Summer+Reading+Programs

As you may know, I did my dissertation research on children's experiences with public library summer reading programs. I will be sharing some of the work I did as part of this research with you during the semester. Below are some further links and resources about summer reading programs that may be of interest to you. I will also share some resources I found helpful when I was reading, thinking, and writing about SRPs.


 * From the course site (these are links, resources, readings, etc.) that I shared on the eClass site**


 * Rewards and Incentives--a Brief Review of the Literature (by Joanne de Groot)**: [[file:LIS 548-Literature Review on Incentives & Rewards.doc]]

@http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/home/887308-312/meeting_readers_where_they_are.html.csp
 * Meeting Readers Where they Are: Mapping the Intersection of Research and Practice:**


 * Chambers, A. (1991). The reading environment: How adults help children enjoy books. Stroud, UK: Thimble Press.**

In this short book, Chambers introduces readers to the importance of environment in the reading process. He writes that "every reader knows that where we read affects how we read: with what pleasure and willingness and concentration" (p. 7). He goes on to say that that "it isn't only a matter of place-of setting. It is also a matter of having the books we want, and what mood we're in, and what time we've got, and whether we're interrupted...These are some of the things that influence us. They make up the social context of reading. Taken together they form what I call the reading environment" (p. 7). Chambers the also talks about the "reading circle", a sequence of activities that occur whenever a child reads: selection/reading/response all interact with the enabling adult who acts as a mediator in the reading process. The rest of the book provides teachers and librarians strategies and suggestions for creating a positive reading environment for children. Short chapters cover topics like displays, book supply, reading areas, reading time, reading aloud, 'book owning', and selecting reading material. To me, the most important part of this book is the discussion of the 'enabling adult' and how these trusted adults help guide children towards books. Library staff members who connect with kids in schools and public libraries often act as these 'enablers' by guiding children towards books and other materials and then by talking to kids about their reading experiences. This happns a lot during summer reading programs in public libraries, where children are encouraged to discuss the books they read as part of the reading game that is organized by many libraries. Similarly, public libraries during their SRPs create an exciting, fun reading environment for children of all ages where they can participate in literature-related actvities with their peers. Although this book seems somewhat dated (especially in in reference to school library collection development procedures and cataloguing), the key ideas are completely relevant to the way children can be encouraged to read and enjoy all kinds of library materials.


 * McGill-Franzen, A., & Allington, R. L. (2003). Bridging the summer reading gap. Scholastic Instructor, 3.**

This short professional article provides compelling arguments for ensuring children have access to books over the summer months. Mc-Gill-Franzen and Allington have done research on the so-called "summer reading gap" phenomenon and have some advice for teachers and administrators about how to help children retain their reading skills over the summer. They suggest that children should read a minimum of 6 books over the summer in order to maintain their reading levels. The problem for many children, howe58)ver, is where to gain access to books that are at their reading level. For low-achieving readers this is especially important because "without books that can be read easily with good comprehension, these less skilled readers will not improve. All their cognitive enrgy is devoted to trying to figure out unknown words--which produces a dysfulent, word-by-word reading with little understanding of, or engagement with, the books in their hands" (p. 58). Similarly, for some children, accessing books of any kind is a challenge, especially if the public library is not close or if parents are reluctant to take their children to the library. This is especially true for rural families or low-socioeconomic families. The authors suggest that schools should find ways to make their libraries available to children over the summer months. Although I agree that this is one way to ensure all children have access to books over the summer, I wonder if perhaps public libraries and schools should be working together in areas where this is a concern to ensure that children are able to access public library resources and programs. Outreach programs, which are becoming increasingly popular in public libraries would be one way for schools and public libraries to work together. The article also refers to summer school programs that need to change their focus to ensure that children have "opportunities to listen to, discuss, and read books on topics that they select, or books about characters that they love...Summer school must provide interventions that accomplish these goals" (p. 58). Again, this is a reasonable goal for a summer school program, but the authors are again discounting the fact that public library summer reading programs do provide children with these kinds of reading experiences through regular reading programs.

This is a highly-readable, professional article that summarizes much of the current literature about summer reading loss. Unfortunately, there is no reference list included with the article, which makes it difficult to track down the research that the authors refer to throughout the article.


 * Fiore, C. D. (2005). Fiore's summer library reading program handbook. New York, NY: Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc.**

This is a new version of a book that was originally published in 1998 as a guidebook to anyone creating or running a summer reading program in a public library. This new book is a handbook, but it also highlights “promising practices and model programs of summer reading programs” (p. xvii). I found the book very helpful and wish this new version had been around in 2003 when I was coordinating the provincial summer reading program. The information about ‘model’ programs and ideas for libraries who are trying to run successful activities is useful and more relevant for libraries today that are struggling with the inclusion of technology in their programs and the competition with other community-based activities that go on all summer. In terms of my own work, I found the first part of the book “Summer Reading Program Essentials” most useful because it outlines some of the research in the area and also refers to some of the big picture issues related to SRPs in libraries (e.g. incentives, summer reading loss, etc.). The second and third parts of the book are more practically oriented with information about planning the program, organizational considerations, and marketing strategies. The fourth section provides information about evaluating programs. The final parts of the book highlight some of the best examples of SRPs in the United States. The book would be ideal for any library that is faced with planning and/or implementing an SRP and looking for practical information on the subject.


 * Brown, C., & Dryden, W. (2005). Summer reading club: Outreach library service through a neighbourhood storytent program. Saint John, NB: Saint John Free Public Library.**

This report summarizes the outreach programs of the St. John (N.B.) Free Public Library during one summer. Organized to complement the regular Summer Reading Club, this program took the program into the community with storytents that provided children with reading space and materials in their own communities. The program "is a literacy support program for children and families. In this instance, the Storytent also provided a venue for the Summer Reading Club (SRC) as part of a library outreach to the community" (p. 13). The storytents also included activities such as: children borrowed and returned books, storytelling, story writing, [|drawing, games], conversation, and relationship building (p. 15). The program continued into the fall, with Saturday storytent programs, because it was so popular with parents and children. The storytent program, as reported in this study, ran for three years. The authors note that over these years, there was an increase in adult participation in the storytent programs and the library staff noticed an increase in the number of children participating in the SRC, probably due to the easy accessibility children had through the storytent programs.

This report specifically notes how the SRC was organized through the storytent program. The same SRC materials were used in both the library and the storytents; however, some variations in the registration and tracking of children and their reading over the summer had to be established to accommodate for the unique environment. Children who registered for SRC could read at the storytent (or be read to) and this reading would count towards their stated goal for the summer. The authors of the report note that "in the storytent, children's reading was not criticized. Workers waited to be asked before supplying a word or correcting an error in decoding. Workers did not require children to sit still or silently while they read...Those would all be disconnected behaviours and would have a negative impact on our relationship with the children" (p. 29).

The storytent program was created as an outreach program for the public library's SRC. It appears to have been successful in connecting people from the community with books, reading, and the public library. This library's program could serve as a model for other public libraries whoa re hoping to extend their programs into the community.


 * Celano, D., & Neuman, S. B. (2001). The role of public libraries in children's literacy development: An evaluation report. Harrisburg, PA: Pennsylvania Library Association.**

This report outlines some of the key benefits to children who participate in public library literature-based programs, specifically preschool storytime programs and summer reading programs. The authors conducted an extensive literature review to ground their report in the existing research and then conducted a 3 part evaluation of these library programs in the state of Pennsylvania. The first stage of their research was a survey of Pennsylvania libraries that “offers insights into the scope and nature of children’s reading programs” (p. 5). The second stage included on site observations and interviews in a variety of libraries to “illustrate the formats and teaching methods used in such programs and the ways such programs contribute to reading achievement” (p. 5). The final stage was a small study that sought to examine “the difference in reading skills between those children who attend library summer reading programs and those who participate in no formal program” (p. 5-6). The whole report serves not only as an evaluation of library programs for children, but also an affirmation of the impact these activities have on children’s reading lives. The results of the survey that was conducted were perhaps the most interesting because they provided rich data about the wide variety of activities that happen in libraries, especially during the summer. Similarly, the on site investigation of library programs expanded on the survey results. The experimental study was weakest part of this report, simply because the study seemed incomplete. The authors looked at the reading abilities of groups of children. Some children were participating in their local library’s summer reading program, while other children were attending a local community day camp for the summer. There was no overlap in terms of the activity the child was registered in. The authors conducted a pre-test, which included the Johns Reading Inventory Test and an Author Recognition Test. Although a post-test was planned, administering the post-tests was not successful because the children did not attend their respective programs on a regular basis. The findings indicate that children who attend the library programs read on a higher level than those who do not attend the library programs at all. However, the findings are limited because of the lack of post-test measures.


 * Fasick, A., Gagnon, A., Howarth, L., & Setterington, K. (2005). Opening doors to children: Reading, media and public library use by children in six Canadian cities. Regina, SK: Regina Public Library.**

This book is a report of research conducted in six Canadian cities (Halifax, Hamilton, Montreal, Regina, Toronto, and Vancouver) about children's reading and media habits and their use of the public library. The survey-based study included 3486 children in grades four to seven. A number of children then participated in focus groups session to explore some of the questions in greater detail. This study is important because there is little Canadian research on public library use by children, especially with data collected directly from children. While there is much of interest in this report, I have included in this brief summary, only a few key points that struck me as particularly important or relevant to my work:

-of the 3486 children surveyed, 75.4% self identified as frequent library users (visit the library every two or three weeks or more); with 24.6% self-identifying as infrequent library users (visit the library three times a year or less or not at all) -frequent library users in this study were considerably more likely than infrequent library users to join summer reading clubs-->half of the frequent library users tended to join, while less than a quarter of infrequent library users joined these programs -flyers or posters and information from school were the most frequent ways children reported learning about library programs

Focus group sessions in five of the six cities (Montreal did not have focus groups) asked about participation in summer reading clubs

-Grades four and five student comments included: -participants liked the prizes or incentives associated with SRP -some children commented that parts of the SRP were too childish and that the program needed to have more appeal to older children; however, in Toronto, children were generally positive about the stickers they received and the games that were conducted -children liked being able to read books of their own choice and they liked choosing from the materials suggested at the library, which indicates that children are drawn to displays and book lists that are visible in public libraries

-Grades six and seven student comments included: -prizes were seen as okay, but more important was the 'new books' that were available during the summer, which was seen as a major advantage to joining the summer reading club -in Halifax, children set their own goal for the number of books they want to read, which was well received -in Vancouver, the children indicated that they liked the contests and "the experience of reading books that they might otherwise have not read" (p. 111) -another child indicated that "she liked hearing the opinions of other summer reading club participants about books they had read" (p. 111) -overall, programs were enjoyable, prizes appreciated, and general interest in a similar program running throughout the year


 * Additional Resources and Links**

TD Summer Reading Club 2010: []

Fiore, C. (2005). //Fiore's Summer Library Reading Program Handbook// ISBN: 1-55570-513-8. Neal-Schuman. ( [])

Flipped! Want to get teens excited about summer reading? Just add video! (article from SLJ): []

A recent article from SLJ about the Dominican University study on summer reading programs is on the course reading list. You can read the full study here: []

And there is an interesting response to the study written by a youth services librarian from Los Angeles Public Library posted here: [] What do you think?

Booklist Webinar on Sensational Summer Reading Programs:

media type="custom" key="7466479"


 * Promotional Videos for SRPs**

media type="youtube" key="BDSlNy7HtCk?fs=1" height="385" width="480"

media type="youtube" key="jDqUdytNS5Q?fs=1" height="385" width="480"

media type="youtube" key="5AppCIzJD84?fs=1" height="385" width="480"

media type="youtube" key="_7BYiVRUHfw?fs=1" height="385" width="480"

media type="youtube" key="E0fzOe5ax_0?fs=1" height="385" width="480"