Drawing on administrative data and reading achievement data provided by two Midwestern school districts for three schools, we analyze the literacy impacts of a replicable summer reading program, Kids Read Now. The program includes both school-based and home-based components that together encourage students to remain engaged in reading high-quality…

Drawing on administrative data and reading achievement data provided by two Midwestern school districts for three participating Kids Read Now schools, this successive year study provides the opportunity to study the reading outcomes of Kids Read Now students. Relying on data from the three schools, we contrast the reading outcomes for KRN student…

Several instruments previously validated for use in school library research were tested for their appropriateness in the context of public libraries' summer reading programs for youth. The researchers were also interested in whether the connection between perceived competence in one's own information skills and perceived competence in one's own…

Games and other forms of play are used in today's libraries to attract underserved patrons, to introduce patrons to other library resources and services, and to facilitate engagement between library patrons. While many perceive gaming as a new library service, gaming services have been part of librarianship since the nineteenth century through…

This article reports on a research study designed to identify who participates in library-based summer reading clubs (SRCs) and why they elect to do so. To address this aim, questionnaires were completed by caregivers of 246 children upon enrollment to the SRC of a metropolitan library as well as 480 youth; the questionnaire was designed to learn…

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…

In order for public libraries in Ohio to meet the needs of their communities and also be in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, they must be able to accommodate children with disabilities in their summer reading programs. Efforts of small or medium public libraries (circulation less than 1,100,000 in 1992) to meet the needs of…