The Columbus-Lowndes Public Library System (CLPLS) will host its first Winter Reading Challenge via its Beanstack reading platform, to be held from Jan. 1, 2021 to March 1, 2021. Those who read 10 books over the three-month period are eligible to enter a prize drawing for gift cards at the end of challenge.
“The Winter Reading Challenge is hosted by our Beanstack service and is in partnership with Simon & Schuster’s Books Like Us program to promote reading diverse books by diverse authors,” said Tori Hopper, the children’s and teen librarian at CLPLS. “Simon & Schuster will monitor the numbers over the course of January and depending on how our community responds to this challenge, the library could be eligible to win virtual author events from the publisher.”
The library’s Beanstack platform can be accessed via mobile application or on a computer, while paper options will be available at all library branches beginning Jan. 1. The challenge requires readers to complete 10 books and allows participants to track their minutes read, scan book barcodes for easy logging, and more.
“This is a wonderful way to kick off 2021. Especially with encouraging participants to read diverse titles and authors,” said Erin Busbea, library director. “As a whole it will help reaffirm the value of inclusivity within our own community.”
Simon & Schuster’s Books Like Us is a celebration of diversity, harnessing the transformative power of seeing oneself reflected in a book. Authors highlighted in the Winter Reading Challenge include Cozbi Cabrera, Sharon Draper, Stuart Gibbs, Stephen Graham Jones, Hena Khan, Debbie Ohi, Christina Hammonds Reed and Rebecca Roanhorse.
For more information or to register for the reading challenge, visit lowndes.beanstack.org or contact the library at 662-329-5300.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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