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Council Watch
Little Hands Program gets picture books into the hands of children
SJ Public Library Foundation funds a book exchange for child-care providers
By Jessica Lyons
On the first Monday of every month, Faye Sears, a child-care provider at Alphabet Soup, takes a trip to the Willow Glen Branch Library and picks up a bag full of picture books for her 12 little charges. After one month, she'll return the books and pick up 20 new volumes--all part of the Little Hands Program offered through the San Jose Public Library.
"The books are a wonderful resource," Sears says. "And the kids get really excited about it. They love the shiny covers, they love choosing which books to read each day, and as an added bonus I don't have to pick the books out."
On June 29, the City Council adopted a resolution accepting a donation of $9,180 from the San Jose Public Library Foundation to the Little Hands Program. Approximately 135 kids in Willow Glen--and 3,400 citywide--benefit from the program right now. Through the Library Foundation's recent donation, city officials hope that number will grow. The money will be used to buy books, canvas bags and outreach materials for teachers and parents.
"Providers told us that they didn't have very many books in their day-care homes, and the books they did have were very tattered and loved, often coming from parent donations or garage sales," city librarian Jane Light says. "But they also didn't have time to come to the library and select really good books, so we put together this program."
Under the program, child-care providers don't have to do any selecting. The librarians do it for them. Every month, the child-care providers exchange their books for 20 new ones. Books for Little Hands is now in 171 preschool classrooms and in-home child-care facilities across San Jose. Staff at member facilities read to the kids at least twice a day.
"We realize that not all kids are going to be able to come to our preschool story hours," Light says. "So we need to look at some innovative ways to keep getting stories into kids' hands at an early age."
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Willow Glen, California Since 1992
