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The Hillsboro City Library has been selected to participate in a one-year early literacy program through its participation in the Family Place program.
The National Family Place Office received an Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) grant to launch this new program. HCL is partnering with the National Family Place Organization, the Smithsonian Office of Educational Technology, the Goodling Institute for Research in Family Literacy at Penn State University and the Public Library Association, to adapt, evaluate and disseminate the Smithsonian’s new online “Talk with Me Toolkits.” Of the four libraries chosen to participate, HCL is by far the smallest and the most rural participant in the program.
The library will be working closely with researchers at the Goodling Institute to launch this program to area families. The program lasts for six weeks and is in a hybrid format, that is online and physical tools will be utilized during the program. The targeted age range for participants is 5 to 9 years old and their parents/caregivers. HCL hosted the first cohort during the spring, with 12 families participating.
HCL will host the second cohort on Thursday, August 24 at 5:30 in the evening and conclude on Thursday, September 28.
The “Talk with Me Toolkits” will encourage families to spend time exploring topics on art, community, music, nature, science and space. Participants will be asked to do activities at home over the course of each week and report their findings and experiences the following Thursday. With this being a pilot program, there will be a great deal of data collection; parents/caregivers will need to complete paper surveys before and after sessions.
The program will begin on Thursday, August 24 at 5:30 in the evening and conclude on Thursday, September 28. Each session will be one hour in duration with the exception of the first meeting lasting for two hours. Please note that it is important that families attend all six sessions. Due to the nature of this project, it is highly important that each participant is able to attend all sessions and arrive on time each week.
For more information about this program and to sign up please contact the Youth Services Librarian at (254) 582-7385.