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By Barbara Phillips Long, Shippensburg Bureau Chief

Last updated: Friday, June 15, 2007 10:11 PM EDT

Just as the party was supposed to start at the Shippensburg Public Library, thunderstorms blew through town and sent library staffers and volunteers scrambling to move the event inside.

The summer reading program for 2007, “Get a Clue,” had a damp launch Tuesday.

“It looked so promising this afternoon,” said Susan Sanders, the library director. “This is the time when a multipurpose room would really be helpful.”

The library was packed at about 7:20 p.m. - the only rooms without people were the reference room at the front right of the library and the small room where the magazines are stored. The sign-up tables were set up in the main reading room, people were streaming up and down the stairs to the children's collection and out the side and back doors, where ice cream and cookies were being distributed.

Plastic bags in the “Get a Clue” theme were being given out to everyone who signed up, and they turned out to be useful. The rain passed quickly, but outdoors the trees were dripping and it was humid.

Sandy Grant brought her three-year-old daughter to the library. “We come to Toddlertime pretty regularly,” she said. She'll read about five books a day to her daughter, if not more.

She wasn't fazed by the rain. “I'm glad it rained,” she said. “We need it.”

Waited out the rain

The Lights waited for the rain to let up before they came to the library. Becca Light, 7, will be in second grade at Grace B. Luhrs University Elementary School in the fall. She will try to read three books a week herself. She said she likes “mostly anything.”

While she polished off her ice cream, her mother Margaret Light said this is the first year Becca will be reading on her own. They live in Southampton Township, Franklin County, and come to the library when they can.

“This will bring us here once a week,” said Margaret Light, who also participates in the knitting group.

Tracy Papa works for the library and was signing up people for the “Read to Me” program for children age 3 and younger. She was a little disappointed by the rain.

“I always enjoy it when it is outside,” she said. She likes to hear the band play and watch the kids running around and having fun. “It makes you realize what a nice town we live in,” she said.

About 90 children and 60 adults came to the kick-of party Tuesday, despite the rain, said Lisa Rhinehart, the children's librarian. Last year about 300 people showed up for the event, but it wasn't raining then.

“We have plenty of room” in upcoming programs, which start Monday, said Rhinehart. There is “unlimited room” for people to sign on for the summer reading challenge.

Family uses the library

Isaac Covert, 7, had a book open on the floor and was already reading. He signed up to read about five books a week. He likes “funny books,” including Berenstein Bears and comic books. He will be a second-grader at James Burd Elementary School next fall.

His dad, Joel Covert, likes to read religious and spiritual books and thrillers, including works by Dan Brown and Ted Dekker. Emma Covert, who is 10, likes big books, Joel says. She reads Harry Potter, the Lemony Snicket books, and more.

“She reads and reads and reads,” her father said. “She read ‘Eragon' recently.” Her reading goal for the summer is about an hour and a half a day. She'll be in fifth grade at the intermediate school in the fall.

Joel Covert and his wife Michele came to Pennsylvania from the Cincinnati area so he could earn a master's degree at Shippensburg University. They liked the area so much they stayed. They live a few blocks from the library and he commutes to Mechanicsburg Middle School, where he is a counselor. They use the library regularly, borrowing books and videos and attending programs. The children also participate in Read to Dogs.

“Getting the books back on time is the trick,” he said, and added, “I think the library is the best-kept secret in Shippensburg. It's a gift to us in so many ways.”

FYI

The ice cream social at Shippensburg Public Library was for “Get a Clue,” the summer reading program, which will run through the end of July.

Library hours are 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.

Sign-ups are still being taken and anyone who wants to register can go to the library at 73 W. King St. in Shippensburg or call the library at 532-4508