School Libraries around the world

The Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, OISE, is an international leader in teacher education, education research and graduate studies in education.

This press release of results of recent research conducted in public libraries' impact on literacy development of preschoolers highlights:

* Participating children demonstrated many early literacy behaviours and understandings considered by leading early researchers and experts to be foundational to later literacy success.

* Early literacy library programs were particularly strong in meeting parents’/caregivers’ goals of fostering children’s school readiness and their motivation to read.

* Library staff served as excellent literacy models for parents/caregivers, enabling them to make reading with their children more engaging and more productive.

While this is research related to early childhood and public libraries it is (a) encouraging to see such positive impacts as a result of public library programs, and (b) important for primary school teacher librarians to be aware of the types of literacy instruction programs that Kindergarten/Prep students may have been exposed to before entering compulsory schooling.

My question to our profession is: How do primary school library programs acknowledge, accommodate and build on the literacy programs of public libraries within their local community?

Via lyn_hay