The Randallstown Library works to encourage young children to read often and, just as importantly, instill a positive attitude toward reading in them. According to a study published in Reading Research Quarterly, even fluent readers who do have poor attitudes toward reading choose “not to read when other options exist, a condition now generally known as aliteracy” (1). Therefore, the library hopes that young children will develop positive attitudes in its welcoming, fun environment. Randallstown has a children’s area for children from toddlers to fifth-graders. The area includes toys, puppets, and interactive computer games that all foster a love for reading, playing, and learning.
In addition to the young children’s area, the Randallstown Public Library runs programs for young children, including preschool story time on Wednesdays from 10:30 to 11:00 and the Book Buddies program on Saturdays from 1:00 to 2:00. In the Book Buddies program, teens help children read, teaching them better grammar, expanding their vocabulary, and instilling in them a greater love for literature. Any teen or young adult may volunteer to read with children, and we did this as part of our experience. We were surprised that most of the children were not nervous to read with us, and they actually loved it. Many kids volunteered to read, and sometimes we did not even have time to listen to all of them. We loved to see the young children so excited about reading and noticed that this level of enthusiasm was not to be found in the teens. Also, we made this same observation during the preschool story time. The young children enjoyed participating in the games and often were loud and silly, but when it was time to listen to the librarian read they were silent and attentive to the story.
Dreamers of Tomorrow Book Club
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1. McKenna, Michael C., Dennis J. Kear and Randolph A. Ellsworth. “Children’s Attitudes toward Reading: A National Survey.” Reading Research Quarterly Vol. 30, No. 4 (Oct. – Nov. – Dec. 1995). JSTOR. 7 December 2009. http://www.jstor.org.