LIBR529: Services for Families and Early Literacy in the Preschool Years

This entry marks the beginning of a new course! We will be exploring all the research around early literacy and language acquisition. For the first week, we were supposed to choose a book from a selected bibliography and pick out five points that piqued our interest for further discussion. Since I did not have access to those books, I found a database article that I would like to comment on: "Babies and Books in the School Library." It is also a nice transition piece from my previous LIS460 posts.

I am a teacher who is VERY eager to return to the schools in a teacher librarian capacity and my tummy does flips at the possibility of integrating a baby/tot program in the school library. As is evident through an early literacy mandate and provinical grant for early learning initiatives in my school district, educators are finally embracing the research that indicates "50% of a person's intellectual capacity is developed before age four" (Dorothy Butler, Babies Need Books). What a fabulous thing that the schools now recognize that the building blocks of early literacy happen before school starts! It makes sense to not only work with the families of school-aged children, but the families of the surrounding school communities to ensure kindergarten readiness. What's that old saying, "it takes a village to raise a child?"

A baby/tot program run through the school library would only lead to wonderful things. It's almost like an insurance policy! During a storytime program, all the songs, rhymes and stories provide ample opportunities to introduce the parent to all of the research about early brain development. If the parents practice the rhymes at home, sing songs, read to their babies and take the research to heart, then their children will have the foundation skills necessary for a positive start in kindergarten. Not only that, they will have a built-in, positive association with books and the library. It's a win-win-win-win situation!!!