Evaluation of the Public Library Summer Reading Program: Books and Beyond…Take Me to Your Reader!

Evaluation of the Public Library Summer Reading Program: Books and Beyond…Take Me to Your Reader! [.pdf] Final Report, December, 2001 by the Evaluation and Training Institute for the Los Angeles County Public Library Foundation.

Study results included:

• 98% of the participating students reported they liked the program
• 99% stated they liked going to the library.
• There was an 11% increase in the number of parents reading to their children more than 15 hours/week.
• Before the summer, 77% of parents reported their child read 9 hours or less/week. During the summer, there was a 9% increase in the number of children reading 10-14 hours/week and the number of children reading 15 or more books/week rose 11%.
• Teachers reported on over 900 participating and non-participating students.
  • 55% who participated had a high enthusiasm for reading versus less than 40% of nonparticipants.
  • More of the participants versus the non-participating students performed at or above grade level in: word recognition, reading vocabulary and reading comprehension.
  • Student perceptions concurred with teacher reports.