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Broward County (FL) Library’s “Prime Time,” a program designed to encourage literacy in underprivileged preschoolers by linking them with senior citizen volunteer readers, has received the annual Urban Libraries Council (ULC)/Highsmith Award of Excellence. The $1,000 award will be presented on Sunday, June 29 at the annual ULC Leadership Breakfast held during the American Library Association’s Annual Conference in San Francisco.
The program’s concept is simple. Twice a year, Broward County staff train seniors who volunteer to provide storytimes in federally subsidized daycare centers to children aged two to six. And it is successful: since its inception in 1992, more than 250 volunteers have been trained and have spent in excess of 3,000 hours reading, reaching more than 6,000 students.
“The award committee was impressed with elegant simplicity of this program, “ said Award Committee Chair, Gail Lazenby. “It is a wonderful union of seniors and children with the library as the catalyst.”
“The match between the seniors and kids is truly special,” said Sam Morrison, Broward County Library Director. “The blend is both intergenerational and interracial. The seniors report that they have never given so little but gotten so much back. In fact the ‘Prime Time’ program is so popular that there is a continual waiting list of people who want to volunteer.”
Lazenby added that the program met award criteria in that it is cost effective – it is run by one part-time employee, using recyclable story kits – and it can be easily replicated on any scale by other libraries.
The award recognizes a ULC member library for the creation or adaptation of a service that meets a need of an urban area, is not costly, can be easily replicated and has proven results. In 1995, Highsmith Inc., Fort Atkinson, WI, became the corporate sponsor for the ULC/Highsmith Award of Excellence. With Highsmith’s participation, the amount of the award was increased from $500 to $1,000 effective with the 1995 award year.
Applications for next year’s Award of Excellence are available from the ULC office, 1603 Orrington Avenue, Suite 1080, Evanston, IL 60201; 847/ 866-9999 (phone); 847/ 866-9989 (fax); <ulc@gpl.glenview.lib.il.us> (Internet e-mail). Founded in 1971, the ULC offers advocacy, consulting, research, and training and support services to its members. Membership is open to library vendors and public libraries serving populations of 50,000 or more in a standard metropolitan area. |
