Texas State Library and Archives Commission - Reach Out and Read-Texas

Partnership to Support School-Readiness

The Texas State Library and Archives Commission and Reach Out and Read-Texas share a mission of encouraging a love of books and reading and supporting preschool children in school-readiness. To enhance their success, the Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) and Reach Out and Read-Texas (ROR), a program of the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, formalized a Collaboration Agreement to establish an ongoing partnership to share information and resources and to encourage local Texas public libraries and local ROR participants to collaborate.

The mission of Reach Out and Read-Texas is to give young children a foundation for success by incorporating books into pediatric care and encouraging families to read aloud together. Since 1991, the Reach Out and Read model has been studied by academic investigators in a variety of settings, providing an extensive body of peer-reviewed research on the effects of the program.

Key Findings

• Parents served by Reach Out and Read are up to four times more likely to read aloud to their children.

• Reach Out and Read reaches the child through effectively teaching the parent to start lifelong learning in the home.

• During the preschool years, children served by Reach Out and Read score three to six months ahead of their non-Reach Out and Read peers on vocabulary tests. These early foundational language skills help start children on a path of success when they enter school.

The Texas State Library and Archives Commission invites Texas public libraries to contact Jocelyn McConnell, MEd, Director, Reach Out and Read-Texas to initiate collaborations with local ROR programs, and to provide:

1. Library card applications that local ROR programs may share with participating families.

2. Library calendars of events with early literacy, parenting, ESL, GED, and other library information that local ROR  programs may distribute to children and families to inform them about public library services and programs.

3. Information about the library’s online resources that local ROR programs may provide to children and families.

4. Parent/child, parenting, and literacy programs at ROR program locations, or read to children at the sites, if outreach staff is available.

5. Information about ROR to library patrons in the library and through social media.

Reach Out and Read-Texas will:

1. Facilitate libraries and local ROR programs in connecting and establishing collaborations.

2. Provide information about collaborations with public libraries to ROR program locations throughout Texas.

3. Encourage ROR programs to promote the use of the library services and programs to children and parents during well-child checkups and distribute information provided by public library partners, such as library card applications and calendars of events and information about the library.

4. Encourage ROR program providers to inform parents at well-child checkups  that:

• They may apply for a library card for free.

• Public libraries have books in English and Spanish and other languages for children and adults, and they may borrow them and take them home for free.

• Public libraries provide many programs and services for free that will benefit them, such as storytimes and ESL and GED classes.

• Many public libraries have job centers to help people find and apply for jobs.

• Public libraries have computers that they can use for free.

• Staff at many public libraries speak Spanish and additional languages.

• Staff at public libraries will be happy to serve them and that they will be welcomed at the library.

Resources:

Reach Out and Read-Texas Resource Center

Reach Out and Read Training Videos (on YouTube)

American Library Association - Every Child Ready to Read@yourlibrary

Texas State Library Press Release

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