Maricopa County Reads

Maricopa County Reads is the award-winning summer reading program provided by the Maricopa County Library District to all public, tribal and military base libraries within Maricopa County. The primary goal of the program is to interrupt the summer slide, the common term given to the learning loss experienced by children while transitioning between school years. The secondary aim of the program is to promote early literacy among pre-readers (ages 0-4) and their families during the summer months.

Several approaches are employed to accomplish these goals:

Interrupt the Summer Slide

Advance Early Literacy Skills

Build Home Libraries

Emphasize the Fun of Reading

Connect Readers with Community Experiences

The Maricopa County Reads online summer reading program began in the summer of 2013. It has continued to grow, and now hosts 65 public, tribal and military base libraries within Maricopa County. More than 80,000 children, teens, and adults participate in the program annually.


The Great Reading Adventure

The Great Reading Adventure summer reading program software was developed by Maricopa County Library District with support from the Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records, a division of the Secretary of State, and federal funds from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

The Great Reading Adventure software is an open source project that is available free to any interested library. Maricopa County Library District continues to act as a steward for this project by improving the software, accepting code updates from contributors, and responding to questions via the Great Reading Adventure forum.