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Kids know what they like.
When you work with kids every day, it becomes really evident that they are discerning and selective and very vocal about what they don’t want. (Every children’s librarian has heard the word or scream “NO” in their department a million times!) So when you find a “bookish” piece of technology that is engaging, encourages reading to all ages and abilities, meets English language learners where they are, and kids LIKE it, you really want to have THAT in your department.
That is how all three of our branches felt about VOX Books. We were hearing from libraries in our consortium and beyond that kids love the read-along aspect, the pressing of buttons, and the cute cue to turn the page. We could imagine how important these could become to our Spanish-speaking families and struggling readers: A language bridge for parents and children, an equal opportunity book that anyone can pick up and follow along with that builds reading and language skills along the way.
Kids love them.
We want them.
What could be the problem?
The problem is one that many in public libraries encounter. How do you secure funding for a new collection with the necessary core titles and enough variety to get up to speed (without sacrificing new graphic novels or series our patrons love and expect)? But thanks to the RAILS My Library Is... Grant, the problem disappeared, and VOX Books was incorporated into all three of our branches.
Before the MLI Grant, our library's children’s audiobook collections consisted of CD materials that had stopped circulating and were decreasing through damage and weeding.
With this grant, the Children’s Librarians at all three of our branches carefully curated a core collection that could repeat at each branch. We also realized that each of our branches has a unique patron profile that would benefit from these new materials, so each branch selected its own set of books they felt spoke to the preferences at their location. This has provided a unique crossover of materials that can be utilized throughout White Oak Library’s Children’s Departments.
Since incorporating VOX Books, our audiobooks have gone from 300 circulations a year to 750 in just 6 months, a 150% increase with a collection of just 90 books. With the core of this collection already circulating, we have carved out the ability to continue to increase the collection within our existing budgets. Our circulation of children’s audiobooks continues to grow along with the circulations.
More importantly, however, has been the excitement of kids who are now discovering the joy of “a read-along” and of parents who are happily seeing their struggling or reluctant readers reaching for a book and the recognition by our Spanish-speaking communities that are enjoying the bilingual support that VOX is providing. While these numbers are small in the vast circulation numbers of our three branches, they are impactful.
We believe that this small but significant collection will continue to grow readers. After all, kids know what they like. And right now, with the addition of VOX books, they like to read.
Today's blog post was written by Dawn Scuderi, Children’s Services Supervisor at the White Oak Library District - Lockport Branch.
This project was made possible by the My Library Is... Grant.