ANA to give away coins for children’s summer reading program
School-age children will receive coins from the American Numismatic Association (ANA) for participating in the Pikes Peak Library District’s award-winning Children’s Summer Reading Program in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
“We are co-sponsoring this program to reach out to young readers throughout the Colorado Springs area and introduce them to world of numismatics,” says ANA Education Director Gail Baker. “The old saying in numismatics – `buy the book before the coin’ – will get a boost from this program that encourages reading.”
Citing a reading research authority, Cathy Mathews of the Pikes Peak Library District says, “The best readers spend as much as 200 percent more time reading than poor readers. The library district wants to keep children reading during the summer by having them join its program.”
This summer’s program theme is “Once upon a time . . . tales to tell.” Designed for children through age 12, it offers incentives from nine sponsors to those reading a required number of books. The library district offers a separate program for young adults. Nearly 11,500 children registered for last year’s program – a 28-percent increase over the previous year –and more than 13,000 children attended more than 230 programs and special events during the nine-week program.
The ANA will give young readers participating in the program coins from 11 countries, including United States Buffalo nickels and Indian Head cents. The coins have been placed in protective sleeves along with a description of the enclosed piece. The world coins were donated by the Educational Coin Company of New York.
In addition to the coins, participants will receive the ANA’s “Faces of Time” coin collecting pamphlet and an invitation to visit the Association’s Money Museum when the $3 million renovation is completed on July 14.
The ANA gave State quarter boards for distribution to young readers of the public library district, which serves 450,000 area residents through 11 branches. The Association also provided a suggested reading list, and copies of its Money Talks radio script book and the ABC’s of Money, while the library district added to its collection of numismatic books. The district reports that more than 310,000 children’s items were checked out during last year’s summer reading program.
The Pikes Peak Library District is sending out 55,000 flyers about its Children’s Summer Reading Program to area schools, and will promote its local cable television channel and web site (www.ppld.org).
The ANA Money Museum and Library are temporarily closed during a $3 million renovation and technological enhancement of its facilities. The ANA’s original building is more than three decades old, and some of its facilities literally were bursting at the seams. When completed in July, both facilities will re-open to the public with no admission fee. Fred Fletemeyer Company of Colorado Springs is the general contractor working on the remodeling project with plans prepared by the architectural firm of RTA Inc., also of Colorado Springs.
For more information, contact the American Numismatic Association, 818 N. Cascade Ave., Colorado Springs, CO 80903-3279; telephone 719/632-2646; fax 719/634-4085; or visit the ANA web site at www.money.org.
Originally Release Date: April 25, 2001
ANA Contacts: Phone: 719-482-9872
Email: pr@money.org