Try the following for fairly easy yet effective collaborations:
- ask the school to put your public library card on the list of required school supplies;
- ask the school to exchange website links with you (your library on the school’s page; the school on your library’s page);
- ask the school librarian and/or principal to participate at a summer library program; or
- plan a collaborative recognition event in the fall for students completing your SRP
- request permission from school, and as school allows, provide note or sticker for every student’s report card for school serving grades k-5 saying:
Keep your kids reading all summer
For better grades in the fall
Summer Reading Programs
At your local public library
(some libraries provide crack and peel stickers)
Some suggestions that might need more development:
- Request help from school in identifying and recruiting the children who need summer programs the most. In collaboration with that school, develop a method to reach out to those families to invite participation. Track your success in having them come to the library or participate at least once, and report back to the school at the end of the summer.
- Prepare materials about Summer Reading Program targeted to teachers and request distribution at teacher/staff meetings.
- Produce and deliver promotional material and information regarding your Summer Reading Program to every school serving k-12 in your service area.
A possible grant idea that might work for a small local grant:
Fostering social reading with multiple copies of hot titles. There’s a great article with the steps spelled out at:
http://thereadingzone.wordpress.com/2009/06/27/how-to-foster-social-reading/
http://thereadingzone.wordpress.com/2009/06/22/you-have-to-read-this/
This is from the document (think buzz words!!!) that the state youth consultants sent to the state commissioner:
Through Summer Reading, public libraries also have the ability to help combat aliteracy, a phenomenon that emerges during the elementary school years of being able to read but having no motivation to do so. By partnering with local schools, public libraries can provide alternate outlets (databases, learning materials, test prep courses, story time) and times (extended hours when schools are closed) for educational needs that will only enhance what the school system already provides.
Initiate and strengthen school/library partnerships and outreach to parents and caregivers by:
- Helping patrons and nonusers:To see the connection between the public library, schools, literacy and lifelong learning.
- To understand the role of the public library as a partner with the school systems in the education of young people.
- To recognize the public library as a rich educational resource outside of the school environment that can supplement what is provided in the schools and to help bridge the learning gap when school is not in session.
In an effort to reach these goals and to strengthen partnerships with schools, public library staff can:
- Reach out to every school in chartered areas to provide literature, promotional material and/or information regarding Summer Reading at their local public library.
- Reach out to every school in chartered areas to promote in person Summer Reading programs and the role of their public libraries as a learning environment.
- Connect with PTAs/PTOs/Youth Organizations during the school year to communicate the importance and value of Summer Reading programs and the public library as an integral part of the academic experience for all ages.
Excellent service to children and teens is paramount to the mission of public libraries. Along with schools, public libraries are positioned to help students develop the new skills they will need to compete in the twenty-first century economy.
