When Queens’ librarians say they will do anything to get local children in their libraries to read more, they mean anything. Daniel Meyer, a children’s librarian in Kew Gardens Hills, is one of a cadre of librarians who challenge their summer readers with the promise of a wacky stunt at the end of the season. This year, he promised: to go up on the roof and play the fiddle. On August 29, he did just that (well, it was an automated fiddle). While the whole neighborhood was preparing for the onslaught of Hurricane Irene, Meyer dressed like the character in the play and ascended to the library’s roof. After his fiddling debut, he threw bubble-wrapped gifts down to the eagerly-waiting children.
Queens Library’s Summer Reading Program is one of the best ways borough’s kids boost their academic success; children who read over the summer retain more learning when school begins in the fall. Queens Library at Kew Gardens Hills had 1,100 readers registered out of more 85,000 who participated in the program borough-wide. Meyer has a legacy of photo-worthy challenges. Last year, he dressed as Cinderella, complete with a wig.
Librarians in Queens try to out-do one another with stunts to keep young readers interested. On September 2, Sueli Zaquem at Queens Library at Hollis will kick-off a “green” initiative to walk 20 miles; she had promised her kids one mile for every 200 books they read, and they outdid themselves with 4,000 books! On September 8, Susan Scatena at Queens Library at Whitestone will kiss a live frog and turn into a princess. Scatena is responsible for past spectacles as dressing in a chicken-suit and doing the Chicken Dance on the library’s steps.
