December 2020
Access to Books Matters
I am not a literacy or book expert but it is instinctive to our Library team that children need books in their hands when they are young and through all ages. This is why, when SCFBC first introduced H.O.P.E. a few years ago, we jumped at the chance to make slightly loved books available for FREE to participants of all ages. We re-purposed appropriate discarded (free) good books from the church library and from the city library. The first year people picked through 51 boxes of books and took home a total of 27 boxes' worth of books. The second year they took home even more, using the same process.
We reinvented our process in 2020 (the days of picking through boxes of books were over). We cleaned and gave out an age appropriate variety bag of 4-5 books with each backpack given out. A National Geographic was in nearly all the bags, which is usually interesting to all ages, through looking at the pictures or reading the words. Thank you again to the readers who donated books for the project. .We are looking forward to 2021!
One day recently, I heard a radio program that validated my instincts. They were talking about the "relationship between having books available and literacy". The recommendation was to start reading to babies so they can hear the words and see the pictures as their parents or siblings read to them. It is a life long process that starts early... Researchers say book access makes the difference between "readers" and "non-readers". When parents read and provide books to their children early, children read. Researchers say early literacy correlates with successful school development. It takes practice, practice, practice - readers learn new things, expand their vocabulary, spell better, speak better from pre-school all through life.
May God forgive me for not reading the Bible daily. I know better; I call myself a "reader". Some days are better than others. It must be harder for "non-readers". Who knew our Bible reading habit is reflective of our past literacy practices? So give books as gifts to your children and to your grandchildren, or let them pick out the books they want to read; that matters too.
Note: You can find articles about how book access affects literacy from the following organizations: Reading Rockets, UNICEF, Journal of Global Health and Save the Children. You can search on their web sites or google for "relationship between having books available and literacy".