Submitted by the San Juan Island Library
The San Juan Island Library has been awarded $2,400 by the San Juan Island Community Foundation for two book groups that serve youth in the community. The funding, provided by private donors through the 2025 Fall SJI Cares Campaign, will help purchase over 200 books over the course of the next year that will be given to book group registrants.
The Library offers two book groups for young community members that meet monthly from September through May. The Upper Elementary Book Group serves youth in 3rd-5th grade, and the Teen Book Group serves tweens and teens in 6th-12th grade. Up to 12 participants of each book group receive a free copy of the assigned monthly book, which they read on their own time. Both groups gather in person at the Library where participants enjoy discussions, activities, snacks, and watching film adaptations.
Book groups are an essential library offering that facilitate the growth of literacy and social skills. Participants are encouraged to converse openly and learn to navigate civil discourse in a non-academic setting while exploring a variety of literature for recreational reading purposes. Youth Services Librarian Elizabeth Griffin, who runs both book groups, said, “I am consistently amazed by the enthusiasm that our participants display for engaging with literature outside of their preferred genres, and peers they might not usually spend time with. My goal is to create life-long readers who have the tools to develop a fuller understanding of the world they are growing up in.”
For more information, or to register a young person for either book group, please visit www.sjlib.org, call 360-378-2798, or inquire at the front desk. Library staff are available for any questions you have. Library programs and cards are free of charge to San Juan Island residents. In addition to its collections of books, videos, equipment, games, audiobooks, and other materials to loan, the library also provides public access computers, WiFi, and a suite of databases that patrons can access in the library or at home. Library hours are Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Tuesdays and Thursdays 10 a.m. to 8 p.m, Saturdays 10 a.m. to 5 p.m, and Sundays noon to 3 p.m.
