The Palmerton Area Library staff isn't taking a break for the summer.

In fact, they're amping up the effort to promote reading and increase funding all season long.The library's reading chain has already spanned the length of the second level railing twice over, but there is always room for more links."Everyone who wants to participate can sign up here at the library," said library director Diane Danielson. "For every book that you read, you put the name of the book and your number on a link, and we add it to the chain. At the end of the summer, we pick out three of each color, and they all get prizes."Preschool and kindergarten students receive orange links, grades one through three get purple, grades four through six get green, and grades seven through twelve get yellow. Even adults can join in on the fun - their links are red, and library employee links are blue.Danielson said that the library was able to obtain a grant of $250 from Thrivent Financial for the prizes."We have some great prizes this year," she said. "And the more you read, the better your chances of winning a prize."More links to comeAt the moment, the library staff has begun work on the next length of chain, and with a whole month left until the end of the promotion, plenty of links can be added."Right now, we're up to 1,800 books read, and we have 287 readers, but people can still sign up. We still have the rest of August," Danielson said.While the contest has been going strong for over 10 years now, it seems to be taking off even more, thanks to local day cares and parents reading to their younger children. So, if you like a good book and great prizes, stop at the Palmerton Area Library sometime soon.And if you happen to be a speedy reader, you might just snag yourself a few entries before the summer comes to a close."It's always been pretty successful. People seem to like it. Even people who aren't participating, it catches their eye, and they say, 'Wow! What is that?' I think it's a good visual to let people know that other people are still reading," Danielson said.On Friday, the library kicked off its annual Basket Auction and Book Sale, inviting residents to contribute to the library with a chance for some lucrative prizes.Tickets for the basket auction are only 50 cents, or three for a $1. There are plenty of themed baskets available, including 'The Pioneer Woman' and 'Lego Super Heroes,' in addition to gift card drawings from Bert's Steakhouse, Country Harvest, and more.Voracious readers can also stock up on books in the basement for only $2 per filled bag.The fundraiser will run until Sept. 9, with the drawing held on Sept. 11.