Sept. 17, 2025

TULSA, Okla. --- A fun bonus of Tulsa City-County Library’s Summer Reading Program is the Mayoral Challenge to see which community in Tulsa County has the most eager readers. 

  This friendly competition encourages readers in Tulsa, Skiatook, Sand Springs, Sperry, Collinsville, Broken Arrow, Owasso, Glenpool, Jenks and Bixby to keep the pages turning all summer. The city with the highest percentage of children and teens enrolled in the Summer Reading Program earns a certificate and bragging rights for being a community of active readers.

    With 35% of each of their town’s youth under age 18 participating, both Collinsville and Bixby earned the “2025 Summer Reading Program Mayoral Challenge Winner” title. The Skiatook and Jenks communities were next with 31% and 28% participation respectively.

  “The Collinsville community truly embraced everything our library had to offer during this year’s Summer Reading Program,” said Devin McCullough, Collinsville Library manager. “As Collinsville continues to grow and evolve, it’s inspiring to see both longtime residents and newcomers prioritizing the importance of reading and learning for their children. This commitment to nurturing young minds, regardless of how much the community changes, speaks volumes about the values that define our town. I extend a heartfelt thanks to everyone who continues to support the library and ensures the next generation will develop a lifelong love for reading and a passion for learning.”

  Over the nine-week program, Bixby youth read 14,262 books and Collinsville children read 13,044 books, but thousands of readers across Tulsa County helped make the 2025 Summer Reading Program a success. Overall, more than 66,000 readers of all ages signed up for the program and read over 520,000 books. Throughout the summer, more than 1,260 programs kept all ages visiting the library for entertaining and educational events.

  “At Bixby Library, we see firsthand how the Summer Reading Program keeps kids excited about books, builds confidence and helps families make reading a fun tradition,” said Tori Hamilton, Bixby Library manager. “I know I speak for all of the Bixby Library staff when I say how proud I am of our Bixby kiddos. Our curious and motivated readers have such bright futures ahead of them, and we'll be right here to support their lifelong learning into next year and beyond.” 

   For more information on TCCL’s services and programs, call the AskUs Hotline, 918-549-7323, or visit www.tulsalibrary.org.  

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