Second St. in Casper.
Magic and a side of book
By Daniel Craig
Star-Tribune videographer
For a list of upcoming kid and teen reading program events at the library, call 577-READ, visit www.natronacountylibrary.org, or go to the Natrona County Public Library at 307 E. Second St. in Casper.]]->