#ALSC12 Taking Early Literacy to the Streets

The Ready to Read Corps at Columbus Metropolitan Library strives to make a real difference in the Columbus community by reaching outside the library walls to bring early literacy information to at-risk families. Sarah Mackie took us on their journey, from realizing that the need existed (nearly 50% of Columbus area kindergarten students were assessed as not being ready for kindergarten in 2005), to doing the necessary research, to partnering with community organizations, to getting grants to start their program.

Staff in the Ready to Read Corps literally take to the streets, bringing early literacy information to churches, shelters, laundromats, and even knocking on doors to meet families who might benefit from a series of one-on-one or group early literacy classes and a free early literacy kit. Although they now have a large-scale operation with 15 staff members dedicated to this cause, the ideas Sarah shared with us could be adopted on a smaller scale if your library doesn’t have the resources to do it big.

One big takeaway for me was the need to partner with kindergarten teachers, early childhood educators, and experts in child development to get their input on exactly what to include in items such as early literacy kits. By partnering with teachers, Ready to Read staff learned that nursery rhymes are something children are assessed on and added nursery rhyme activities to their literacy kits.

This is just one of the photos I snapped of their early literacy kits. Finger crayons are easier for babies to grasp, harder for kids to break, probably something families don’t already have (whereas normal crayons are easier to come by), and encourage kids to start trying to write! The stencil helps kids practice making the shapes that they will need for letter writing. And safety scissors are included because kindergarten teachers reported many children were coming to school without the expected cutting skills.

Partnering with teachers and experts to develop these kits is just one example of how “intentionality” has been explored at this conference. A recurring theme has been considering purpose and how to evaluate as we’re planning programs and services in the public library.

— Abby Johnson, Children’s Manager
New Albany-Floyd County Public Library, New Albany, IN
http://www.abbythelibrarian.com