Library summer reading programs are proven to foster student success and pro-active attitudes in students. Now, what will your library do with this information?
At the end of a three year study by the Dominican University’s Graduate School of Library and Information Studies (River Forest, Illinois), researchers found that students who participated in a Summer Reading Program offered by public libraries were more confident and prepared for the upcoming school year. The study also showed that these students had a more positive attitude towards reading. This attitude was found to translate into home life too. Parents of children in summer reading programs tended to have more books and more literacy related activities at home, and also tended to use the library more themselves.
While this study proved something that many librarians already knew about reading programs and the importance of libraries, the researchers want the study to do more than that. They want the study to act as a call to action.
“We’re urging library staff, administrators, educators, and others to use these findings to transform attitudes about public library summer reading programs,” said Carole Fiore and Susan Roman, in an article in the School Library Journal.[1]
Summer reading programs are multipurpose tools with limitless outcomes. They improve student performance in school, encourage the use of the library, foster positive reading experience, which is then passed on to their family and friends. Summer reading programs are one way to show your community that libraries are still relevant in a digital age.
