Suffolk Public Libraries Summer Tour kicks off, challenging families to explore 65 locations

If you visit your local library this summer, don’t be surprised if it’s unusually busy.

The second annual Suffolk County Public Libraries Summer Tour kicked off on Monday, and county residents are perusing the archives at 65 different locations. 

From now until Aug. 31, library-goers can pick up a tour booklet with a full list and map of participating locations.

“We all know our home libraries so well,” said Derek Ivie, system youth services coordinator. “But this is a chance now to get out into other communities, explore other places on Long Island, and see what other libraries might have to offer.”

When visiting a library, participants must find its unique wooden artifact and write what it is in the space provided in the booklet, then show it to a librarian to receive a stamp. A new feature, the scavenger hunt, encourages participants to stay longer and get a better look at each facility, said Ivie.

When visitors collect five, 15 and 25 stamps, the Suffolk Cooperative Library System enters their name into a raffle for prizes like Barnes & Noble gift cards and a Nook e-reader. Anyone who completes 25 library visits will receive a Summer Library Tour Patch.

While there are 56 libraries in Suffolk County, Ivie said they award visitors for seeing 25 because of their widespread locations. Several libraries have multiple branches, resulting in a total of 65 participating libraries.

Last year’s tour was such a great success, they had to bring it back for a second year, Ivie said. The system recorded 37,000 visitors during the tour, according to its website.

Beth Sullivan, head of children’s services at the West Islip public library, said on Wednesday, three days into the tour, they’ve received so many visitors that she had to request more booklets.

“I figured that it would be at least a week, if not two in, before we'd have to request more,” she said.

Ivie said this year's theme, “Adventure Begins At Your Library,” reflects on why the tour is so popular, and gives patrons a chance to get outside and see parts of Suffolk County they otherwise would not have a reason to visit.

“Other than you having to drive around, and maybe buy some ice cream along the way, it's really about going to the place, the library, where it's open to everyone,” he said. “This is an opportunity for people to really get out there.”

Mandy Aguiar, of East Islip, visited 25 libraries in a single day with her children, Adam Collazo, 12, and Kaia Collazo, 5.

The family started out in their home library of East Islip Public Library on July 1, the first day of the tour, and had reached about 12 or 13 when Aguiar realized they could complete the 25.

“We were only planning on doing a few that day,” she said. “We’re making really good timing, and I was like, how neat would it be if we could do all 25 in one day.”

Aguiar said her children enjoyed seeing all of the different libraries, as they are already avid readers. Since time was of the essence, they appreciated the scavenger hunt, as it allowed them to get a taste of each library.

The mom of two said she took notes of each library so that they can return there this summer and spent more time in each location. They also plan to visit all the participating libraries.

“There’s places that we didn’t know existed,” said Aguiar. “We went to Cold Spring Harbor, and that was our first time going out there. Not only is the architecture of the building beautiful but the water is nearby, we passed the whaling museum. So now we know we want to go back.”

Corinn Masson, of Sayville, said she was ecstatic to learn of the tour’s return, as she and her family visited all the locations participating last year. She learned of the tour last July when she visited her home library, Sayville Library, to sign up for summer reading with her children Cassie Masson, 20, Paul Masson, 5, and Melanie Masson, 3.

“Initially, it was a joke,” she said. “We didn't think you really go to every library and enjoy them.”

The mom of three was proved wrong as she completed the challenge, visiting four to five libraries a day, starting off on the East End and making their way back home. Masson said she was enchanted by each library, as each had its own unique architecture, location, history, resources and curated displays.

Venturing out to different towns allowed her family to be tourists on Long Island. The Baiting Hollow Free Library, she learned, which is only open two days a week, was created out of a church. The Cutchogue New Suffolk Free Library is in the center of a sunflower field, while the Elwood Public Library is in a former Blockbuster video store.

They also journeyed to the Shelter Island Public Library — the only library where you must travel by ferry from Long Island to visit.

“Why would I ever go out to Montauk, just to go to their library?” said Masson, but she was amazed by the Montauk Library’s rooftop garden and scenic views. “We just saw so many things.”

Masson said the tour encouraged her children’s love of reading. The family would gravitate toward each library’s children’s section, many of which had outdoor play areas.

When school started in September, her son said, “We haven't been to a library in weeks, what's happening?”

This year, she plans to visit libraries that were not participating last year due to renovations, such as the new Medford branch of the Patchogue-Medford Library. She also hopes to return to Shelter Island.

She encouraged anyone participating not to treat the tour as a race but as a journey, and set aside at least a half hour at every library to soak in all it has to offer.

“Not one single children's department looked like the next,” she said. “It’s so reflective of the people that work there, the space, in the history of the building. If you feel like you've seen one, you've seen them all — you haven't.”

Correction: The Baiting Hollow Free Library was created out of a church. An earlier version of this story misidentified the library.