Librarians' Role in Reach Out and Read

ABSTRACT

Librarians serving pediatricians have an opportunity to participate in establishing and/or maintaining a Reach Out and Read (ROR) program at their workplace. Reach Out and Read is a pediatric preliteracy program that targets at-risk children living in poverty. It addresses the link between poverty and illiteracy by equipping pediatricians with the tools they need to incorporate literacy counseling information into pediatric primary care visits so that these children enter school ready to learn to read. The purpose of this article is to illustrate by example how librarians can support their institution's ROR program.

KEYWORDS:

• Reach Out and Read (ROR)
• librarians
• literacy programs
• pediatrics
• books
• reading promotion
• reading (early childhood)
• infant
• preschool child
• child-rearing
• hospital volunteers
• physician's role