Thanks to the Pages for Pets program, the adoption fee for Agent 007, an 8-year-old black cat, has been sponsored by Reading District Libraries. Agent 007 is currently available for adoption from the Animal Rescue League (ARL) of Berks County.

Pages for Pets was a new initiative hosted by Reading District Libraries as part of its annual Summer Reading Program. Youths from across Berks County, including patrons at the Village Library of Morgantown and the Boone Area Library in Birdsboro, were challenged to read toward a countywide goal of 500,000 minutes from June 19 until July 28. Each minute counted toward the financial sponsorship of a pet's adoption at the ARL. Readers surpassed this goal by reading a combined 680,000 minutes.

Participants in the first-time program were asked to complete a reading ticket listing their minutes read. Tickets were available at the individual libraries, or they could be downloaded from the libraries' websites.

"They filled out their tickets, submitted them to their local library and we tabulated everything together," explained Marissa Guidara, youth services district consultant for the Reading District Libraries, noting that each of the 25 library locations in Berks County participated. "This was a big deal for us because these separate library locations worked together for one goal."

She said that although the program was targeted toward youngsters, people of all ages participated. "It was intended for kids, but we had certain libraries that had teens who chose to participate," Guidara said. "In some areas, we had libraries that asked if adults could be participants. People are really looking for ways to help. ... So many people care about animal welfare."

Agent 007 is described as a "cuddly spy cat" who "enjoys relaxing in his favorite sunbeam and watching the world go by from a cozy windowsill," according to the ARL website.

"He is a little bit older and was a house cat all his life before he got surrendered," noted Guidara. "Sometimes older cats get overlooked because there are kittens (available to adopt). Also, because of superstitions, black cats are usually the last ones left at the shelter. We have gotten one step closer to finding him a home."

Guidara noted that the Pages for Pets activity fit in perfectly with the libraries' Summer Reading Program, themed "All Together Now." "(Children) could read a little bit, but when you added what everyone else was doing, they made a big change together," she said. "Kids could feel empowered to make a change and do something kind for an animal."

She hopes to repeat the effort next summer. "It went really well. I am hoping it is something we can try again with ARL or another organization," Guidara added. "The reaction has been big."

To learn more about adopting Agent 007 or another animal from the Berks ARL, visit http://www.berksarl.org. Those who took part in Pages for Pets are asked to complete a survey about their experience at http://www.berkslibraries.org/kids/P4P.