Seth Johnson
For the second year, the Alachua County Library District (ACLD) will compete in Lerner Publishing Group’s fifth annual Winter Reading Challenge that runs from Jan. 1 to 31.
Libraries across the county and Canada encourage readers to log the number of minutes they read in January. Top libraries earn special author interviews and book collections.
Last year, the district set a goal of 60,000 minutes or 1,000 hours, but readers raced past the benchmark to log 682,484 minutes, securing a top six finish for ACLD.
Besides prizes for the library district, individual readers also won gift cards to local restaurants.
Adam Brooks, administrative services division director, said the district will give prizes to individuals again, but organizers are still working out the specifics.
Lerner set a tag of “Read for a Better World” for this year’s challenge and will open access to a number of themed ebooks that elaborate on the topic.
But Alachua County library users can count the minutes they spend reading any book toward the challenge.
To participate and log time, readers need to create an account on Beanstack. The website, or app, allows users to earn badges and track time spent in books.
Brooks said anything that encourages people to read—and thereby increase attention spans and expand their minds—is a plus.
Participants can visit the ACLD website for more information or sign up at Beanstack.