|
|
Vol. LXII, No. 32
|
|
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
|
|
|
|
Vol. LXII, No. 32
|
|
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
|
The names of over 25 Princeton Public Library (PPL) staff members appeared on the “thank you” roster at the last session of the Prime Time Family Reading program at the library last week. From ordering books to organizing readings and discussions, this six-week program, intended for families with children ages six to ten who experience difficulty reading, was clearly a library-wide effort.PPL was one of 20 libraries nationwide selected to participate in the award-winning family literacy program, which is based on a successful series of the same name that began in 1991 at the East Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Parish Library, and spread to surrounding states with funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Since its inception, more than 15,000 individuals have participated in more than 500 Prime Time programs in 36 states and the Virgin Islands. It was designed to encourage parents and children to read and discuss humanities topics, and aid them in selecting books and becoming active library users.
Youth Services manager Jan Johnson supervised the Princeton Public Library’s partnership, with storyteller Helen Wise, reading aloud in English, and youth services librarian Lucia Acosta providing on-the-spot translations of each text into Spanish. Scholar Martina Anderson conducted Q and A sessions after each reading, and preschool activities coordinator Ann Woodrow kept younger siblings of program participants occupied, Tom Hammel served as both chauffeur, picking up participants who would not otherwise have been able to attend, and library cheer leader, providing short video segments describing library services that were shown each week.
For last week’s final, celebratory session, Mr. Hammel got to the heart of the matter. Reading the first lines from books like Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, The Little House on the Prairie, and his own favorite, The Hobbit, he talked about books that snag readers from the very beginning. When he began to quote “The sun did not shine/ It was too wet to play,” the audience happily joined in, recognizing the beginning of an obvious favorite of theirs, The Cat in the Hat, and amply demonstrating Mr. Hammel’s belief in “the power of reading,” and how “a word, or a sentence, or a paragraph can capture you.”
A Community Event
Each week for the last six weeks, families in the Prime Time program gathered in the library’s community room at 7:30 for dinners that were provided by Princeton University, Olive’s Bakery and Deli, Zorba’s Brother, J. B. Winberie’s, McCaffrey’s, Wegman’s and Terra Momo. As people finished their focaccia and fresh fruit on Tuesday evening, older children, library staff, teen volunteers, and parents folded the tables at which they’d been seated, stowing them at the sides of the room and setting up chairs for the appreciative audience they then became. This week’s selection was Miss Rumphius, by Barbara Cooney, and after it was read, children asked questions about how the heroine’s lupine seeds were able to be spread, and wondered how they could fulfill the book’s lesson about making the world a more beautiful place.
In addition to hearing Ms. Wise’s readings and Ms. Acosta’s translations, the children had been able to take books home each week to read with their parents and prepare to discuss the following week, when they returned the books to the library.
Ms. Johnson described the program as “very rewarding. We are very excited to have been part of this nationwide effort that offers an opportunity for families to learn the concept of reading together in a humanities-based project,” she said. “Public libraries have long been places where adult and child learners can learn and practice new skills. This project offered a unique opportunity for the library to expand family literacy opportunities and make a significant contribution to a more literate nation.” Although it was an “expensive” program, Ms. Johnson thought that the library would probably offer it again.
The families and children who participated in the program were honored during the final session with certificates, raffle prizes, and a final parting gift: a book they did not have to return to the library.