RAPID CITY, S.D. — If you haven’t picked up a good book lately, now is a good time to do it.
The nation’s 250th birthday is this year and the library is holding a reading challenge to celebrate that special event and at the same time encourage the community to pick up a good book.
The 250th Reading Challenge at the library takes place throughout 2026.
The challenge to the community is simple – read 250,000 books.
You don’t have to be a library patron to participate, the reading challenge is a community event.
“The community participating in this is just going to show unity and support for our community and the ongoing education. And I think that the more people participate, the more it’s going to build momentum and get people excited. And I just am really happy to see that people are really embracing this and wanting to celebrate our nation in this way,” said Laurinda Tapper, Public Relations Coordinator, Rapid City Public Library.
This challenge isn’t just for the young readers – there are three categories of readers – children, teen and adult.
All reading levels and ages are encouraged to participate.
“It is important for all ages to be reading throughout their lives, because it helps build literacy skills, and it also helps us grow in what we know, and also reading is shown to build empathy. And so that’s just so important right now that we are keeping ourselves informed,” Tapper said.
If reading alone wasn’t reward enough to join the challenge, each month readers earn an entry into the month’s prize drawing – January’s winner will get four center-ice tickets from the Rapid City Rush.
“Every reader is at a different level, and what’s important is, is that we want you to read things that you enjoy, because that keeps you reading. And so this is just one of those ways to challenge yourself, to find what you enjoy and to just keep reading,” Tapper said.
Get involved with the reading challenge by visiting the library or
going to the library’s website to learn more
.
Jerry Steinley has lived in the Black Hills most of his life and calls Rapid City home. He received a degree in Journalism with a minor in Political Science from Metropolitan State University in Denver in 1994.