Link to Libraries celebrates 10 years of encouraging literacy

May 1, 2019 | Stephanie Trombley
stephanie@thereminder.com

Students observe books during a Link to Libraries school visit.
Reminder Publishing submitted photo

SPRINGFIELD – For a decade, Link to Libraries has brought new books to children in the Greater Springfield area. Through a number of programs, Link to Libraries has ensured that children in surrounding schools have access to stories and enhanced literary skills, no matter their cultural background.

Laurie Flynn, president of Link to Libraries, explained, “Our mission is to get books into the hands of the children in our community who need them the most by supporting at-risk school libraries and giving kids books to take home to create a home library. We are trying to make sure they have books at school and at home.”

Over the last 10 years, Link to Libraries has seen an immense amount of growth, according to Flynn. “We’ve grown tremendously. We moved up into the Berkshires. We now sponsor every elementary school in the city of Springfield and are looking to expand our programming to include summer reading initiatives,” Flynn said.

Link to Libraries currently has five programs: Business Book Link, Read Aloud, Reading Any Place (RAP,) Celebrity Readers and Books for Babies.

Business Book Link connects local businesses with a school that they support for three years. During the duration of the three-year program, Link to Libraries donates between 250 and 400 new books to the sponsored school. Currently, there are over 75 businesses sponsoring schools in Western Massachusetts and Connecticut. Flynn told Reminder Publishing that Springfield libraries typically only receive $500 per year in funding to purchase new books. “I knew we were doing a good thing, but I didn’t realize what a big deal it was,” Flynn said.

The Read Aloud program takes place in classrooms in Western Massachusetts and Connecticut in cities including Holyoke, Chicopee, Springfield, Greenfield and Hartford. A reader will come to the classroom once a month for the duration of the school year to read to students. Each student receives a new book after each visit. There are currently over 100 readers involved in this program.

Flynn said, “We always bring extra books. We want that last child to have their choice of books. By the end of the school year, the children have a home library. The books are carefully chosen to reflect the diversity of the classroom and spark reading in kids. The kids love it and it’s very rewarding for the reader.”

The Reading Any Place (RAP) program donates new books and toys to over 2,700 children across seven communities in Western Massachusetts and Connecticut. Children age birth through grade seven will receive 10 new books, a tote bag, bilingual bookmarks and toys each year.

The Celebrity Read Aloud program brings celebrity readers to third and fourth grade classrooms across elementary schools including Homer School, Kensington School, Washington School and Fairview Elementary School. The celebrity reader shares information about who they are and reads a book selected by Link to Libraries. The classroom is then open for discussion and students are each given a new book to take home.

Books For Babies is a program at Franklin Medical Center in Franklin County that provides all newborn parents with a new book, book bag and parent educational material provided by Big Y Foods.

Flynn said that Link to Libraries has grown since its inception. “It’s notable that we’ve given away over a half a million books to support the community. We’ve grown tremendously. We’ve almost doubled our volunteer readers who read in classes and we’ve significantly increased the number of schools we sponsor in Western Massachusetts and we have expanded our footprint and hope to continue to do so,” Flynn shared.

According to Flynn, introduction to reading is important for both children and adults. “Research has shown that kids that can’t read proficiently by the end of fourth grade are more likely to drop out of high school. Adults who can’t read proficiently have health issues. In order to give them the greatest chance for school and life, they have to be able to read,” Flynn said.

Over the years, Link to Libraries has been able to introduce reading to a number of schools. “It’s been so exciting to hear the number of success stories from the kids who get turned on to reading and the fact that these books are inspiring to kids and we are helping create young readers and talking to them about the future and possibilities that they hold,” Flynn said.

Flynn continued, “We always take enough free books that children can take home to make a home library. We always give them a brand new book and the kids will smell the pages and open it gently. They’re so grateful to have something new that’s just theirs. These little guys are becoming reading ambassadors themselves.”

Flynn said that Link to Libraries is hoping to shake the notion that reading should only be done in school. “In this culture, it seems like reading is something you do in school. It’s seen as something academic and that’s not right. We encourage parents to read with their children. Put the electronics down for just 10 minutes a night. The impact it has is enormous,” Flynn said.

After celebrating 10 years as a non-profit organization, Link to Libraries is hoping to expand their services over the coming years and to continue to improve on their successful programs. “I’m really looking forward to being able to expand our services. We’re looking to move further out to Northern Connecticut. We want to do more programs and explore summer reading. We want to continue to expand the number of non-profit organizations that we work with. I want to see us doing more and more of that,” Flynn told Reminder Publishing.

Flynn explained that after Hurricane Maria wreaked havoc on Puerto Rico in 2017, the community saw an increase of bilingual speakers in schools, calling for an increased focus on providing books in other languages. “I want to see us participating more with bilingual books. So many of the children in this area come from bilingual homes. We gave out about a thousand bilingual books after the hurricane. Kids are unbelievably adept on learning language. If we get kids reading, everybody wins. The impact is so great, a ripple effect,” Flynn said.

Link to Libraries is also hoping to bring children’s authors into schools. “When a child gets to meet the author behind a book, it’s wonderful. It teaches kids there’s an opportunity to write their own books, which is fantastic. Writing is just as important as reading. We have a lot of really talented children’s authors in Springfield. The authors love it, as do the children,” Flynn said.

For more information on Link to Libraries, visit www.linktolibraries.org. Link to Libraries is also looking to add to their volunteer readers. Interested applicants can find the application on their website.

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