San José Public Library’s Books for Little Hands Program Celebrates 10-Year Milestone
Introduces New Pilot Component
December 3, 2007 -
SAN JOSE, CALIF - More than a hundred people gathered at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library on November 27 for a reception celebrating the 10-year anniversary of San José Public Library’s early literacy development program, Books for Little Hands. The program provides early literacy development resources and workshops for early educators and parents.
“For ten years, Books for Little Hands has been helping young children grow up with a love for reading,” said Judy Chirco, District 9 councilmember and council liaison to the Early Care and Education Commission. “By exposing children to books, we can expand their vocabulary, prepare them to succeed in school, and help ensure that they get the best possible start in life.”
Recent research on children’s brain development has shown that a child is born with billions of brain cells and as a child experiences the world and people around him, connections between these brain cells are made. By the time a child is eight months old, the number of these connections in the brain totals over 1,000 trillion. The number of connections increases until a child is 3 or 4 years old. Repeating experiences and interactions helps to hardwire these connections in the child’s brain. These experiences become the foundation for later learning. Regular face-to-face interactions, like being read to, actually build the literacy skills needed for future proficiency in reading and writing.
Books for Little Hands is the outgrowth of a pilot program (Stop and Drop) begun in 1997 in response to a needs assessment, which indicated that local childcare providers were interested, but lacked materials and in some cases, expertise to provide the kinds of experiences that promote early literacy development.
The initial offering was the “Classroom Book Bag” containing a selection of age-appropriate books selected by children’s librarians to be ready for a quick pickup by time-challenged preschool and childcare providers for use in their classrooms. The books were selected on the basis of their suitability for reading aloud. A starter collection of 720 books was quickly utilized by caregivers at 24 preschool and childcare sites. Demand grew steadily over the past 10 years and the program now serves 459 sites, circulating 465 Classroom Book Bags drawing on an inventory of 9,300 books. Materials are selected with the intent to honor multicultural diversity. Bilingual books and materials are increasingly available (predominantly Spanish and Vietnamese), based on customer demand and available resources for acquisition. Over 8,000 children were served through the program in Fiscal Year 2006/07.
Ongoing development of the program is a collaborative effort relying to a high degree on feedback from current users. The following changes are the direct result of user feedback:
- 2001 — Three components added:
- Curriculum Idea Kits – Books, puppets, music, and other hands-on materials with suggestions for activities
- My Books and I – Books for children to take home and share with their families and tips for parents on promoting early literacy at home
- Early Literacy Education – Educator and parent/child workshops, and tip sheets
- 2003 — Early Literacy Education expanded; addition of a literacy specialist enabled development and delivery of additional educator and parent workshops, as well as more tip sheets
In 2004, the program’s outreach focus was further reinforced through its alignment with Smart Start San Jose and under the newly created administrative unit, Early Care and Education Services.
At the reception, Program Coordinator Rosa Leon-Monday announced a new pilot component to the program, focused on serving the needs of families using Family Learning Centers at Dr. Roberto Cruz – Alum Rock, Hillview and Tully Community branch libraries. “Books and More!” will extend the “Curriculum Idea Kit” concept to home use. Use will enable parents to reinforce their children’s classroom experiences, creating a relationship of collaboration with educators so essential to academic success.
This latest program enhancement has been made possible through a generous grant from the Business Objects Foundation. For more information on the Books for Little Hands program, visit www.sjlibrary.org/services/early_care/b4lh/index.htm or call (408) 808-2621.
Over the years, Books for Little Hands has been indebted to many community organizations for their support. Without their generous support, the success celebrated this year could not have been realized.
PAST & PRESENT DONORS (1997-2007)
- Adaptec
- Applied Materials
- Bay View Bank
- BEA Foundation
- Business Objects Foundation
- Eureka Bank
- Federal Fund for the Improvement of Education
- FIRST 5 Santa Clara County
- Friends of the Willow Glen Library
- Gwyn Brown
- Healthy Neighborhoods Venture Fund
- Lakeshore Learning Materials
- Martin Family Foundation
- Milligan News Company, Inc.
- Rossi Family Foundation
- Rotary Club of San Jose
- San José Public Library Foundation
- Santa Clara County Office of Education
- Silicon Valley Community Foundation formerly: Community Foundation Silicon Valley)
- Sobrato Family Foundation
- Target
- The David & Lucile Packard Foundation
- Waldenbooks/Borders
- Wells Fargo Foundation
For more information, contact:
• Lorraine Oback, San José Public Library, at (408) 808-2176
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