Oberndorf is “hot for reading”: 339 books for summer reading – Oberndorf & surroundings

In 2024, the Oberndorf Public Library will continue the positive response – and has another real innovation on offer: a “blind date” is intended to entice adults to read.

68 students take part

All 68 participants received a festival wristband and an invitation to the closing party in the lecture hall of the Schwedenbau when they registered. There, the guests were treated to drinks, popcorn and sweets by the staff of the city library. They were excitedly awaiting the awards ceremony in the presence of Mayor Matthias Winter, who acted as an impartial lucky charm and reached deep into the lottery box six times for the coveted prizes.

Previously, Verena Jaburg, the director of the city library, had announced encouraging figures: During the period from July 16 to September 7, 46 girls and 22 boys read a total of 339 books. Among them were 53 primary school students and 15 children from secondary schools.

Record-breaking performance

Lotte Stapf, the frontrunner, received great praise and special applause. She had devoured 20 books in just eight weeks over the summer.

Noah Rötzer was delighted to win first place in the raffle. He received a beach towel and a voucher for a season ticket for the Oberndorf outdoor pool for the 2025 swimming season. Book vouchers worth 15 euros went to Mika Lemperle, Solveig Diffenhard, Ben Kaupp, Lea Sophia Regele and Emily Engelke. Mayor Matthias Winter and Verena Jaburg congratulated the lucky winners, handed out participation certificates to everyone present and invited everyone to the film screening afterwards.

“Action” at the closing party

As a well-deserved reward for all young readers, Verena Jaburg had selected the funny animated film “My Chaos Fairy & I” from the city library’s media selection, which everyone enjoyed. In it, a girl in the grey city who would rather go back to the countryside and nature, and a lost fairy who failed the tooth fairy test form a perfect duo for an adventure full of magical chaos and blossoming imagination.

What is behind the project

This year, 257 libraries in Baden-Württemberg are taking part in the “Hot for Reading” campaign. In the Freiburg administrative district, the reading club campaign will celebrate its tenth anniversary in 2024 with 43 libraries participating. It is coordinated by the Department of Public Libraries of the Regional Council and is under the patronage of Regional President Carsten Gabbert.

The aim is to promote reading and text comprehension and media skills in children and young people from first grade to teens. The focus is on promoting reading, making reading fun and encouraging further visits to the library, even after the campaign has ended.

“Blind Date with a Book” celebrates its premiere

But it wasn’t just children who were addressed this year. For the first time, the public library also turned to adults during the summer trust of “Hot for Reading”. They were invited to a “blind date with a book” and were allowed to borrow books wrapped in neutral paper without being able to take a look at the title or cover beforehand.

Whether it was a romance novel, science fiction, crime novel or historical novel, only the genre and the first two sentences written on the book packages allowed conclusions to be drawn about the content. All submitted evaluation cards were entered into a separate raffle with a rating for the respective “blind date”.

Also back in 2025

Verena Jaburg reported that the 58 responses included everything from “mistakes” to “bull’s eye”. Ingrid Blasberg, Ingrid Benedix and Martina Harder won a one-year membership.

Jaburg was very satisfied with the progress of the reading events for children and adults and has already announced that he will be offering “Hot for Reading” and “Blind Date with a Book” again next year.