2018 School Spending Survey Report
Libraries Catch on to '39 Clues'
Librarians play more of a lead role at the Dalton Community Library in Dalton, PA. There, program coordinator Janet Geeza and Celeste Cali, a school librarian at nearby Lackawanna Trail Elementary Center, meet with about a dozen fourth to sixth graders bimonthly, coordinating research tasks to help kids ferret clues in the story. "The 39 Clues" series has taken young readers by storm since the first book, The Maze of Bones, was published in September 2008. With the fourth book set to appear on June 2 (there are 10 planned), readership has only grown, spawned by the quest of a sister and brother, sent across the globe to unravel a family mystery. But it’s the detective work that attracts many children to the clues that are buried in the story, on the Web site, and through playing cards that come with each title. These let them help the Cahill siblings in their race for information. Each tale weaves geography, history, and even art lessons into the puzzles and narrative, making libraries the perfect spot to work the clues. And that connection was not lost to Scholastic, which put nearly four years of work into the project before printing the first title, carefully working the “subversively educational basis” into the story line, says David Levithan, vice president and editorial director of Scholastic Trade Publishing. “We knew it would have a library and school piece to it.” Farmington Library’s Lashgari seemed to know that as well, launching the library’s 39 Clues Club just as the first book appeared. To help propel interest in the club, she decided early on to buy regular copies of the book instead of library editions, which don’t come with the popular clue-backed playing cards. Lashgari gives cards away to kids at each meeting, and even buys additional packs to entice club members to come again. They work the clues on one of 10 computers in the library’s lab and track their efforts on a SMART Board. And if they also discover other events going on in the library while they’re there? So much the better, says Lashgari. “The more they come, the more they learn about the other programs that we do,” she says. “They’ve gotten comfortable and now they know the staff. We’re thrilled to have this age, because it’s the hardest to get in the door.” 
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