"Summer reading itself is deeply rooted in Pasadena. The library’s newsletter notes that the tradition dates to 1921, when the library created the Vacation Reading Club. Children who joined were given reading lists and, after finishing 10 books, delivered brief oral reports to the librarian.

“'Civic education for young adults is more important than ever,' Tim McDonald, director of the Pasadena Public Library, said in the newsletter, discussing a separate $15,000 grant the library received from the Urban Libraries Council for young-adult civic engagement. 'We have a talented, intelligent, and motivated population of young people in Pasadena who are ready to contribute to their community, but many feel discouraged by deep political division, misinformation and diminished trust in government. We seek to confront these challenges by fostering civic knowledge, skills and dispositions that support young people’s participation in a healthy democracy.'”

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