Christian County Library’s Winter Reading Challenge begins January 1. Here’s how it works:
- All ages can participate.
- Read and log your minutes at https://christiancountylibrary.beanstack.org between January 1st and 31st.
- For every hour you log in a week, you’ll be entered in our Tuesday drawing for a $25 Amazon gift card, with a bonus drawing on February 1st.
- Follow, like, and share our Winter Reading Challenge posts on Facebook or Twitter to help us increase impact!
- Your reading contributes to our local goal of one million minutes, and the national goal of five million minutes, which, if achieved, means some worthy charities will receive some money!
Read on to learn more:
Billionaire investor and Shark Tank personality Mark Cuban has announced his sponsorship of the Second Annual Beanstack Winter Reading Challenge in support of public libraries and school systems throughout the United States. This year, Mr. Cuban challenges over 250 schools and libraries, including Christian County Library, to meet a collective goal of reading at least five million minutes and 75,000 books during the month of January. If achieved, Cuban pledges to donate $35,000 to the top-performing libraries and schools.
Christian County Library has set a goal of one million minutes. This may sound ambitious, but with the help of local teachers encouraging their students, participants from Christian County read more than 800,000 minutes in last year’s Winter Reading Challenge. “We’re confident that we have a lot of enthusiastic readers that are going to help us meet this goal,” said the library’s Youth Services Director Dana Roberts.
Participants in this year’s Winter Reading Challenge, which begins January 1 and runs through the end of the month, will use Beanstack, a web and mobile application, to track self-directed reading time and help build a culture of reading in school and at home. The software makes it easier for students and families to track reading and stay motivated while providing insights and data about reading habits to school and library administrators. Access Beanstack for free with your library card at christiancountylibrary.beanstack.com. In Christian County, readers of any age who report at least an hour of reading during a week will be entered into a weekly drawing for a $25 Amazon gift card.
“Now, more than ever, we are distracted by screens and don’t take the time to simply read. But research shows the power of reading for as little as 6-minutes a day and I personally make time to read every morning,” says Cuban. “This Winter Reading Challenge gives us the opportunity to inspire people around the world to read more. What better resolution to have than to start the New Year with a good book!” Cuban became an investor in Zoobean after the founders impressed him with their vision on Shark Tank in 2013.
Christian County Library will announce the results of the Winter Reading Challenge in February. Call the library at (417)581-2432 for more information. Library cards are free to all Christian County residents.