Frequently Asked Questions

What will my email address be used for?

Your privacy is very important to us, and as such, we will only use your email address to send you messages related to the Summer Reading Program. These messages include, but are not limited to, account validation emails, password reset emails, and congratulatory emails for your children. If you choose to receive news and updates from your state senator, we will use this email address for electronic communication. Your email address is stored securely and in conjunction with our Privacy Policy.

Why can't I set my password when I register?

When you register, an email is sent to the email address you have provided. That email has a link to log in and set your password. If you do not receive a password promptly, make sure to check your junk email folder for it. If you need to reset your password, please use our Password Reset Tool.

What will my mailing address be used for?

Your mailing address is used to find your state senator and to mail your children their Summer Reading Program completion certificates at the end of the summer. If you choose to receive news and updates from your state senator, we will use this mailing address for written communication. Your mailing address is stored securely and in conjunction with our Privacy Policy.

Why isn't my child's school appearing in the drop down menu?

The drop down menu shows only the top 10 results for what has been typed in. As such, the more specific your search is, the better your chances are of finding the school you are looking for. Some useful tips:

• You can search by the name of the school or by the city the school is in.
• If you type in your search slowly, you will see the search results change as you type. As always, the more specific your search is, the more likely you are to find what you are looking for. For instance, if you are looking forKeeseville Primary Schooland you only type ink you will not find the school. If you continue and type inkee the search results will turn back results for schools in Poughkeepsie. You need to type inkeesevibefore it will show up in the drop down menu.
• In general, periods are not used in the names of schools that we have in our system. For instance, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School would most likely be spelledDr Martin Luther King Jr. This holds true for initials too. If your search includes a period when it doesn't have one in our system, no search results will come back.
• Some common phrases are abbreviated in our system. For instance, Public School is generally abbreviatedPS, Mechanical SchoolMS, International SchoolIS, SaintSt, Junior High SchoolJS, and High SchoolHS This might not hold true for all instances, but if your search does not work, try an abbreviation.
• Public Schools are generally written in the formPS 123

If you are still unable to find the school you are looking for, please contact us so we can help.

My child goes to a school outside of the State of New York; why isn't it appearing?

The system only has schools from inside New York State. If you live in New York State but your child goes to school out of state, contact us so we can add the school to our system.

Why isn't my book appearing in the drop down menu?

The drop down menu shows only the top 10 results for what has been typed in. As such, the more specific your search is, the better your chances are of finding the school you are looking for. If you type in your search slowly, you will see the search results change as you type. The more specific your search is, the more likely you are to find what you are looking for. If you cannot find what you are looking for, you will need to use the External Book Lookup Tool.

What is the External Book Lookup Tool?

The Summer Reading Program maintains an internal list of books that have been entered into the system by all of the participating students in New York State. When you visit the site and attempt to record a completed book for one of your children, this is the list you are searching, and there is a good chance that the title is already in the system.

In the event that the book that your child has read is not in the system, the External Book Lookup tool is provided for your convenience. This tool searches a much more exhaustive 3rd party database of books. This approach was taken to alleviate the need to manually enter all of the book information (title, author, publisher, book jacket image) needed to display a book on the system.

Why isn't my book appearing in the External Book Lookup Tool?

The external book lookup tool's drop down shows only the top 10 results for what has been typed in. As such, the more specific your search is, the better your chances are of finding the book you are looking for. You can search by title, author, keyword, or ISBN number. The more specific your search is, the more likely you are to find what you are looking for.

Can books be read on this website?

No. This site is a tool to allow children from across New York State to keep track of books they have completed reading this summer and does not offer the ability to read books online. The best place to pick up a copy of a book to read this summer is from your public library. If you do not know where your nearest public library is, please use the New York State Library system's Public Library Lookup.

Why should I use a modern browser to view this site?

This website was designed utilizing modern web technologies and best practices. Because of this, older web browsers that were not built with to these new standards may degrade your experience using this site, including the possibility that some elements may not display correctly. In addition to following modern standards, these browsers also provide enhanced security for you and your loved ones as you browse the Internet.

There are many free modern browsers that are available on both Apple and Windows computers, including Google's Chrome browser, Mozilla's Firefox browser, and Apple's Safari browser. If you use one of these browsers and are seeing this message, it is likely because you have not updated your browser recently, please consider doing so. If you are using a computer running Windows Vista or Windows 7, you can also download Microsoft's Internet Explorer 9 browser.

Why isn't the drop down menu appearing?

If the drop down menu is not appearing, please check your spelling to ensure that you have you have spelled the item you are searching for correctly. If you are searching for a school, see Why isn't my child's school appearing in the drop down menu? for search tips. If you are searching for a book using the Record a Completed Book form, see Why isn't my book appearing in the drop down menu? for search tips. If you are searching using the External Book Lookup Tool, see Why isn't my book appearing in the External Book Lookup Tool?.

What does [nid:123] or [asin:1234] mean?

When using the search fields, your choices will be appended with [nid:#####] or [asin:#####]. These are required system references, and we ask you to ignore them.

What does the blue spinning circle mean?

The blue spinning circle means that your search result is being processed. Once it stops spinning and turns grey, you should be presented with results in a drop down menu. If no drop down menu appears, see Why isn't the drop down menu appearing?.

How can I reset my password?

If you need to reset your password, please use our Password Reset Tool.