Dormont Library’s Summer Reading Program will be held from June 15 through August 10. This year’s theme is “Adventure Begins at Your Library.”

Join us on Saturday, June 15 at 12 Noon for our Kick-Off Party, featuring a presentation from Pittsburgh’s own Moonshot Museum!

Embark on a high-octane lunar science expedition complete with colorful chemistry, spellbinding spaceflight animations, theatric audience participation, and a sneak peek at the riveting work of local space industry professionals.

Discover intrepid robots exploring the Moon and hear from the incredible team on the ground that makes it all possible. Map the Moon from orbit, touchdown on ancient volcanic rocks, and voyage to the Moon’s South Pole with Pittsburgh-built spacecraft. America is returning to the Moon, and Pittsburgh is leading the way!

This program is family friendly and geared for students going into elementary school.

Then, sign up for the Reading Challenge or some of our special programs!

Saturday, August 10: Summer Reading Ending Party! (All Ages)

Visit prehistoric Earth in the time of the dinosaurs. We will also show The Land Before Time. This is also the final day to log books for the Reading Challenge.

Reading Challenge

This year, you can choose between logging your reading with the Beanstack online reading tracker, or on paper at the library. (Stickers will be available if you want to make a creative reading log.)

The goal for kids is to read 5 books during the program.
The goal for adults is to read 3 books during the program.

Additional prizes can be earned for reading more books after the goal, up to a maximum of 50 books for children and 25 for adults. And you can keep reading after that just for the bragging rights!

Registration for the Reading Challenge will open June 15.

Reading Challenges (Birth-12th Grade)

To participate, read a book and stop in at the library or use Beanstack to log it. You can read any book in any format: fiction, nonfiction, manga, graphic novels, audiobooks, ebooks, and so on. Very young children can participate by having a parent or a trusted adult read a book to them and then log it.

When registering for the challenge, or picking up your prizes for the first time if you use Beanstack, we will start a sticker log for you and ask you to log your reading time in addition to just the titles you have read. This is important information the State Library of Pennsylvania asks us to record.

Books logged for the challenge should be checked out from Dormont Public Library, but this isn’t a requirement.

We recommend that kids and young adults read books for the challenge which are appropriate for their reading ability.

Guidelines and Prizes

Earn candy or a sticker for every book you read. (For birth-preschool readers, listening to a book read by another person counts as well.)
At 5 books read, you’ve completed the program and will earn a completion certificate and a prize.

  • Teens and young adults can pick a chocolate bar.
  • Elementary school-aged readers can choose a special prize.
  • Preschool readers can choose a special prize.

For every 5 books after the initial 5, earn a small prize:

  • Elementary and preschool readers can choose a prize from the toy chest.

At 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 books read, teens and elementary school readers earn a raffle ticket.

  • For teens, there are separate raffle drawings for 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 books read, and if you are chosen from any of the 5 boxes, you will receive a $10 Target gift card.
  • For elementary school readers, there is one raffle box and 3 winners will be chosen to receive a $10 Target gift card.
  • Raffle drawings will be held after the end of the Summer Reading Program in August, and we will call the winners.

Everyone who makes it to 50 books read will earn a trophy and a special certificate.
The person who reads the most in each age bracket will earn 2 free Kennywood passes (1 for teens).
All prizes must be picked up in person at Dormont Library.

Reading Challenges (Adults)

To participate, read a book and stop in at the library or use Beanstack to log it. You can read any book in any format: fiction, nonfiction, manga, graphic novels, audiobooks, ebooks, and so on.

Books logged for the challenge should be checked out from Dormont Public Library, but this isn’t a requirement.

Prizes

For reading 3 books, a milestone prize is awarded. For each additional 3 books up to 24 books read, another milestone prize can be claimed, with a final bonus prize at 25 books read.

All prizes must be claimed in person at Dormont Public Library.

About Beanstack

This year, we would like to ask families to participate in the Summer Reading Program at the library, since we have a variety of in-person incentives you might miss out on by participating virtually. We are still offering the Beanstack reading tracker as an alternative for families who would not otherwise be able to participate.

You can use Beanstack through any web browser, or download the Beanstack Tracker app from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. (Note: The Beanstack Tracker app offers in-app purchases, but these purchases are NOT necessary to participate in library sponsored challenges. Participating in library-sponsored programming is FREE OF CHARGE.)

Register in your browser
‎Beanstack Tracker
‎Beanstack Tracker
Price: Free
Beanstack Tracker
Beanstack Tracker
Price: Free

No Internet or mobile device access? No problem. Call 412-531-8754 anytime that we’re open, and we can create a Beanstack account or update reading logs for you.

You may see a Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh logo on the registration site and “carnegie” in the website address; we are grateful to CLP for their assistance in setting up the Beanstack app for all county libraries to use.

Summer Storytimes

Storytimes will be held weekly on Tuesdays at 1:30 PM and Thursdays at 10:30 AM and 1:30 PM.

  • Week 1: Camping
  • Week 2: Sloths
  • Week 3: Otters
  • Week 4: Snakes
  • Week 5: Tigers
  • Week 6: Alligators
  • Week 7: Butterflies
  • Week 8: Pandas

Family Activity Days

An all-ages family storytime with an activity that everyone can do together. These will be on the 2nd & 4th Saturdays of the month during Summer Reading.

  • June 22: Dragons
  • July 13: Jungle Adventure
  • July 27: Space Adventure
  • August 10: Dinosaurs (Part of the Ending Party)

Adults: Finding Your Creative Voice

Adults 18 and over are invited to express themselves on the 2nd Tuesday monthly from 6:30 to 8 PM. Try your hand at one or all of these artistic endeavors:

June 11: Filter Hydrangeas
July 9: Colorful Suncatchers
August 13: Honeybee Hives

We’ll provide the materials for each of these projects, as well as hands-on assistance if necessary.

Special Events

Registration is requested for most events. To register, please use our online events calendar or call 412-531-8754.

Tuesday, June 18, 6 PM: Nihonga Traditional Japanese Painting and Sumi-e Workshop (Adults)

Join the Japan-America Society of Pennsylvania (JASP) for a lecture about these two types of Japanese painting. Light hors d’oeuvres and beverages will be provided. Registration is required; please register directly with the JASP.

Tuesday, June 25, 6:30 PM: Pittsburgh to the Moon Lecture (Adults)

Moonshot Museum will discuss Pittsburgh’s contributions to the future of space exploration. Meet the fleet of robotic landers and rovers, under construction on Pittsburgh’s Northside, that will return America to the lunar surface. Using astronomy visualization software, explore lunar craters, mountains, and “seas.” Explore the predictive power of science fiction in shaping visions for future lunar settlements.

PDF Schedule & Full Events Calendar

Download or print a copy of the schedule here, or come to the library and pick up a copy!

To see a list of all upcoming events in strict chronological order, click here.