A love for reading can grow in any language if the appropriate titles are available for enjoyment. The new Keeble Early Childhood Center is supplied with an ample amount of books for the children to borrow. However, there are some weaknesses in the collection which will limit some children from choosing the books they would like to read. One major area which needs to be addressed is the number of Spanish titles.

Due to the high percentage (73%) of children from Spanish-speaking households, it is important that our library collection represent this population by holding the same percentage of Spanish titles. To do this, Keeble is committed to purchasing well-reviewed Spanish titles to strengthen this part of the library collection. We also plan to implement a program which allows parents to utilize the library for checkout. Through this program, we feel parents will become active participants in the reading development of their children.

With the help of a $5,000 grant offered by the Aldine Board of Trustees, Keeble Early Childhood Center will be able to begin developing their Spanish collection and sharing these books with parents so they may begin to spend quality time reading aloud to their children daily.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Introduction

Juan is a student at Keeble Early Childhood

The Keeble Library services students and teachers with materials representing a wide range of mediums. Classrooms visit the library weekly for storytime and lessons on how to care for books. Before the end of the fall semester, each child should be prepared to check out his/her own books. One goal of the library is to develop a collection which represents the needs of all students enrolled at Keeble.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Needs Assessment

In recent years, statistics regarding the lack of student and adult literacy in America have been reported. Well-known author Jim Trelease shares his understanding of the nation’s literacy crisis by analyzing the National Reading Report Card in his book The Read-Aloud Handbook (3^rd. edition, 1995). Trelease reports that 100% of a Kindergartners support a love for reading, but by high school graduation only 25% of these students will become lifetime readers. His solution: teach parents and educators how to read aloud to children to allow a love for reading to grow.

As the wide-eyed Keeble students begin to visit the library, they are in awe of the shelves of books ready for their browsing. They anxiously anticipate the day they will be allowed to take their own books home to share with their parents. Unfortunately, 73% of Keeble’s 554 students live in Spanish-speaking households, but only 16% of the library collection is written in Spanish. With only 385 Spanish titles available to the 404 children living in Spanish-speaking homes, Keeble’s immediate need is to increase the number of Spanish titles in the library collection to better represent the student population. By introducing new titles to students and parents, the circulation of these books will increase and families will begin to enjoy the opportunity to read together at home.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

The Goal Statement

Keeble Early Childhood Center will build the library collection to fairly represent the 73% Hispanic student population in hopes of increasing the circulation of library materials by both students and parents.
 
 
 
 
 
 

Objectives

By December 1, 1998, as a result of the addition of 260 Spanish-titled books to the Keeble collection, Hispanic students and their parents will be able to enjoy reading books written in their home language.

By May 1, 1999, parents will attend a workshop organized and facilitated by Keeble teachers which emphasizes the importance of reading to children, introduces tips on reading aloud, and shares the newly purchased materials with parents and students.

By June 4, 1999, Keeble parents will utilize the Keeble library to select books for their children after following instructions provided and explained by the librarian at a parent workshop.
 
 
 
 
 
 

Plan of Operation

The Keeble program of "Promoting a Love for Reading" will include the following program components and their measureable objectives.

The program will begin in October with the Keeble Collection Development Team working together to identify 260 titles written in Spanish to be ordered from a vendor. The team will be made up of the librarian and six bilingual teachers. The findings of the team will be reviewed by the principal before the requisition for books is sent to the business office on December 1, 1998. Titles which are to be selected will be those positively reviewed by at least one library review journal such as School Library Journal, Booklist, or Horn Book. Most titles selected will also appear on the L.A. Recommended List of Bilingual Books.

The team will also select a list of 25 titles for wordless picture books to include in the collection since these books can be enjoyed in any language. Books without words are also an excellent way for children to develop higher level thinking skills by becoming actively involved in the telling of a story through plot, setting, and characters.

To save time when the order arrives at Keeble, the team will ask that the books be fully processed by the vendor(s). This allows the books to be added to the shelves upon arrival so that students may begin borrowing the books immediately. To enable the team to begin planning for the Keeble Family Literacy Night, the librarian will stay in contact with the vendor(s) to ensure that the order is filled in a timely manner.

Beginning January 6, 1999, the librarian will begin reading Jim Trelease’s book The Read-Aloud Handbook, to use as a resource in creating a parent handout which provides ideas for reading aloud to children daily. The librarian will also write guidelines for parents to follow when borrowing library books from the Keeble library.

During the month of February, a planning team will be organized to plan the Keeble Family Literacy Night. The team will be made up of the librarian, three bilingual teachers, three Pre-Kindergarten teachers, three Early Childhood teachers, and one member of the administrative staff.

Depending on the arrival of the books, the Keeble Family Literacy Night will either be planned for Public School Week (date to be set by the Aldine District) or National Library Week (April 12-17). Using the handouts created by the librarian, the team will plan the events of the evening so that all students and parents will be able to attend. Teachers fluent in Spanish will translate the handouts for the librarian to prepare and will interpret for Spanish-speaking parents during the event. To advertise the Family Literacy Night, flyers will be sent home with the students. Posters will also be displayed around the school.

During the Keeble Family Literacy Night, at least two classrooms will be designated as children storytime rooms. These rooms will be operated by one Bilingual teacher and one regular education teacher. Here parents will be allowed to drop off their children for storytime so they can enjoy the parenting workshops down the hall.

The parent workshops will also be set up in two rooms, one for Spanish translation and one for English translation. Each parent workshop will be led by three staff members who will showcase new materials in the library through booktalks, discuss ways to read aloud to children, and explain the policies and procedures for parents to follow when borrowing books from the Keeble library. Handouts will be provided for the parents to take home.

Also available in the foyer of the school will be representatives from the Aldine Branch of the Harris County Library to assist parents and children with signing up for library cards.

The purpose of this project is to first build up one desperately weak area of the library collection and then share with parents and children the books available for borrowing and how to use these materials at home. Our dream is that the Keeble Library will become a place where all children feel comfortable choosing a book they can share with their parents. Keeble also anticipates that parents will utilize the library themselves to select additional books for their children. By developing a balanced library collection, the Keeble library plans to increase the circulation of all books to students, parents, and teachers in an attempt to build a love for reading - not only at school but also at home.
 
 
 
 
 
 

Budget
 
 

260 Spanish books @ $16 per title $4160

25 wordless picture books @ $16 per title 400

Vendor Processing 285 @ $.75 per title 214

Refreshments for Family Literacy Night 226

Total $5000
 
 

Evaluation

Students, parents, and teachers will be involved in the evaluation of the "Promoting a Love for Reading" program and will analyze the following areas of the program:

· inventory of the number of Spanish titles in the collection

· inventory of the number of wordless picture books in the collection

· monthly circulation reports of Spanish and wordless picture books

· attendance at the Keeble Family Literacy Night as evidenced by the

sign-in sheet

· monthly report of the number of parents utilizing the Keeble

Library as evidenced by the library usage report

· the number of parents and students who sign up for a library card

at the Keeble Family Literacy Night.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Plans for Future Spending

Keeble Early Childhood Center is committed to developing a balanced library collection which fairly represents the student population of our school. We plan to use our district book budget each year to help dissolve the gaps in the library collection. This year our focus is to increase the number of Spanish titles. We plan to eventually hold 3,200 Spanish titles in the collection. This number is based on supplying eight Spanish titles per student for student checkout.

To help achieve our goal for collection development, we will continue to seek grants from other local, state, and national agencies. The Keeble library will also hold two book fairs each year to raise additional money for book purchases.

With a desire for all children to leave Keeble with a love for reading and a commitment to our students and parents to provide a balanced collection of materials for their use, there is no question that our staff will continue to reach for funding sources to assist the library in accomplishing this goal, even after this grant has expired.
 
 
 
 

Dissemination

The results of this program will be shared with students, parents, teachers, the Aldine Board of Trustees, and other libraries throughout the district through newsletters, monthly library usage reports, monthly book circulation reports, and the collection inventory. Handouts from the Family Literacy Night and photographs of the occasion will be displayed for parents and other school visitors and will be made available upon request to any school that decides to recreate the program.