PLA and Harvard Family Research Center Team Up to Promote Family Engagement

The Public Library Association has teamed up with the Harvard Family Research Project to provide libraries with resources and tools to help improve family engagement in library programs.  The Harvard Family Research Project has a lot of terrific resources for people looking for information on brain and child development, and it is really great that they are working with libraries!

The report is available here.  It has lots of great information and ideas, including 5 succinct ways for libraries to improve the involvement of families in their children's learning, with examples from the field.  I have included the 5 Rs below, but look to the report for more information and inspiration!

• Reach Out: Libraries reach out to families to promote the programs, collections, and services that are vital in a knowledge economy. 
• Raise Up: Libraries elevate family views and voices in how library programs and services are developed and carried out. 
• Reinforce: Libraries provide guidance on and modeling of the specific actions that family members can take to support learning, reaffirming families’ important roles and strengthening feelings of efficacy. 
• Relate: Libraries offer opportunities for families to build peer-to-peer relationships, social networks, and parent-child relationships. 
• Reimagine: Libraries are expanding their community partnerships; combining resources and extending their range; improving children and families’ well-being; and linking new learning opportunities.

(From the Keeping Up With Kids: IFLS Youth Services blog.)