Conclusion     Libraries and Emergent Literacy

Introduction History Brain Research Pediatric Partners Parent Education Advocacy Conclusion Site Map References William Caskey LIBR 500: Foundations of Information Technology School of Library, Archival, and Information Science University of British Columbia Last updated April 15, 2005

The Future At the beginning of the 21st century, there is more information than ever for citizens to read and interpret. There is also an awareness that a preventative approach to illiteracy is the best approach. The same early experiences with language that give children a head-start with reading also help them establish the background experience on which intellectual and emotional learning depend. Children who know eight nursery rhymes by heart by the time they are four years old are usually among the best readers by grade three. 13  All of this has more to do with language interaction between young children and adults, not just sharing books. There's a temptation to look to technology to solve many of the problems we face. In this case, technology has been helpful in showing the physiolocgical ways that sharing books with children helps brains grow healthy. And technology can help us to raise awareness of emergent literacy issues and best practices as well as to lobby legislators and administrators to put money into supporting emergent literacy efforts like Books for Babies programs and Reach Out and Read. <previous      next>