Lansdowne Children’s Centre highlights Grand Erie libraries for Family Literacy Day
GRAND ERIE – While Family Literacy Day may only officially appear on the calendar once a year on January 27, every day is a celebration of learning and community with your library.
Lansdowne Children’s Centre reached out to some of the libraries that serve families in our catchment area to learn a bit more about what resources, programming and services are available – many of which at no cost, and some you can even access from home.
For starters, Haldimand County Public Library CEO Paul Diette said, “We have an extensive collection of children’s books at all reading levels,” and each branch carries a number of easy readers, which are specifically geared towards readers who are developing their skills.
Not only that, but the Haldimand library has over 300 titles across its system that are classified as decodable books.
Diette explained that these books are specifically written with a focus on gradually building phonics familiarity and skills, which can be helpful for children with dyslexia and other learning disorders that make reading a challenge.
For these readers, “seeing new words and new combinations they're not familiar with yet is one of the biggest struggling points. So, with the books not introducing any other words than what they're promoting in that book, they avoid that.”
Haldimand library’s decodable books collection started a few years ago.
“A young Cayuga patron who was a struggling reader and needed books of this nature approached us with her parent, and alerted us to a grant that was available from the International Dyslexia Association (IDA), Ontario branch,” Diette said.
Zeta Phillipo, Director of Programs and Collections at the County of Brant Public Library, said that library had also applied for and received a grant from IDA.
“Of course, we have a budget, but any time we can get additional money that we can use to purchase (materials) is certainly wonderful,” she said. “It means we can grow that collection, and make that more available. We appreciate it.”
These aren’t the only types of books that help make reading more accessible.
Both the County of Brant and the Brantford Public Library have Wonderbooks in their collection.
Phillipo explained that these are books with a permanent audio player attached that will read the book, either out loud, or with headphones.
“There's nothing additional required; it's just the player that is already attached to the book,” she said. There’s a variety of titles available in this format from a range of publishers.
Libraries don’t just have media such as books, movies, and video games available to borrow; many have expanded their collection to include other items that you might not expect.
For instance, you can borrow videography equipment, disc golf discs, puzzles and board games from the Haldimand library. The Brantford Public Library has laptops and WiFi hotspot devices available to borrow, as well as a carbon dioxide monitor and a radon detector. The County of Brant library’s collection includes sensory kits (with things like fidget spinners, liquid floor tiles and sensory stepping stones), as well as noise machines and light therapy lamps.
“(There are) so many various things that maybe you wouldn't think that a library would lend, but we do,” Phillipo said, noting that one of the benefits of having these items available to borrow is that families can try it out first to make sure it will work for them, rather than just spending money and hoping for the best.
Besides being able to access resources, libraries are also spaces where the community can connect.
As Diette noted, the Haldimand library’s Stay and Play program has been a hit with local families. With this program, children under the age of five and their parents/ guardians can come to the library and hang out over the course of an hour and a half to two hours. While the session does include a short story time, the rest of it is unstructured, meaning that families can come and go as their schedules allow, but still have a chance to meet with each other.
“We’re finding that parents are appreciating that more,” he said.
Of course, being able to physically get to the library can sometimes be a challenge, but there are a host of online resources, eLearning and reference sources that can be accessed from anywhere, and are available at no extra cost with your library card (see a sample list below).
One such resource that was recently added to County of Brant library’s catalogue is LOTE4Kids.
Phillipo explained that LOTE stands for Language Other Than English; this resource has over 3,000 titles in a wide range of languages, including – but in no way limited to – American Sign Language, Arabic, Mandarin, Filipino (Tagalog), Hindi, and Ukrainian.
“They’re adding new languages all the time,” she said.
This resource was brought in to address a growing demand in the community.
“For a lot of people who are new to the community or new to Canada, they want to still experience their home language,” she said. This way, they can.
This resource is also beneficial to English speakers who are learning another language, as it allows them to practice another language in a fun and engaging way.
Phillipo emphasized that the library is here for you.
“Always reach out,” she said. “People can call and we're happy to help them however we can.”
ONLINE RESOURCES
These are just some of the online resources, eLearning and reference sources that your local library may offer; if your library doesn’t have these specific services, chances are, it will offer something similar. It’s also possible that you might be able to get a library card from a neighbouring municipality, either for free, or a nominal annual fee. Ask library staff to help you get connected:
CloudLibrary: Offers eBooks, audiobooks and magazines
PressReader: Offers newspapers and magazines
Libby: Offers eBooks and audiobooks
Hoopla: Graphic novels and comic books, as well as movies, television, and music streaming
iVox: Offers children’s eBooks
Freegal: Offers free music streaming and downloads
Mango Languages: Interactive language classes
ChiltonLibrary: Car care and repair manuals
Fiero Code: Learn to code