Children's librarian Abby Kingsbury talks about the library's upcoming summer programs.

Abby Kingsbury reads to a group of youngsters at the public library. (Photo by Lisa Aciukewicz)

Press: How did you become interested in becoming a librarian?

Kingsbury: I have always been passionate about two things—literature, especially children's literature, and working with children. It was a very natural progression to take those passions and merge them together to become a children's librarian.

Press: How long have you been a children's librarian?

Kingsbury: I have been at the Harvard Public Library for five-and-a-half years.

Press: What do you like most about your job?

Kingsbury: That's a tough question, since I truly love everything about my job. I love interacting with children and adults; I love running story times and book groups; I love reading book reviews and ordering new books for the children's section; and I love planning the summer reading program and finding great performers to bring to the library. So, perhaps I most like the variety of responsibilities in my job—there's never a dull moment!

Press: Who is your favorite author?

Kingsbury: Another tough question, since it's so hard to pick just one! I'm a Jane Austen fan, and I also love Norton Juster, Gabrielle Zevin, Jane Langton, and Henry James.

Press: We have an impressive list of children's authors and illustrators who were sojourners in Harvard. Can you name a few of them?

Kingsbury: Sure. Louisa May Alcott, T.A. Barron, Chris Van Dusen, Don Lessem, Greg Wenzel, Monica Vachula, Sarah Dillard, Mike Hulit, and Maggie Smith.

Press: Tell me about the weekly programs the children's section offers.

Kingsbury: During the school year, the weekly programs in the children's room include the Mother Goose on the Loose story time for infants to 2-year-olds; the story time for 2s and 3s; the preschool story time for children ages 4 to 7; the Thursday afternoon Game Hour, which is run by teen volunteers; Saturday story times for preschoolers, also run by teen volunteers; and there is usually at least one meeting of a book group. The children's staff and I run book groups for third-, fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-graders, as well as two teen book groups. We also have family movie night on designated Fridays, for which you have to preregister, and drop-in movie night geared for teens and adults on designated Thursdays.

Press: Tell me about the summer program.

Kingsbury: The Friends of the Harvard Public Library supports almost all of the children's programs, from performers to story times. This year's summer reading program promises to be the best ever! I've just finished visiting every class at Hildreth Elementary School to talk to the kids about the summer reading program, and I've never seen such a high level of enthusiasm and excitement. The Boston Bruins are one of the sponsors of the statewide summer reading program again this year (their third year as a sponsor), and are offering some great Bruins prizes to several lucky children in the state, like signed hockey pucks and jerseys, and their participation is a huge incentive to be a part of the summer reading program. And then there are the HPL-specific parts of summer reading, like lots of great programs: Trevor the Games Man will be presenting an Outdoor Games Spectacular; Mike the Bubble Man will be doing a program on the science and magic of bubbles; Davis Bates and Roger Tincknell, perennial favorites in Harvard, will be singing songs and telling stories from cultures all around the world; we'll have two meetings each of the Scrabble Club and the Lego Club; Winston the therapy dog will be returning for the very popular "Paws and Read" program, in which kids get to sit in the story room and read to Winston, who is a great listener; Robert Rivest, comic mime, will present Humorous Stories from Around the World; and there will be five movie nights, the Ice Cream Social, book group meetings, and story times. Most importantly, children are encouraged to keep track of the time they spend reading and are rewarded for that time with prizes and Heifer voting tickets. As in the past several years, the Friends of the Harvard Public Library will be making a charitable donation, this year to Heifer International. Summer reading participants will earn one voting ticket for each hour read, to vote for which animal they'd like the library to donate to Heifer International. And readers who read for 30 hours or more earn a book plate to be put into a library book; the book plate will list the participant's name and total number of hours read over the summer.

Press: Are there any new programs or materials that you've recently added?

Kingsbury: My favorite new circulating item is the CD Book Kits for younger children. It contains a book and a CD reading of that book packaged together in a sturdy plastic box.

And my favorite new program will be starting this summer at the library. It is called the Book Gobblers. We already have a large number of story times for younger children so this new program is geared specifically for grades 1 to 5. I'll be reading aloud from longer, more sophisticated picture books, selections from chapter books, and even poetry.

The HPL is open Monday to Saturday. Children's story times are Mondays at 10:30 and 11:05 a.m., Tuesdays at 10:30 a.m., Thursdays at 10:30, and Saturdays at 11:00. People interested in knowing the weekly story time themes or registering for special programs and family movie nights should call the Children's Room at 978-456-2381 or visit harvardpubliclibrary.org.