The City of Newport News Friday Night Nets program was originally developed in response to the spike in youth-related crime, and gun violence incidents on Friday nights during the summer. The program goal was to offer a safe community-based alternative on Friday Nights that was easily accessible to youth ages 12 and up, providing a welcoming environment where they could play basketball, and positively engage with others. In its first two years, organizers noted that at least 25% of the youth attending were not playing basketball—they were coming for the free meals, and other activities in this “safe space.” In addition, younger siblings who often accompanied the older players had little to do that was age-appropriate. With both Night Nets locations in high-need areas of the City and within Title I school boundaries, this was an ideal opportunity for NNPL to connect with youth at risk for “summer slide,” and low academic achievement, especially since many lacked books in their homes.

Through Friday Night Nets, we extended NNPL’s reach to youth who may not visit our libraries, or whose families could not afford books. Our goal was to provide free books to support reading skills, and foster an interest in reading. Night Nets ran for 11 weeks at two Rec Centers each Friday—two staff worked at the downtown location (larger attendance), while one staff member covered the 2nd location. We coordinated with NN Parks & Recreation on all logistics including scheduling, parking, and table set-up. There was a significant investment in buying books, ranging from board books to teen novels so we’d have a wide, appealing selection of genres, reading levels, and non-fiction. Books were displayed in bins for browsing, and bags were provided. As an innovation, it was unique for the Library to set up at an athletic facility on Friday nights, but we embraced the opportunity to meet our audience at the Court—even when we had to toss back a few basketballs that flew across our table!

The Library’s inaugural participation in the City’s Friday Night Nets initiative was a huge success. Our total engagement at the two locations was 2119 youth, ages 4 to 17, with a distribution of 2317 books. Cost per book was $3.67, which was within our projected allocation, and considered sustainable for future summers.
An average of 66% Friday Night Nets participants selected a free book each week. For the youth who attended, but didn’t play basketball, we provided a welcome oasis to select a book they could read, especially for younger siblings. When parents arrived for pick up, they often selected books for other children at home, appreciative of the opportunity.
As our engagement grew, we added other popular activities such as coloring, memory games, puzzles, and simple art projects. Parks & Recreation staff were absolutely thrilled to have the Library there, and repeatedly stated that we brought the most impactful new element to the initiative.