The changing perspectives of librarians in the Better Beginnings family literacy program

Abstract

Libraries across Australia are becoming increasingly involved in the development and implementation of family literacy programs, placing librarians at the centre of this initiative. Better Beginnings is a family literacy program developed by the State Library of Western Australian and delivered throughout the state. The program involves a partnership between public libraries, health professionals and local governments that has developed to support the delivery of early literacy resources and strategies to parents of young babies. Librarians play a major role in the delivery, implementation and sustainability of the program.

This paper reports the findings from the longitudinal evaluation of Better Beginnings in four communities, across four years, in relation to the perspectives of librarians responsible for the program in their library. Librarians were interviewed about their role in the program and its effectiveness, the training they had received and the collaboration between the professionals involved in the program. The data revealed that over a period of four years librarians had developed an understanding of the purpose and importance of the program, which had led to a sense of ownership and commitment. This was supported by central coordination of the program and collaboration with child-health nurses. Over the four years, they had developed and increased library activities and created ‘family spaces’ linked to Better Beginnings. They felt the program was effective in promoting literacy in families with young children, but sought more strategies for engaging families that did not traditionally visit libraries or have access to libraries.

Keywords:

• librarians
• Better Beginnings
• family literacy program
• program evaluation
• librarian
• perspectives
• shared book reading
• professional collaboration

Introduction

Over the last two decades, state and local libraries in Australia have begun to take a leading role in the development and implementation of family literacy programs. Significant investments have been made at federal and state levels, supported by additional funding from industry to develop and sustain these programs over time. Programs include Better Beginnings in Western Australia, the Young Readers Program in Victoria, Little Big Book Club in South Australia and Walk to School, an Indigenous early-years literacy strategy for Northern Territory Public Libraries & Knowledge Centres. Many individual public libraries have expanded their activities for young children to include programs for children up to three years old (Joseph 2010). In addition, increasingly libraries are partnering with family literacy programs and becoming part of the distribution and support network through such programs as Let's Read. Evidence suggests that the role of the professional is a key factor in the success of family literacy programs. However, there has been little research into the perspectives of librarians involved in these programs (Hill 2006; Swick 2009). This paper explores the role of the librarians in the Better Beginnings program in Western Australia.

Implications for effective practiceThe findings from librarians involved in the Better Beginnings family literacy program have a number of implications for practitioners involved in similar programs.

1. Centrally based strategic development, coordination and delivery of the program through local libraries is an effective means of creating continuity and sustainability of programs across communities.

2. The establishment of the program as part of the role of a nominated librarian in each local library enables individual librarians to take ownership of the program and tailor it to meet community needs, in conjunction with other librarians.

3. The provision of a high-quality resource pack, including a gift book and library-based literacy activities, encourages families to come to the library and provides librarians with the opportunity to support family literacy practices and help young children develop an enthusiasm for books as part of their core business.

4. The provision of initial and ongoing training available through both face-to-face contact and on-line modules, provides knowledge about early literacy and understanding of the program, as well as networking opportunities for librarians to share issues and ideas.

5. Carefully planned and sustained collaboration between librarians and program partners involved in delivering and supporting the program facilitates the effective delivery and outcomes of the program.

Better Beginnings is a family literacy program that has been developed by the State Library of Western Australia. It aims to support parents in their role as their children's first teacher, through the provision of language and literacy resources and activities for young children from birth. The state government's continued financial commitment, along with that of local government and funding from the Rio Tinto WA Future Fund, has enabled Better Beginnings to be delivered to communities across Western Australia. The program is being implemented in a wide range of communities across Western Australia that represent diverse geographical, social, cultural and economic contexts. In 2010, approximately 90% of local government areas were involved; the remaining small local government areas were either in the process of implementing Better Beginnings or negotiating to implement it. Approximately 27,000 of the 30,000 babies born in the state during 2010 received a Better Beginnings reading pack. The key elements of the program are outlined below.

1.	A reading pack usually given to parents of young babies by the community child-health nurse at the 6- to 8-week health check, although in some communities it is given out by librarians.
2.	A Better Beginnings handbook and electronic training module, developed to support librarians and child-health nurses working with the program.
3.	Baby Rhyme Time and Story Time sessions and parent workshop sessions at the library.
4.	Story Time boxes that contain a variety of literacy resources for children and their families.
5.	Family resource centres in libraries providing interactive early-childhood learning spaces, in addition to resources designed to increase parental knowledge of early childhood language and literacy.
6.	A dedicated Better Beginnings website (http://www.better-beginnings.com.au) provides news and information for parents, teachers and librarians about early literacy.

Literature review

There is a growing body of evidence that shows that early childhood is crucial to future success as an adult (Centre for Community Child Health 2006). The quality of experiences and interactions from birth have a major influence on the way the brain develops (McCain, Mustard, and Shanker 2007). This complex interplay between biological heritage and everyday experiences influences cognitive, social and emotional growth (Shonkoff and Phillips 2000). The growing recognition of the importance of early childhood has led to the development of family literacy programs that stress the importance of literacy from birth, when brain development is most sensitive to the influences of the external environment (Wise et al. 2005).

In particular, encouraging parents/carers to share books with their baby from birth has been identified as having positive educational, social and emotional outcomes (Hardman and Jones 1999; Evans, Shaw, and Bell 2000; Moore and Wade 2003). Evidence from a number of national and international studies has identified a positive connection between shared book reading and early literacy learning (Bus, van Ijzendoorn, and Pellergrini 1995; De Temple and Snow 2003; Karrass and Braungart-Rieker 2005). Involvement in shared book reading has been found to increase young children's motivation to participate in literacy activities (Baker, Scher, and Mackler 1997; Sonnenschein and Munsterman 2002). Evidence also suggests that for some parents information about selecting books and strategies for sharing books is an important way of helping them interact with their children (Neuman 1996; Bus, Leseman, and Keultjes 2000). In addition, shared book reading has been found to support positive child-parent relationships (Hewer and Whyatt 2006; Seden 2008) and promote positive social and emotional development (Evans, Shaw, and Bell 2000).

In addition to the potential educational, social and emotional benefits of family literacy programs, a number of economists have identified economic gains. McCain, Mustard, and Shanker (2007) argue that the returns from public spending on young children outstrip any other form of human capital investment. Heckman and Masterov (2005) identified significant cost savings and productivity gains as a result of investment in early childhood development.

Libraries are in an ideal position to implement family literacy programs as they are accessible, free, often have space to host literacy activities, act as community information hubs and are a sustainable link in the community as everyone is welcome regardless of age, status or capacity to pay (Teale 1999; Celano and Neuman 2001; Arnold 2003; McGill 2003; Bohrer 2005; Martinez 2007). In conjunction with a small number of evaluation studies of library based family literacy programs in Australia (Hill 2006; Nakata et al. 2006; Barratt-Pugh and Rohl 2008, 2012; Australian Institute of Family Studies 2009), the evaluation of the UK National Year of Reading (National Literacy Trust 2008) and the Australian National Year of Reading (Barratt-Pugh, Smith, and Anderson 2012) have demonstrated the capacity of libraries to engage families in literacy, develop and create new partnerships to support literacy, and leverage funding and resources to sustain and implement family literacy programs.

A number of key factors have been identified in the successful implementation and outcomes of the family literacy programs that are led by libraries. These include:

1.	The integration of the program into the core service of libraries (Rosenthal 2004) supported by central coordination, management and training (McCune 2010; Barratt-Pugh and Rohl 2012). The identification of a program coordinator in each library, with specific responsibility for the organization, distribution and implementation of the program through liaison with librarians, other professionals and community groups, gives status to the program and ensures continuity (Barratt-Pugh and Rohl 2012). It also supports involvement in and commitment to the program by librarians, and has been identified as a major driving force in the outcomes and sustainability of the program (McCune 2010; Barratt-Pugh and Allen 2011).
2.	Training as a means of supporting librarians in their knowledge, skills and understanding of early literacy learning and the logistics and aims of the program (Barratt-Pugh and Anderson in press). Evidence suggests that training also helps librarians to address some early challenges they faced upon becoming involved (Hill 2006). Training also provides librarians with early literacy strategies and a network of colleagues with whom to share ideas and activities. This has led to the development of a number of library-based early literacy activities for families, modelling of reading techniques to families and the introduction of families to the resources of libraries, as well as other programs targeting literacy for infants (Hill 2006; Freeman and Bochner 2008; Barratt-Pugh and Allen 2011).
3.	Collaboration between librarians at both state- and local library-level and with program partners has been identified as central to the effective delivery and success of family literacy programs (Moore 2005; Hewer and Whyatt 2006; Flottman, McKernan, and Tayler 2011). Successful collaboration has been identified as a shared commitment to the aims and outcomes of the program, in conjunction with ongoing exchanges of information and the coordination of activities (Polivka et al. 2001). Working in collaboration with early childhood professionals, community agencies and parents creates a basis for sharing expertise and experience to enhance program outcomes (Barratt-Pugh and Anderson in press; Brown et al. 2009). Strong community partnerships also enhance the capacity to connect with those families who do not traditionally access library facilities (Swick 2009). When they are used in these cases, existing agencies – such as Aboriginal health organisations, welfare groups and other programs operating in the community – can be come conduits for making connections with families who do not go to the library or do not have access to a library, for example in remote areas (Hewer and Whyatt 2006; Brown et al. 2009).

Methodology

A team from the Centre for Research in Early Childhood at Edith Cowan University in Western Australia conducted a longitudinal evaluation of the Better Beginnings program in four diverse communities in Western Australia, over a period of four years (2007–2010). The evaluation addressed the following questions:

1.	How effective is the Better Beginnings program from the perspectives of the participants?
2.	How has the program, including its implementation, developed and been sustained over the four years of its evaluation?

The findings reported in this paper are taken from the longitudinal study and based on data related to the first question. In particular, this paper explores the perspectives of librarians who had responsibility for the Better Beginnings program in each of the four communities over a period of four years. The evaluation sites were based in two metropolitan communities, a rural community and a remote community.

The evaluation methodology was approved by the ethics committee at ECU and constructed in negotiation with the State Library of Western Australia. The Better Beginnings State Library coordinator and librarians who were involved in the Better Beginnings program at their local library in the four communities were invited to take part in the evaluation. The librarians took part in semi-structured interviews held once each year in their own library, conducted by a member of the evaluation team. The interviews, which lasted between 45 and 60 minutes, were recorded and included questions about the librarians' perspectives on the program and its effectiveness, implementation and sustainability, and training and collaboration between the professionals involved in the program. Transcribed interviews were coded, and then the coded data were displayed on a spreadsheet so that common themes could be identified during each year and longitudinally.

Table 1 shows details of the number of participating librarians each year of the evaluation in each of the four communities. In order to comply with ethical guidelines, the communities are identified by pseudonyms.

Table 1 Number of librarians who participated in the evaluation of Better Beginnings.

	Librarians
	2007	2008	2009	2010
Bayview	5	4	1	1
Killarney	2	3	1	1
Marni	2	1	1	1
Kangru	1	1	1	1
Total	10	9	4	4

The decrease in the number of librarians that were interviewed was due to a redistribution of staffing to other libraries or librarians leaving the profession and their position not being replaced. Where there was an increase in interviews, this was due to additional librarians taking responsibility for the Better Beginnings program.

Findings

The evaluation identified a number of findings related to the implementation, development, sustainability and effectiveness of the program from the perspective of librarians. The findings are discussed in the following sections.

1. Changing perspectives of the aim of the program

At the commencement of the program in 2007, the librarians generally viewed the aim of the program as being to support parents in sharing books with their baby. However, as their involvement in the Better Beginnings program increased, librarians' perspectives of the program appeared to broaden. By 2010 the librarians discussed the overall aim of the program in terms of a cooperative approach to providing positive language and literacy influences for babies and young children through support for their parents. They also viewed the program as a means of helping to promote library use and resources as part of lifelong learning.

2. Evolving content of the reading pack

From the beginning of the program, librarians included a library membership form in the reading pack. As it became apparent that many mothers had not realised that library membership was possible for their babies, this was seen as an important addition. Collated by library staff, the reading pack was view by librarians as central to the program, with the potential to help parents and children interact around ‘written and spoken words’. For some mothers it was the first book their child received and not something that they would have purchased for their baby.

Although the Better Beginnings reading pack had evolved over a number of years prior to 2010, it was then that the librarians identified the need for further development. In particular, they felt the inclusion of a variety of books and other materials in the packs would better cater for the needs of families who had multiple births or subsequent children, so that the same book was not given to more than one child in a family. In addition, they saw a need for modification of the information in the pack to address the needs of parents from culturally and linguistically diverse families.

3. Delivery of the pack to mothers

During the four years of the evaluation, the librarians assembled the Better Beginnings reading packs, which were then either delivered to the health clinic by a librarian or were collected by a child-health nurse. During this time, the librarians and child-health nurses developed strong relationships that resulted in a better understanding of the packs by the child-health nurses and their support for the distribution of the packs to mothers. Generally, the reading packs were distributed to mothers at the time of their babies' 6- to 8-week health check by the child-health nurses. Some librarians were concerned, though, that any mothers not attending the 6- to 8-week check would not have received the pack or any related contact and advice.

4. Importance of the library

Over the period of the research, the centrality of the library in sustaining the Better Beginnings program became evident. All of the librarians spoke about the importance of central coordination and mentoring by the state library. They argued that the Better Beginnings team was the driving force behind the success of the program. With continued support from the state library, the perspectives of most librarians changed from seeing themselves initially as distributors of the reading pack and information to seeing themselves as key to the development of the program. Over time, Better Beginnings had become integrated into librarians' job descriptions and part of core practice. Some libraries also identified a designated Better Beginnings contact person and in some cases this responsibility led to changes in book-buying policies and library-membership drives. Nevertheless, one librarian argued that it was important for everyone in the library to have knowledge of Better Beginnings.

5. Family involvement in Better Beginnings

All of the libraries involved developed Better Beginnings activities and family-friendly areas, linked to Better Beginnings. By 2010, all the librarians interviewed discussed the great importance that the Baby Rhyme Time and Story Times sessions at their community libraries afforded social, language and literacy development. The librarians also talked about the increasing demand for Baby Rhyme Time and Story Time sessions and the increase in library membership. One librarian reported a 70% increase in picture- and board-book loans since moving them off shelves and placing them in easily accessible boxes, as part of the Better Beginnings program. The librarians saw this as evidence of the effectiveness of Better Beginnings, in conjunction with their discussion with families, child-health nurses and community organisations about the program.

However, despite the development in library-based activities and the librarians' enthusiasm for the activities, some factors had the potential to inhibit attendance and impact on the frequency of sessions delivered and the number of participants from library to library. These factors included parents'/carers' work schedules and childcare arrangements, and there were also factors related to the inclusion of culturally and linguistically diverse families in the communities.

The availability of parent workshops at the libraries declined over the four years of the evaluation. This may have been partly because the workshops had been integrated into the First Mothers' group sessions, which were organised by child-health nurses and included presentations from speech pathologists and allied health professionals. Further, exchange of venues for Better Beginnings events was seen as a positive initiative. Librarians attended community and government sessions such as First Mothers' groups in order to introduce and deliver Better Beginnings activities, whilst community professionals attended local libraries to support parents/carers with young children and promote Better Beginnings.

6. Training of librarians

Training for the librarians developed over the four years on the basis of identified needs, and was overseen centrally by the Better Beginnings state coordinator. In 2007, training was undertaken at the State Library by the Better Beginnings team, or at local libraries. Between 2007–2010, several librarians requested more information about a number of practical aspects of the program and for examples of practice. They also identified a need for information about networking with other librarians, and ways of working with Aboriginal and culturally and linguistically diverse families. Training evolved to take account of these needs. Delivery developed from a print-based handbook to an integrated approach including face-to-face, hands-on modelling and experiences, web-based information and sharing of practice.

In 2008, the librarians commented that they had found their training helpful and practical and that it had reinforced their knowledge of early literacy. Further training was seen as a means of sharing ideas and maintaining enthusiasm for the program. By 2010, only one of the librarians indicated that she had not received initial training, and she felt a need for training to help her understand the written documentation she had been given. The other librarians had received training a number of years previously. Of these, only one had taken part in recent training, and only one indicated that she felt the need for further training. A librarian in a remote community reported that she had access to ‘training files and folders’ but felt she needed some form of interactive or ‘face-to-face’ training. Another librarian commented on the usefulness of targeted training that she had received at the State Library about facilitating Baby Rhyme Time.

7. Liaison with other professionals

In 2007, a number of initial difficulties regarding liaison between some library and child-health nurses were identified, particularly with respect to logistics, time allocation and communication. In some communities a high turnover of library and child-health nurses had led to a breakdown in communication, at times causing friction between the two government departments.

By 2008, though, it appeared that many of these issues had been resolved. Librarians commented on the importance of collaboration and developing harmonious relationships with a range of community organisations to promote early literacy. In particular, liaison with child-health nurses was seen to be crucial to the success of the program and some library staff expressed a need for more opportunities to meet with child-health nurses to discuss the program.

Throughout 2009 and 2010, liaison between librarians and child-health nurses appeared to have become well established. In addition, members of both groups of professionals had become part of early-childhood community committees that contained a range of other professional and community representatives. Thus, they were broadening relationships with other professionals, such as speech pathologists, childcare professionals and related professionals involved in other early literacy programs. This liaison was seen as a means of extending and sustaining the Better Beginnings message through support for early literacy. Nevertheless, even in 2010 there was still little or no contact between the librarians and child-health nurses in some communities.

8. Addressing linguistic and cultural diversity

From the beginning of the evaluation in 2007, there were requests from a number of librarians for more resources that represented and would be appropriate to use with Aboriginal and culturally and linguistically diverse families. Some librarians also asked for training on ways of including and engaging families from different ethnic backgrounds in the program, and others mentioned the need for bilingual story-tellers. Over the following three years, a number of initiatives were developed to find ways of creating a more inclusive approach to Better Beginnings. These included: employing library staff who spoke the dominant community language; purchasing dual- and/or community-language books and books that represented family and community diversity; and presenting Baby Rhyme Time and Story Time at community events. Attempts were also made to make direct links with other organisations in the community that supported Aboriginal and culturally and linguistically diverse families.

During 2010, librarians in some communities reported a particular need for Better Beginnings as more families who might not have had books at home were moving into the community. These families included Aboriginal families and particular groups of English as an additional language (EAL) speakers, including refugees. There was, though, some concern that Better Beginnings was not reaching some of these families, due to language differences and non-attendance at the 6- to 8-week and later health checks. Further, whilst some individual librarians were highly pro-active in producing and sourcing materials for these families, this was not universal. Some libraries had few such resources and some librarians did not see a particular need for them.

9. Maintaining communication with families

Throughout the evaluation, maintaining contact with families had been a key issue with regard to the sustainability of Better Beginnings. Whilst there had always been a procedure for child-health nurses to pass on contact details of the parents/carers to the library, not all were familiar with the procedure and it was seen as both time-consuming and an issue of confidentiality. Initially contact forms were provided to child-health nurses for distribution to mothers when they received the reading pack. The forms were to be completed and either left with the child-health nurse or taken to the library by the parent/carer, so that a database of family contact details could be established and used to inform parents/carers of library events. Some libraries used these details for sending out birthday cards to babies and reminding the parents/carers of appropriate library activities.

However, this procedure did not occur consistently across communities, with the result that many libraries received details of the number of reading packs given out, but no contact details of the families who had received them. This limited the amount of follow-up information that could be sent and communication with families was generally limited to those families who had joined the library and were on its database. In some communities the DVD was not included in the pack, but was used as an incentive for parents/carers to visit the library, as they were told that they would receive the DVD when they visited/joined the library.

Nevertheless, in 2010, with more universal availability of the internet, it was considered that using email would be a more efficient and less intrusive means of communication, although parents/carers would still need to provide details of email contact. A key concern regarding the ongoing implementation of Better Beginnings relates to reaching parents/carers who do not or are unable to access the health clinic to obtain the reading pack and initial information about the program.

Discussion

The findings of the evaluation regarding the role of librarians in the Better Beginnings program highlight their importance in the program's success. The findings also highlight that their continued involvement in the program is a factor which will undoubtedly impact on the sustainability of Better Beginnings in the community. Over the time of their involvement in Better Beginnings, librarians developed a strong sense of ownership of their part in the program's success. This was exemplified in several ways. Firstly, their evolving understanding of the aim of the program broadened considerably over four years. Over time, that understanding became more cognisant of the impact that cooperative approaches have upon infants' learning and literacy development, as well as the place that literacy development in young children has in lifelong learning. This is a much more sophisticated understanding of the aims of Better Beginnings than the librarians' initial understanding, which was that the program was essentially about supporting parents/carers to share books with their babies. This evolving understanding of the program's aims by the librarians suggests an increasing understanding of the positive impacts of the program upon families, babies and infants and an understanding by librarians of their role.

The second indication of librarians' development of ownership of the program was through their evolving actions and roles. Over the period of the evaluation, involvement in Better Beginnings had become incorporated into librarians' job descriptions. This suggests acknowledgement of the importance of the program through having it formally included on duty statements, and also increased recognition that Better Beginnings was core business. The third indication of librarians increasing ownership of their role in the program was through their decisions in 2010 to include a variety of books and other materials in the book packs that would serve to better meet the needs of families with multiple births and families from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. This demonstrated an awareness of diversity in the community and a desire to meet the wide-ranging needs of families.

Over time, librarians also became involved in developing and conducting library activities such as the Baby Rhyme Time and Story Time sessions that all supported the literacy development of babies and infants. Librarians clearly observed the impact that such activities had and recognised the importance of their inclusion under the Better Beginnings umbrella (Swick 2009). Librarians' ownership of their involvement in the program was further demonstrated by their willingness to attend various community and government sessions to introduce and deliver Better Beginnings activities.

All librarians received initial training and further training was offered according to need to support their involvement in the program. Training for librarians is essential (Hill 2006; McFarland-Piazza and Saunders 2012) in order to prepare them adequately to engage with families and, notably, face-to-face, hands-on and interactive training was valued. Over the period of the evaluation, the requests for further training decreased, with the exception being from one librarian who had not received any initial training and from another in a remote community who desired some form of face-to-face training. Some early requests had been about strategies for engaging families from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, as well as Aboriginal families. This also reflected the librarians' ownership of the program and their desire to ensure that the program met the needs of their community.

As the program evolved, collaboration between the librarians and child-health nurses increased, and librarians clearly identified the importance that collaborating with other agencies had upon their capacity to promote and address early literacy. The most important partnership that librarians sought to forge was with the child-health nurses, a situation highlighted in various other programs (Hewer and Whyatt 2006; Hill 2006; Australian Institute of Family Studies 2009). Although the librarians collated the book packs, they did not distribute them personally to parents/carers and were reliant on the child-health nurses to do so at babies' 6- to 8-week checks. As such, a strong positive partnership between librarians and child-health nurses was crucial because it served to overcome any potential barriers regarding information not being effectively passed on to parents (Hewer and Whyatt 2006). Some librarians had also joined various other childhood community committees and this served to further enhance their communication with other agencies and, in turn, serve to further promote early literacy.

Librarians also recognised the need to maintain contact with families as a means of ensuring the sustainability of the program and providing families with information about Better Beginnings activities. Despite their good partnerships with child-health nurses, not all contact details from families were collected by child-health nurses at the time of the distribution of the reading packs. Some librarians had sought other means of establishing contact with families, although making contact with families who did not access the library was still considered to be an issue of concern. Developing connections with agencies and community members other than child-health nurses may be a means for librarians to make contact with such families (Hewer and Whyatt 2006; Brown et al. 2009). As Hill (2006) points out, involving various agencies, using technology and taking literacy-program information out into the community may be a mechanism for making contact with families that libraries might otherwise not connect with.

Conclusion

The Better Beginnings program has enabled librarians to take a leading role in the provision of early literacy for families. Involvement in the program over time and the incorporation of Better Beginnings into their core business, has led to a sense of ownership of and commitment to the program. During this time, collaborative partnerships have been formed with child-health nurses and community organisations, as a means of delivering and sustaining the program, as well as expanding the message about the importance of early literacy into the wider community. Training has supported understanding of the program and early literacy and provided networking opportunities to further develop the program. Major developments in the local libraries, which include family-friendly spaces linked to Better Beginnings and early literacy activities delivered at the library and in the community, have increased library membership and participation. Finally, during the four years of the evaluation, the librarians identified a need to find more ways of engaging linguistically and culturally diverse families and those families who do not traditionally access the library, or do not have access to the library. The State Library has developed a number of strategies and augmented and extended the Better Beginnings program in consultation with these families. These developments are currently being evaluated across a number of communities in Western Australia.

Notes

^1. This paper has been double-blind peer-reviewed to meet the Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research (DIISR) HERDC requirements.