The New Orleans Public Library’s annual Summer Fun & Reading Challenge has started, and readers of all ages — including adults — are encouraged to sign up.

This year’s challenge tasks participants with reading a total of 800 minutes and completing a variety of library-related activities, like reading a banned or challenged book, using a Culture Pass, getting a book recommendation from library staff, streaming local music on Crescent City Sounds, and more.

Participants get a free prize for signing up. Kids get a free book of their choice, and adults can pick between a deck of cards or a New Orleans Public Library mug. Teens get to choose among a book, or either of the adult registration prize options.

Participants can track their reading by coloring in the library’s paper reading tracker, online, or through the Beanstack app. After reading for 800 minutes and completing activities in each Summer Fun category, participants can pick up their completion prize — a canvas tote featuring illustrations by local artist Sean Clark.

Visit summerfun.nolalibrary.org for more information about signing up, or stop by any library location to register.

In addition to the Summer Fun & Reading Challenge, the library is hosting its annual Summer Fun Adult Writing Contest.

The theme is harmony, and participants are invited to interpret the theme any way they’d like. Harmony can be found in musical compositions, the rhythms of the natural world, symbiotic relationships, or anywhere separate components converge into something new.

Writers can participate in the contest in one of two categories — poetry and fiction — through July 31. The top 10 submissions in each category will be published in the third edition of “Renewed: A New Orleans Public Library Anthology” in 2026. The first through third place winners in both categories will receive an Amazon gift card.

Plus, summer at the library is jam-packed full of free events for all ages. Some upcoming events include:

• Henna workshop for teens from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. on June 4 at Latter Library, 5120 St. Charles Ave.
• Crescent Circus Magic Show for kids from 11 a.m. to noon June 5 at Smith Library, 6301 Canal Blvd., and from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. on June 5 at Latter Library, 5120 St. Charles Ave.
• Local pride author night for adults at Latter Library, 5120 St. Charles Ave., featuring readings by local LGBTQIA+ authors on June 5 from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
• Story hour with Drag Queen Laveau Contraire for kids and families at Main Library, 219 Loyola Ave., on June 6 from 11 a.m. to noon.
• Little Laboratory: Mud Day for early learners at Alvar Library, 913 Alvar St., on June 7 from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
• Big Bubbles for kids at Nora Navra Library, 1902 St. Bernard Ave., on June 9 from 11 a.m. to noon.

Visit events.nolalibrary.org to explore the library’s full programming calendar.

This year’s Summer Fun & Reading Challenge is sponsored by the Friends of the New Orleans Public Library with support from the New Orleans Tourism & Cultural Fund, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation, and Raising Canes.