Based on the findings of a recent three-year study by Dominican University's Graduate School of Library and Information Studies, the authors can confirm what many librarians have long suspected: students who take part in their local library's summer reading program significantly improve their reading skills. This article describes the results of…

Describes an early childhood literacy program called Begin with Books and provides ideas for starting up, finding, and administering similar programs in public libraries. Topics include corporate sponsors; staffing; partnering with community organizations; training; scheduling; and budget information. (LRW)

Discusses methods that the Oceanside (New York) Library used to create programs for children with special needs. Story hours for children with and without parents are described; staffing issues are addressed; particularly helpful books are noted; and incorporation into the summer reading program is discussed. (LRW)

The Alabama Public Library Service (APLS) lists its duties, goals, and recent accomplishments in this 1988 annual report. Some of these duties and goals are: (1) administering grants for library development and state aid; (2) providing consultation for library automation; (3) researching and answering reference questions; (4) lending books from…

Discusses the rise in circulation in the Douglas Public Library District (Colorado) due to expanding educational options. Highlights include the Charter Schools Act, library skills instruction, home-schoolers' use of the library, materials availability, year-round reading programs, Internet benefits, and staffing increases and changes. (AEF)

Based on a pilot program developed in the Los Angeles (California) Public Library, this guide provides the materials and information needed for introducing a "Grandparents and Books" (GAB) program in a public library. The Los Angeles program was designed to bring together the city's elderly population with children who have no one to…

This study reports on the characteristics of selected public libraries into which adult literacy programs have become relatively integrated. The study addresses the following issues (1) the form of leadership in those libraries in which literacy programming has become integrated; (2) the organizational and staff support that promotes library…