Fostering Readers: Addressing the Knowledge Gap for Serving Beginning Readers

Abstract

"How do we support children who have aged out of our 0–5 storytimes?"

With the introduction of great resources like Every Child Ready to Read and Babies Need Words Every Day, this question popped up more and more in electronic mailing lists, social-media groups, and in-person chats. The truth is, library staff all over the map are doing some really great things for emerging readers in kindergarten and beyond. This question says more about youth library staff’s desire for the confidence that research-based activities can equip us with than our actual ability to work with this age group.