Magician Richard Landry returns to Lincoln Public Library by popular demand [July 01, 2015]  LINCOLN - The Lincoln Public Library was again the place to be Thursday morning. The library’s summer reading program brought magician Richard Landry and his magic white rabbit ‘Snowball’ back for an encore performance. The Annex building was filled with young readers and their parents, testifying to the popularity of the program. According to youth services librarian Melissa Oxborrow, almost 450 kids are participating this year in the summer reading program, which offers a multitude of engaging programs. Melissa stresses that there is still time to enroll in the program.

The Lincoln Public Library is located at 725 Pekin St., with adult nonfiction and reference materials in the historic Carnegie Building. The Annex directly behind houses adult fiction and the Youth Services Department. All library events are free and open to the public. Online, visit www.lincolnpubliclibrary.org. Hours are Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9 a.m.-7 p.m.; and Saturdays, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Phone [phone] for adult services and 217-732-5732 for youth services.

The summer reading program this year has a change in format. Each family will set their own goal for reading adventure. They can choose a goal of number of pages read, number of books, or time spent reading.

At the end of the program, the young readers will receive prizes for achieving their reading goal. “The most prized item is the Lincoln Public Library summer reading program signature T-shirt,” said Oxborrow. The cost to purchase the T-shirts is underwritten by area businesses. According to Oxborrow, kids who earn the T-shirts are so proud of them that they keep them even after they have been outgrown.

Richard Landry has been performing magic at libraries, schools, churches, and senior centers for thirty years. He decided to go full time twelve years ago. His themed performances stress reading, respect for others, saying no to drugs, making the world bully free. He hails from Chatham and was a children’s minister for twenty-five years.

“Reading makes you smarter and more imaginative,” he stressed to the overflow crowd at the Lincoln Public Library.

The next program in the summer reading program at the Lincoln Public Library will be Thursday, July 2. Contact Youth Services at the library at 217-732-5732 for details.

[Curt Fox]