Welcome to the first official week of summer reading! So far we’ve had the Ice Cream Social, a few programs and sign ups for reading programs. But there is so much more to do. At this point you may be wondering how the program works this year. So here are the basics…
Kids elementary age and younger:
Sign up to log reading minutes in person in the children’s room. Or children can sign up online with their families with our Beanstack app and log minutes from anywhere. Prizes are available the week following the week logged. Children need to read 120 minutes a week to earn a prize.
Teens:
Sign up is online via Beanstack. The app can be used on any internet connected device. There is even a cell phone app! You can even use the library computers to log your minutes. Teens need just 300 minutes of reading to qualify for a prize and prizes can be picked up at the Information desk starting on July 5th!
Adults:
Beanstack is the main opportunity to log reading and activities. These will earn raffle tickets for gift card drawings each week. For those who need help signing up we have a quick start guide and can always provide assistance at the information desk. But if online apps aren’t your thing…we will collect minutes at the circulation desk. If you have read 300 minutes in that week, please ask for a raffle ticket for that week’s drawing. Winners will be contacted by phone.
How to Beanstack:
This year our Beanstack app is going to have a number of challenges, activities, and learning opportunities for the community. But the first step is signing up.
To sign up go to:
If it is the first time registering then follow the steps to sign up and enter your information. There will be an option to add additional family members at the end.
For returning individuals and families, log in with your information or follow the steps if you forgot your login credentials. If you are having trouble getting in stop by the information desk and we can look you up in Beanstack and help you get set up.
You can also use this guide for navigating the pages to log reading, activities, and events!
Summer fun with Beanstack!
- Reading minutes prizes and raffles
- Citizen Science Opportunities (Participate in real time science projects and enter to win a prize. Will also count for community service hours!)
- Bingo games for prizes
- Bee Kind Challenge for kids
- Merit badge challenges (Merit badges are back and you can earn one!)
- Updates on programming
- Learning challenges with links and reading suggestions
- Movie bingo
- And you can add friends and families and compete against each other on the community tab (Add friends and see who can read the most!)
And finally, The Community Challenge:
But with all these minutes we are collecting this summer we must do something, right!? So we will add them up, week by week, in the hopes that, as a city, Malden can read 5000 hours…collectively. And when we say reading, we mean not just books, but also audio books, articles online, newspapers, magazines, and any media you learn from over time, (honestly, true crime podcasts probably count too). So chart your reading each week, earn prizes and bragging rights and we will highlight your contributions on the lawn and on the board behind circ. With each small contribution, the number will grow, and help us toward our goals as a community. As we say: “Little things done together make a big impact”.
