Level Up Your Summer at the Library! Free Summer Reading Kickoff is Thursday, May 29 at Botanical Center

The all-ages Level Up at Your Library Summer Reading Kickoff is Thursday, May 29, from 4 pm to 6:30 pm at the Quad City Botanical Center, 2525 4^th Avenue, Rock Island. Co-hosted with the Botanical Center, the event offers summer reading registration for all ages, yard games, a scavenger hunt, bubble station, free popcorn, and activity stations from area organizations. Water stations will be provided, so bring a refillable water bottle. Free popcorn is courtesy of sponsor Gas & Electric Credit Union (GECU.) The event is free and open to all.

The Rock Island Library2Go mobile bookmobile and QC Botanical Center’s Plant Discovery Bus will be on hand to offer information and activities. Participants can also pick up Level Up at Your Library Summer Reading yard signs to help encourage continued reading over the summer. The Botanical Center Children’s Garden water feature and Storybook Landscapes will be open extended hours with free admission to the grounds during the event.

Activity station partners include Girl Scouts of Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois, Hauberg Estate, MetroLINK, Martin Luther King Community Center, Midwest Writing Center, QC Canine Assistance Network reading therapy dogs, QC Wild Ones, Rock Island Corps of Engineers, Rock Island Parks and Recreation, Spring Forward Learning Center, The Figge, and WQPT PBS TV. Guests earn their first activity badge for attending the event.

In the event of rain, activities move inside the Botanical Center.

Level Up at Your Library is an all-ages summer reading program themed around puzzles and games. Participants earn rewards by keeping track of reading minutes and library activities. Registration, half-way, and finishing prizes reward readers who meet time and activity goals. The challenge is open to anyone from anywhere. (Pro-tip - participate in more than one local library challenge to maximize summer fun!)

To participate in the free reading challenge, register and log via the Beanstack website or app, or pick up a paper reading log. The paper log is available at Rock Island library locations, including the library website.

All summer reading counts towards goals, including print books, eBooks, comics, audiobooks, and books heard at storytimes. Activity levels include attending events, checking out special items, reading with friends or family, and trying out library resources. By leveling up their summer reading, participants will help the library meet its community goal of 500,000 collective reading minutes.

Tracking of reading and activities starts June 1 and ends July 31. For more details, visit the RIPL summer reading page. 

Examples of the 150 free events available this summer include Shadowland Serpents presentation, Dragon Training Academy, Sip n Paint, Family Tie Dye, weekly activities for school age kids, a board game day, non-fiction book club in Longview Park, library mini-golf, self-care, crafts, and more ways to learn and grow. The summer events wrap up with a Petting Zoo in the Park, sponsored by Rock Island Township.

For more upcoming events, visit the library’s website, call 309-732-READ, or follow the Rock Island Library Facebook and Instagram social media sites.

Library events are free and open to all. For more information about library events and services, visit the library website, call 309-732-7323 (READ,) or follow library social media pages.

Level Up at the Rock Island Library this summer for growth, connection, learning, and discovery. Involving the whole family in summer reading demonstrates reading as a fun leisure time activity that lasts for life. By motivating continued reading over the summer, library summer reading programs keep skills sharp and reduce summer learning loss. Move ahead to any Rock Island Public Library space for free summer reading fun, June 1 to July 31, 2025.