SUMMER%20READING

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SUMMER READING _at_ HPL
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STUDY TEAM

• Kirsten Moffatt
• Teen Librarian
• Brantford Public Library
• Dr. Lynne McKechnie
• Project Consultant
• University of Western Ontario
• Helen Benoit
• Director, Children and Young Adult Services
• Hamilton Public Library

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IN THIS PRESENTATION

• Background information on Hamilton, the Hamilton
  Public Library and its Summer Reading Program
• Who was involved in the study and how they were
  involved (methodology)
• Principal findings as well as additional findings
• Benefits of conducting this type of study
• Tips for conducting your own Summer Reading
  Program study

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ABOUT HAMILTON

• Hamilton is the fourth largest city in Ontario
• A culturally rich population of approximately
  500,000
• Recent Social Planning and Research Council
  report indicates 20 of the population living
  below the poverty line, this figure includes 25
  of all children in Hamilton

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ABOUT HPL

• 24 branch locations and 2 bookmobiles
• Branches located in urban and rural areas

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ABOUT SUMMER READING

• Summer Reading Program is a core service at HPL
• Planned and delivered yearly by Youth Services
  Librarians, Branch staff and Summer Literacy
  Workers (post secondary students)
• Read-and-report structure
• Children must read one book to sign up
• Participants are rewarded with incentive prizes
  after reading certain numbers of books

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SUMMER READING PROGRAMS

• STORYBOOK CLUB
• Parents read with children aged 0 to 6 years and
  record
• their progress on their own.
• SUMMER READERS
• Children aged 6 to 12 read on their own and
  report on their
• books at the library.
• READING BUDDIES
• Reluctant readers aged 6 to 12 read with a buddy.
• TEEN READING CLUB
• Teens aged 12 to 18 read and fill in ballots to
  record their
• progress.

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PROGRAM GOALS

• The Hamilton Public Librarys Summer Reading
  Program
• has four main goals
• Stimulate and encourage a love of reading in
  children including those with reading
  difficulties.
• Assist interested children in maintaining their
  reading level over the summer.
• Improve childrens ability to communicate about
  literature via oral and written reports.
• Improve staff knowledge of childrens reading
  interests.

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FUNDING

• HPL hired 42 summer literacy workers in 2004.
  Funding for
• these positions came from a number of sources
• Summer Career Placements
• Summer Job Service
• Young Canada Works
• Hamilton Public Library

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SUMMER LITERACY WORKERS

• Summer Literacy Workers are post-secondary
  students with
• career interests in library work, teaching, early
  childhood
• education and literacy.

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SPONSORS

• Major sponsors for 2004 included
• TD Bank
• The Hamilton Spectator
• Hamilton Tiger Cats
• Optimist Clubs

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PARTNERS and PRIZES

• Many incentive prizes for the SRP are provided on
  an
• in-kind basis
• Requests for prizes are made to local and
  national organizations, i.e. Kiwanis, Canada Post
  Heritage Club
• Incentive prizes are given to program
  participants as they reach specific levels within
  a club
• Donations are also used as prizes for programs
  and contests

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PRIZE STRUCTURE
BOOKS CHILDRENS CLUBS TEEN CLUB
1 Ti-Cat Tickets and TD Passport Ti-Cat Tickets and Spectator Tour
3 Colouring Sheet and McDonalds Coupons
6 TD Poster and Stickers TD Poster and Magazine or Anime Sampler
12 Book or Canvas Book Bag Book and Choice of 2 Food Coupons
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GENDER BREAKDOWN AND COMPLETION

• Of the total participants in 2004, 45 were boys
  and 55
• were girls.
• Compared to 2003
• 793 more boys enrolled in 2004
• 678 more girls enrolled in 2004
• 2004 saw an increase of 1,137 readers reaching
  the six book
• level.
• Data also showed that there was an increase in
  the number
• of boys reading more than one book.

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2004 STATISTICS

• Storybook Club
• 3,413 participants 15.3 increase
• Summer Readers
• 5,714 participants 19.5 increase
• Reading Buddies
• 704 participants 6 increase
• Teen Reading Club
• 961 participants 4.7 increase
• TOTAL PARTICIPATION
• 10,792 participants 15.7 increase

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SUPPORTING PROGRAMS

• 408 supporting programs were offered during the
  months of
• July and August. 16,074 young people attended
  these
• programs a 35 increase over 2003.
• Kick off programs with Reptile Man
• Teen Animé Film Festival
• Pen Pal Program
• Library Bingo
• Crafts

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PROMOTION OF SRP

• School visits
• Partnership with Boards of Education to produce
  and
• distribute a flier to all students
• HPL promotion
• - Whats Happening _at_ HPL
• - HPL web site
• - Posters and other print material available in
  the library
• Program kick-off events
• Directed mail outs to parents of preschoolers in
  partnership with Healthy Babies Healthy Children
• Repeat ads provided by our local newspaper
• Outreach and Participation in local Festivals

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HOW EFFECTIVE IS THE SUMMER READING PROGRAM?

• An evaluative study of the
• program at Hamilton Public
• Library.

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ABOUT THIS STUDY

• Budget of approximately 15,000 for all
  associated costs approved by HPL Board
• Co-op student/recent MLIS grad hired as lead
  researcher
• Four months from start to finish
• Descriptive statistical and qualitative data
  collected to determine whether the Summer Reading
  Program is meeting pre-established goals

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PURPOSE OF STUDY

• PRIMARY PURPOSE
• To determine how successful the Summer Reading
  Program is in meeting its established goals.
• SECONDARY PURPOSE
• To collect information on the effectiveness of
  particular aspects of the program and on the
  perceptions of different stakeholder groups vis a
  vis the Summer Reading Program.

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WHO WAS INVOLVED?

• Storybook Club/Reading Club Participants
• Teen Reading Club Participants
• Reading Buddies Participants
• Parents of Participants (all streams)
• Educators (Public, Separate and Private Schools)

• New Canadians (adults and children)
• Reading Buddies Volunteers
• Summer Literacy Workers (university students)
• HPL Branch Managers
• HPL Staff Involved in SRP

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PARTICIPANT NUMBERS

• SBC/SRC Participants 260 interviewed
• TRC Participants 22 surveyed
• RB Participants 46 attended focus groups
• Parents of Participants 141 interviewed
• Educators 70 surveyed
• New Canadians 73 attended focus groups
• RB Volunteers 53 attended focus groups
• SLWs 26 surveyed
• HPL Branch Managers 6 surveyed
• HPL Branch Staff Involved with SRP 26 surveyed
• TOTAL STUDY PARTICIPANTS - 723

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DATA COLLECTION METHODS

• To collect data from members of our targeted
  stakeholder
• groups, we used
• Personal Interviews
• Surveys
• Focus Groups

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WHAT DID WE LEARN?

• Based on the data we collected, it appears that
  Hamilton
• Public Librarys Summer Reading Program is very
• successful in meeting its goals.

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GOAL 1

• STIMULATE AND ENCOURAGE A LOVE OF READING IN
• CHILDREN INCLUDING THOSE WITH READING
  DIFFICULTIES
• 83.7 of parents interviewed said their children
  displayed more enthusiasm for reading than before
  they joined SRP
• 84.6 of BSC/SRC participants said they liked to
  read more than before they joined
• 81.8 of TRC participants said that one of their
  top two reasons for joining the TRC was that is
  nurtured their love of reading
• 89.1 of Reading Buddies participants said they
  liked to read more since joining the program

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GOAL 1 (contd)

• 81.8 of Reading Buddies volunteers reported
  positive changes in their buddys attitude
  towards books and reading over the course of the
  program
• By consensus, 100 of new Canadians agreed that
  visiting the library and participating in
  programs like the SRP helped children learn to
  love reading
• 85.7 of educators said they believed/had
  observed that SRP participation improves
  childrens enthusiasm toward books and reading
• 91.7 of SLWs said they noticed a positive change
  in the attitudes of most SRP participants toward
  books and reading over the course of the summer

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TESTIMONIALS

• I never used to read hardly at all because I
  thought it was
• boring and hard, but now I love it.
• Reading Buddies Participant, Central Library
• My kid is more excited to read now. He doesnt
  just say
• reading is boring like when he first came. He
  sees that
• some books are funny or interesting and he
  actually wants
• to read them.
• Reading Buddies Volunteer, Central Library
• This program fosters a love of reading that
  lasts a
• lifetime.
• Participant Parent, Ancaster Branch

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GOAL 2

• ASSIST INTERESTED CHILDREN IN MAINTAINING THEIR
  READING LEVEL OVER THE SUMMER
• 89.4 of parents said they witnessed literacy
• maintenance or improvement in their children
  that they
• attribute to SRP participation
• 95.5 of TRC participants said that they believe
  program
• participation maintains or improves their
  literacy skills and provides them with an
  academic advantage over their
• classmates who do not participate
• 95.7 of Reading Buddies participants said they
  believed
• that participating in the program made them
  better readers or kept up their skills over the
  summer

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GOAL 2 (contd)

• 83.0 of Reading Buddies volunteers said they had
• witnessed not only maintenance but perceptible
• improvement in the skills of the children they
  worked with
• By consensus, 100 of new Canadians agreed that
• visiting the library and attending programs like
  the SRP is
• very important to helping children to not only
  maintain but improve their literacy skills in
  English
• 100 of Summer Literacy Workers reported
  witnessing
• maintenance or improvement of literacy skills in
  almost all children who joined the program and
  continued to
• participate throughout the summer

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TESTIMONIALS

• I think the program definitely makes a
  difference in their
• skills. My kids always go back to school reading
  at least as
• well as they did when they left.
• Participant Parent, Barton Branch
• This program helped my reading get better. My
  teacher
• even noticed!
• Reading Buddies Participant, Terryberry Branch
• I work with students at different grade levels,
  so Ill often
• see the same ones several years in a row. Every
  fall, there
• is a definite difference in skills between those
  who have
• read and visited the library over the summer and
  those who
• have not.
• Educator, Hamilton Wentworth District School
  Board

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ADDITIONAL EVIDENCE

• Many studies have been conducted throughout
  Canada and the United States in which
  standardized test were used to measure student
  literacy scores before and after SRP
  participation
• Results of the majority of these studies (Heyns,
  Carter, Howes, Robbins and Thompson, Markey,
  Doleman, etc.) prove that SRP participants show
  increases in post-test literacy scores while the
  scores of children who do not read over the
  summer typically decline

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ADDITIONAL EVIDENCE (contd)

• Although this study did not involve a pre-test
  post-test component, results of other studies are
  transferable to HPL context because
• HPLs SRP operates according to the same read
  and report style as the programs involved in
  these studies and is actually more rigorous than
  most about ensuring that children are actually
  reading
• Standardized tests used in studies are frequently
  ones that have been used in Hamilton schools,
  eliminating the possibility of area bias

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GOAL 3

• IMPROVE CHILDRENS ABILITY TO COMMUNICATE ABOUT
  LITERATURE VIA ORAL AND WRITTEN REPORTS
• 90.1 of parents said their children have become
  more willing/able to communicate about what they
  read since joining the SRP
• 73.9 of Reading Buddies participants said that
  they talk more about what they read as a result
  of being in the program
• 88.7 of Reading Buddies volunteers said the
  children they worked with become more
  willing/better able to talk about their books
  over the course of the program

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GOAL 3 (contd)

• 77.1 of teachers surveyed said that they
  believed SRP participation helped children become
  better able to communicate about what they read
• By consensus, 100 of new Canadians agreed that
  library programs including the SRP improve the
  English communication abilities of ESL children,
  not only in literature but in general
• 100 of SLWs said that they observed improvements
  in the literature-related communication abilities
  of SRP participants over the course of the summer
• 71.5 of Branch Managers and 84.7 of library
  staff said that in their experience, children who
  participate in the SRP do become better able to
  communicate about what they are reading

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TESTIMONIALS

• Its kind of funny at first I could hardly get
  him to talk at
• all other than reading the words. Now we get
  into
• discussions about different characters or whats
  happening
• in the story and sometimes they go on for so long
  that he
• forgets to read or we both forget where we were!
• Reading Buddies Volunteer, Terryberry Branch
• Kids are excited and want to share their reading
  and this
• program opens the door to parental encouragement,
• communication about books and so on.
• Participant Parent, Mount Hope Branch
• The forms need more lines to write on. Some
  people like
• to write a lot!
• Teen Reading Club Participant, Central Library

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GOAL 4

• IMPROVE STAFF KNOWLEDGE OF CHILDRENS
• READING INTERESTS
• 66.7 of branch managers surveyed said that their
  own knowledge of childrens reading interests has
  been improved significantly by managing a branch
  in which the SRP is operating. 84.3 said that
  they believed that SRP involvement has a
  discernable impact on their staffs knowledge of
  childrens reading interests over and above their
  regular library work
• 65.4 of full-time youth services staff surveyed
  said that they thought SRP involvement had a
  discernable impact on their knowledge of
  childrens reading interests over and above their
  regular library work

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GOAL 4 (contd)

• 100 of Summer Literacy Workers surveyed said
  that they thought that SRP involvement has
  improved their knowledge of childrens literature
  and reading interests

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TESTIMONIALS

• Not only this year, but over the past three
  years (of being a
• Summer Literacy Worker) my understanding of
  childrens
• reading interests has greatly changed and
  expanded. I now
• have a greater understanding of what they like
  and why.
• Summer Literacy Worker
• I think that I already had a good understanding
  of
• childrens reading interests before I began this
  job, but I
• have been introduced to many other books and
  series of
• books through SRC reporting.
• Summer Literacy Worker

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A FEW OTHER INDICATORS OF PROGRAM SUCCESS

• Program enrolment has increased steadily over the
  last five years, with many children returning
  year after year
• 97.5 of SRC/SBC participants who had joined the
  program in previous years said that the quality
  of the SRP is as good or better now than in
  previous years
• 100 of parents interviewed agreed that the
  program has both educational and recreational
  benefits for a their children and many mentioned
  other benefits as well, including improving their
  confidence and self-esteem and facilitating rich
  and positive social interactions
• 98.6 of educators believe that the program is
  valuable enough that they either do or plan to
  recommend it to their students

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INDICATORS (contd)

• 95.5 of eligible Summer Literacy Workers said
  that their experience in day-to-day running of
  the program at the various branches was so
  positive that they would definitely consider
  coming back to the job next summer

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MORE STAKEHOLDER FEEDBACK

• This is a wonderful program. It has contributed
  to the
• reading skills of our children and truly inspired
  a love of
• reading skills in our children and truly inspired
  a love of
• reading in our family that I believe will last a
  lifetime. All our
• children have done it and the older ones look
  back on it
• fondly.
• Participant Parent, Terryberry Branch
• I love this club and I just want to say to
  everyone at the
• library youre the best!
• TRC Participant, Westdale Branch
• The program here is beautiful. It is beautiful.
  I like it a lot!
• New Canadian, Red Hill Branch

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FEEDBACK (contd)

• I have learned more from this job/experience
  than any
• other job or university course Ive ever taken.
  Working with
• a vast array of children, parents and teenagers
  all at once
• has been extremely challenging but also
  rewardingIve
• developed some great relationships and made
  connections
• with some wonderful people both young and old.
• Summer Literacy Worker

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OVERALL

• Based on the responses of participants, there is
  every
• reason to believe that HPLs Summer Reading
  Program is
• very successful in meeting the goals it has set
  for itself and
• is a very valuable program in the eyes of its
  stakeholders.

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ADDITIONAL FINDINGS

• While the primary purpose of the study was to
  evaluate the
• Summer Reading Program in terms of its success in
• meeting its goals, there were many other things
  to be
• learned from the data collected.

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OTHER OFTEN-CITED POSITIVE OUTCOMES OF THE SRP

• While increasing the amount of reading children
  do is not
• an explicit goal of the SRP, this study found
  that
• 81.6 of parents said their children are reading
  more as a result of participating in the SRP than
  they would otherwise read over the summer
• 63.6 of teens also indicated that they read more
  as a result of TRC participation
• Likewise, while increasing childrens creativity
  is not a
• primary goal of the program, it was found that
• 64.5 of parents said that they believe the SRP
  contribution to the development of their childs
  creativity and imagination
• 54.3 of teachers observed these contributions

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NEW CANADIANS UNIQUE USES OF THE LIBRARY

• Many newcomers involved in the study described
  the
• library in very unique ways.
• The library as a safe environment in which adults
  and
• children alike can practice their English skills
  without fear
• of ridicule.
• We all come to the library to work on
  communication. As
• we communicate we practise English. It is a
  friendly place
• to practiseand we dont feel embarrassed and
  people
• dont treat you like youre so different from
  them.

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UNIQUE USES (contd)

• Library resources as tools to retain their
  traditional cultures
• and languages even as they adapt to life in
  Canada.
• We started taking out the language kits for my
  son. After
• he saw them, his grandfather also was interested
  in them.
• Now, (he and his grandfather) use the kits
  together to
• practise English but also read in our own
  language.

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SRP PARTICIPANTS OTHER LIBRARY USES

• Children in HPLs SRP/SBC are also using the
  library for
• other reasons. Of the 260 children interviewed,
  259
• reported other uses of the library in addition to
  SRP related
• activities.
• 93.1 take out books or other items
• 56.2 attend programs year-round
• 36.9 use library computers
• 5.0 do homework at the library
• 7.8 come to the library to meet or
• hang out with friends
• 7.8 come to the library for other reasons,
• including to read quietly and to play with toys

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ADVERTISING

• School visits are the most effective way of
  advertising the
• program to children.
• 54.2 of children in the SBC/SRC and 45.7 in
  Reading Buddies reported learning about the
  program this way
• In-library ads (posters, flyers) are the most
  effective way of
• advertising the program to teens and adults.
• 55.3 of parents reported learning about the
  program this way
• 40.9 of TRC participants reported learning about
  the program this way

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INCENTIVES

• Incentive prizes were felt to be important and
  were
• positively regarded by most respondents.
• 85.8 of parents said that the SRP prizes have a
  motivating impact on their children when it comes
  to reading over the summer. In another question,
  99.3 said they were satisfied with HPLs prizes
  this summer
• 52.7 of SBC/SRC participants (including 58.0 of
  boys and 48.2 of girls) said that getting the
  prizes was their favourite part of being in the
  SRP
• 81.8 of teens said the prizes this year were
  great

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INCENTIVES (contd)

• 81.8 of Reading Buddies volunteers said that the
  prizes were important motivators for the children
  they worked with
• 100 of Summer Literacy Workers surveyed said
  that prizes were motivating for the majority of
  children at their branch

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BENEFITS OF CONDUCTING THIS TYPE OF RESEARCH

• Ensure that the SRP is meeting the goals of the
  library has set for it
• Connect with the community and ensure that the
  SRP is meeting the needs of its stakeholders
• Learn about the program and the library itself
  through the eyes of different patron groups
• Discover new questions that are worthy of further
  research
• Make recommendations to board, sponsors, etc.
  based on findings

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STEPS IN CONDUCTING YOUR OWN SRP STUDY

• Establish program goals (measurable outcomes)
• Determine the parameters of your study, i.e. how
• much time and money can you devote it
• Determine who you would like to involve in the
  study which stakeholder groups and what your
  intended data collection methods will be
• Contact representatives of these stakeholder
  groups to inform them of the study and request
  their involvement
• Determine what procedures may be involved in
  obtaining permission to involve each group and
  complete any required paperwork, i.e. ethics
  approval packages, parental consent forms, etc.

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STEPS (contd)

• Compose your data collection instruments
• Collect your data according to the methods you
  have selected and offer participants a chance to
  view the results of the study when it is complete
• Organize and analyze your data in a way that
  makes sense for your purposes (significance
  testing, for example, was not required for the
  descriptive statistical data in this study)
• Compose final report(s) for your audience(s)
• Ensure that copies of relevant reports are
  forwarded to any parties who helped organize or
  fund the study and to any participants who
  indicated interest in viewing the results

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CONCLUDING REMARKS

• This study has shown that the Summer Reading
  Program at
• the Hamilton Public Library is effective in
  meeting its goals.

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THANK YOU

• Any questions?