This new program is bringing schools, libraries together to get everyone reading

Megan Raposa -

Simplified: A new partnership between Siouxland Libraries and the Sioux Falls School District is aiming to get everyone – ages 0 to 100 – reading.

Tell me more

The Everybody Reads program runs throughout the month of March.

It's very simple. Every time you finish a book, you can go to the library and fill out a leaf.

  • The leaves will be added to trees in every library branch (pun intended) and in every school library in the Sioux Falls School District.
"We're hoping for very luscious trees," said Korey Erickson, library coordinator for the school district.

Why it matters

  • Reading is for everybody, Librarian Lucy Steiger said, but it's especially important for elementary-aged kids.
  • It's around third grade when kids transition from learning to read to reading to learn, so part of the goal here is to give those kids – as well as their parents and grandparents – a little extra incentive to pick up a book.
  • The month-long program is also intended to help encourage making reading a habit. It's also a way to show a big, visual representation of how much reading happens in our community.
"I believe that when we pay attention to what we're doing and when we can set this big common goal, we can really see the impact of it all," Erickson said.

What happens next?

Read a book? Fill out a leaf.

And repeat.