The changing perspectives of librarians in theBetter Beginningsfamily literacy program

Abstract

Libraries across Australia are becoming increasingly involved in the development and implementation of family literacy programs, placing librarians at the centre of this initiative. Better Beginnings is a family literacy program developed by the State Library of Western Australian and delivered throughout the state. The program involves a partnership between public libraries, health professionals and local governments that has developed to support the delivery of early literacy resources and strategies to parents of young babies. Librarians play a major role in the delivery, implementation and sustainability of the program.This paper reports the findings from the longitudinal evaluation of Better Beginnings in four communities, across four years, in relation to the perspectives of librarians responsible for the program in their library. Librarians were interviewed about their role in the program and its effectiveness, the training they had received and the collaboration between the professionals involved in the program. The data revealed that over a period of four years librarians had developed an understanding of the purpose and importance of the program, which had led to a sense of ownership and commitment. This was supported by central coordination of the program and collaboration with child-health nurses. Over the four years, they had developed and increased library activities and created 'family spaces' linked to Better Beginnings. They felt the program was effective in promoting literacy in families with young children, but sought more strategies for engaging families that did not traditionally visit libraries or have access to libraries.

‘Better Beginnings has made me make reading part of our everyday routine’: Mothers' Perceptions of a Family Literacy Program Over Four Years

“…The program was developed by the State Library of Western Australia and is based on strong cooperation between health professionals, local governments and public libraries (see Barratt-Pugh, Anderson & North, 2013). Key elements of the program over the four-year period of this study included:…”

Acknowledging and interrogating multiplicities: Towards a generous approach in evaluations of early literacy innovation and intervention

“…These studies draw on interviews and questionnaires with parents, early years providers, health visitors and library staff. In their evaluation of Better Beginnings, for example, Barratt-Pugh et al (2013) concluded that the gift of the book prepared the way for wide-ranging discussions about language and literacy between health visitor and parent. Similarly, Coldwell et al (2012) found that book-gifting was the catalyst for long-lasting changes linked, for example, to parents' participation in literacy or mathematics classes, and access to other services, such as libraries or workshops.…”

Evaluation of Family Literacy Programs: A Case Study of Better Beginnings, a Library-Initiated Family Literacy Bookgifting Program in Western Australia

“…Over recent years, Australian libraries have been highly proactive in developing and implementing family literacy programs. Further, libraries are increasingly partnering with family literacy programs and becoming part of the Let's Read distribution and support network (Barratt-Pugh, Anderson, & North, 2013).…”

“…The research instruments were somewhat modified each year to capture the ongoing impact and sustainability of Better Beginnings, but were similar enough to allow for comparisons over time. A longitudinal study of data from the first four evaluations was made in order to examine the implementation of the program from a longitudinal perspective (Barratt-Pugh & Rohl, 2012).…”

“…These include programs in the United Kingdom (Collins, Svensson, & Mahony, 2005;Hannon, Morgan, & Nutbrown, 2006;Moore & Wade, 2003), Europe (Carpentieri, Fairfax-Cholmeley, Litster, & Vorhaus, 2011), North America (Anderson et al, 2010), and Australia (Barratt-Pugh & Rohl, 2015;Elias, Hay, Homel, & Freiberg, 2006;Shoghi, Willersdorf, Braganza, & McDonald, 2013). They are informed by research suggesting that parents who are not used to sharing books may need ongoing support in selecting appropriate texts, and scaffolding interactions through meaningful talk (Bus, Leseman, & Keultjes, 2000;Neuman, 1996).…”