The Children’s Library of Pospelikhinsky District of Altai Krai: “Read and Win”

Abstract

The Children’s Library of Pospelikhinsky District of Altai Krai: “Read and Win” Svetlana Lublinskaya (bio) and Irina Mikhailovna Leyn Readers of the children’s library are very diverse. Many are babies, who don’t go to school and don’t know how to read yet. They visit with their parents to select their first books. Children are just beginning to learn about the world; thus, they are willing to listen to what their parents read to them. They are interested in everything from the dinosaur era to Russian folk tales. Younger schoolchildren, who are already able to read by themselves, are also interested in all subjects and read quite a lot—both books from the school program and those of their choice. However, middle school children (teenagers) tend to read less, preferring to listen to fiction audio books. Often the books they are asked to read by adults are not the books they prefer. These readers are frequently the ones requiring the most attention to encourage their involvement in reading. At our model children’s library, we practice various strategies aimed at teenager involvement; however, game-based contests have become the most popular with the readers. A vivid and colorful poster on the shelves directs the attention of our young readers to these contests. Annually, the children’s library readers get an opportunity to take part in two such contests— an intellectual contest is arranged during the school year, and the summer reading contest is held during summer vacations. Game-based intellectual contests are held early in the school year during October through December for students of grades five through seven. A bright playing area for the intellectual contest on a Whatman paper is placed on a bookshelf at the model children’s library. Once in ten days, each participant receives a question that is collected from the model children’s library; starting this year, the library will publish contest questions at the library website (pspbib.ucoz.net/). The first participant to complete the questions is the winner. For example, in 2015, the “Around the World in 80 Days” intellectual contest was designed as a world map, and the participants “traveled” to various countries. From the starting point (the Pospelikha settlement), the contest participants “moved” [End Page 62] around the planet on the playing area, and after eighty days, having traveled the world, they returned to the starting point. In each country, participants responded to two questions. Provided every ten days, these noted sightseeing attractions, flora, fauna, cities, famous people, and so on. Each correct answer was rewarded with one credit (token) to be placed on the playing area. The participants who gained the maximum number of credits were the winners and were awarded copies of the book Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne. Participants find answers to contest questions in various ways: they can use books from the library and read them at home or at the reading hall; they can use the Internet either at home or at the library. As teenagers search for answers, they sometimes become interested in the topic and continue exploring it outside of the contest. Some questions are answered by the participants without any information resources; other questions require that they solve various puzzles, twisters, and charades, answers to which cannot be found in books or on the Internet. Participants demonstrate their ability to search for information from various sources as well as intellectual and problem-solving abilities. Often readers ask after a contest ends: “When is the next contest?” Summer reading contests involve teenagers in reading during vacations. They can read any fiction literature of their choice, including books from the school program. All the summer reading contests are held from June 1 to August 31 for students of grades five through seven. One summer, the winner read forty-three books. Summer reading contests also encourage interest in family reading. For example, participants of the “Along the Book Path of Family Reading” contest included both teenagers and their families. A teenager with their parents or grandparents would read any fiction books of their choice as well as those recommended by the library. Then the child would orally...