Every year, Central Rappahannock Regional Library (CRRL) offers customers its Summer Reading Challenge. The challenge is open to all those with CRRL cards, including those who get Talking Books, and runs June 1 through August 31.
Summer Reading encourages participants to read a wide variety of books in genres they may not otherwise check out, explore the library’s website and services, and learn more about the local area through reading and activity challenges. Completing challenges earns participants points, which they can put towards drawings for possible prizes, such as tablets, gift cards, book bundles, and more!
A Fresh Design
This year, CRRL will be offering its challenge using a new interface called Beanstack, which is a website designed to manage library reading challenges. You can log into Beanstack online through the library’s Beanstack website or by downloading the Beanstack Tracker App (by Zoobean) to your smartphone or tablet. Since the interface is new, some participants may have questions about what it is—and how accessible it is. The good news is that Beanstack is very accessible, and a lot of Talking Books libraries use it!
Beanstack’s accessibility features include:
- A design that integrates with a wide range of screen readers and dictation tools.
- Simplified page layouts and structure, which makes the site easy to navigate.
- Adjustable color settings to boost contrast/visibility. This is done by going to Setup and clicking Customize Colors.
Some users may want more detailed descriptions or walk-throughs about how to use the library's Beanstack website. While Beanstack itself is still working to develop these, Lisa J. Hellman, the Youth Services Librarian at the Wolfner Talking Books and Braille Library, has created a host of videos that discuss how to sign up to use Beanstack and how to log the books you’re reading and activities you’re completing, as well as providing an overview of Beanstack itself. These can be viewed at https://www.sos.mo.gov/wolfner/programming/
Get Involved in Summer Reading
If you haven’t signed up for CRRL’s Summer Reading challenge yet, or would like to learn more about the program, please visit http://www.librarypoint.org/summer. You can also contact Access Services with any questions.
