TOPIC
PAPER
MARCH 2023
Home Libraries
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MARCH 2023
Home Libraries
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION: THE POWER OF HOME LIBRARIES ������������������������������������������������������������������ 1
THE LANDSCAPE: THE READING ACHIEVEMENT GAP ����������������������������������������������������������������� 3
THE IMPACT: THE HOME LIBRARY IMPERATIVE ��������������������������������������������������������������������������� 8
GETTING MORE BANG FOR YOUR BOOK: BUILDING IMPACTFUL HOME LIBRARIES ��������� 11
CONCLUSION ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 19
REFERENCES ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 20
INTRODUCTION:
THE POWER OF HOME LIBRARIES
WE CAN CLOSE THE ACHIEVEMENT GAP
Making children’s books available to children is a cheap and feasible intervention that
could change home dynamics to improve the future economic fortunes of children
(Manu et al., 2019, p. 1).
Literacy is the birthright of every child. Reading introduces children to new worlds and
ideas, expands their imaginations, and helps them chart their own destinies. Books,
magazines, and digital reading materials inspire educational engagement, encourage
critical thinking and nuanced ideas, and ensure people walk through the world with
empathy for those around them—qualities that become more and more crucial in
challenging times.
Educators around the globe know that helping children develop into lifelong readers
and learners is their most important work—laying a foundation for student success in
school and beyond. While children make enormous academic leaps in school, their
reading skills are also significantly enhanced outside of the school day and beyond
the classroom.
Four decades of research with children of all ages, in varied socioeconomic and
cultural groups, reveal that access to books in the home is one of the strongest
predictors of educational achievement (Evans et al., 2010; Evans et al., 2014; Manu
et al., 2019). Children in homes with more extensive home libraries read more, have
higher-level reading skills, and attain more years of education overall than those with
access to fewer books, even after controlling for parental education level (Crook,
1997; de Graaf et al., 2000; de Graaf, 1986; de Graaf, 1988; Evans et al., 2010; Georg,
2004; Park, 2008; Teachman, 1987). Increasing children’s access to books correlates
to “dramatically positive effects” on reading growth and achievement (Allington, 2014).
THE RESEARCH IS CLEAR
Young people need home libraries now more than ever.
HOME LIBRARIES TOPIC PAPER 1
The benefits of books in the home do not stop in childhood. Adults who grow up
with home libraries are more likely to find work (Evans et al., 2015) and have higher
reading, math, and technological competence than their peers with fewer books in
their homes (Sikora et al., 2018). Research also shows that having books at home as
a child results in higher adult brain function (Berns et al., 2013; Weinstein et al., 2021),
increased empathy (Kidd & Castano, 2013), and better physical health (Dewalt, 2005;
Weinstein et al., 2021). Along with all that, books at home just might keep people alive
longer (Bavishi et al., 2017).
Still, despite a longstanding and ever-growing body of research on the benefits of
reading, a 2010 study of 21 nations revealed that nearly one-third of American families
(28%) have fewer than 25 books in the home (Evans et al., 2010).
Researcher Susan Neuman puts it plainly: “Environment matters for literacy
development. And the good news for researchers and educators is that it is highly
attainable” (Neuman, 2016, p. 115).
There is a convincing progression of findings when considering the impact of
home libraries.
1. Access to home libraries is unequivocally linked to student achievement and to
lifelong success.
2. Children without access to reading materials in the home are more likely to suffer
learning losses when out of school.
3. Home libraries are one of the best tools schools and communities have to combat
learning loss.
This paper summarizes the importance of creating a literacy-rich home environment
for all children, and outlines the essential components of a student home library—a
tangible, cost-effective way to afford every child access to a bright, successful future.
2 HOME LIBRARIES TOPIC PAPER
THE LANDSCAPE:
THE READING ACHIEVEMENT GAP
Educators and families alike can attest to the toll that the COVID-19 pandemic has
taken on academic learning for myriad reasons, including community health issues, the
challenges of remote learning, district-wide budget cuts, decreased family resources,
teacher shortages, and mental-health challenges.
The most recent 2022 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) showed
that the average reading score on the NAEP fell three points from 2019 to 2022—the
largest drop since 1990. This sobering decline spanned students’ race, income level,
school type, and location, and it disproportionately affected students in the bottom 10th
percentile nationwide—students more likely to be from low-income communities and
communities of color.
Educators have already begun impressive work to help increase achievement across the
student population. Research tells us, however, that the work of closing the gap involves
efforts and resources outside of the school day. Alexander et al. (2007) found that,
prior to high school, learning gains across family income levels are nearly equal during
the school year. It is time outside of school—specifically larger blocks of it—that are
a challenge due to what they call “the unequalizing press of children’s out-of-school
learning environments” (Alexander et al., 2007, p. 168).
The achievement gap by family income traces substantially to unequal learning
opportunities in children’s home and community environments
(Alexander et al., 2007, p. 168).
These findings track with an earlier study that revealed “the achievement levels of
children from poor socioeconomic backgrounds increase on par with those from
favored economic backgrounds when school is open” (Entwisle et al., 1997, p.
152). By the end of Grade 5, however, the gap between the wealthiest and poorest
students widens to nearly three years—even for those low-income students who
entered school with a learning gap of less than one year (Entwisle et al., 1997).
HOME LIBRARIES TOPIC PAPER 3
ACCESS TO PRINT IS ESSENTIAL TO SUCCESS
IN SCHOOL AND BEYOND
• The likelihood of being on track in literacy and numeracy “almost doubled if at
least one book was available in a student’s home” (Manu et al., 2019, p. 1).
• Books read in adolescence have a direct correlation to adult literacy, numeracy,
and technology skills (Sikora, 2018).
• Children expand their vocabularies by reading extensively on their own. The more
children read, the more their vocabularies grow (Allington, 2006; Armbruster et
al., 2001; Kuhn et al., 2006).
• Children learn an average of 4,000 to 12,000 new words each year through
reading books (Anderson & Nagy, 1992).
• Reading more often improves technical reading, oral language, spelling skills,
and reading comprehension (Mol & Bus, 2011).
• Reading volume is highly predictive of declarative knowledge, and print exposure
is more predictive than cognitive ability for developing a store of declarative
knowledge (Sparks et al., 2014).
• A book-oriented home environment provides students with a wide array of
academic skills, including “vocabulary, information, comprehension skills,
imagination, broad horizons of history and geography, familiarity with good
writing, understanding of the importance of evidence in an argument, and many
others” (Evans et al., 2010, p. 189).
THE SUMMER SLIDE
By age 18, the average student in the United States will spend only 13% of his or her
waking time in school (Wherry, 2004). That figure reflects weekends, school holidays,
and—most of all—summer breaks. In most school districts, summer break lasts nearly
three months—the length of one-third of the academic year. Taking a three-month
break from the learning of any skill at any age would be detrimental to the success of
learners, and several analyses conclude that, on average, students’ achievement scores
decline over summer vacation by the equivalent of one month of learning. The extent
of learning loss is understandably larger at higher grade levels (Cooper et al., 1996;
McEachin & Atteberry, 2016; Atteberry & McEachin 2021).
4 HOME LIBRARIES TOPIC PAPER
Though the “summer slide” affects students from all socioeconomic backgrounds, it
disproportionately impacts students from low-income communities. A groundbreaking
study by Hayes and Grether (1983) found that as much as 80% of the reading
achievement gap that exists between economically advantaged and disadvantaged
students in sixth grade is the result of summer learning setbacks, and many other
studies have revealed similar findings.
• Cooper et al. (1996) published an extensive meta-analysis revealing that, on
average, summer vacation created a reading achievement gap of about three
months between middle- and lower-class students. The study reported that
between Grades 1–6, the cumulative impact of this gap could snowball to 1.5 years
of lost reading development.
• In their study of Baltimore students, Alexander et al. (2007) found that, by ninth
grade, low-income students were reading at a level almost three grades behind
that of middle-income students, with summer reading loss accounting for more
than half of the difference in reading skills. This difference in achievement also
predicted later dropouts and college attendance.
Alexander et al.’s (2007) “faucet theory” explains why lower-income students might
learn less over the summer than higher-income students. During the school year, all
students have access to resources and gains from in-school, teacher-led learning.
However, while higher-income students retain access to learning resources over the
summer, their peers from disadvantaged backgrounds no longer have access to the
learning “faucet.” The faucet is turned off, making it more difficult for them to keep up
with their higher-income peers (Quinn & Polikoff, 2017).
BOOK DESERTS
The “summer slide” is exacerbated by limited access to books during out-of-school
time—a reality that has a more significant impact on students from lower-income
families than on their peers.
Two important analyses of access to children’s books from Neuman and Celano
(2001) and Neuman and Moland (2019) revealed that in low-income neighborhoods,
fewer children’s books were available in stores, childcare centers, elementary schools,
and public libraries than were available in middle-class communities nearby.
HOME LIBRARIES TOPIC PAPER 5
When Neuman and Celano performed their survey of four low- and middle-income
areas in 2001, and of six low-, middle-, and high-income areas in 2014, they
cataloged a severe discrepancy in access to children’s books, finding that wealthier
communities have as many as three businesses selling books for every one that sells
books in poorer communities (Neuman & Celano, 2001; Neuman, 2016).
What’s more, Neuman and Moland (2019) found that these neighborhoods,
sometimes referred to as book deserts, “may seriously constrain young children’s
opportunities to come to school ready to learn” (p. 127). They note, “Across
Washington, D.C., Detroit, and the Los Angeles Basin, the data are consistent:
Children’s books are hard to come by in high-poverty neighborhoods. During
the precious summer months, with schools closed and preschool programs often
converted to day camps or shut down for the vacation, the likelihood of finding a
book for purchase in these neighborhoods is very slim” (p. 137).
Similarly, Bradley et al. (2001) found that children from low-socioeconomic
households are less likely to have even 10 books in their homes. With these data in
mind, any attempts to level the playing field and boost student reading achievement
must look beyond the schools to the homes and communities where children live
and learn.
6 HOME LIBRARIES TOPIC PAPER
THE EFFECTIVENESS OF HOME LIBRARIES
VS. SUMMER SCHOOL
In a 2010 randomized study of a summer-reading pilot program in 17 high-poverty
elementary schools, 842 students were provided with 12 paperback books each
summer for three summers. The books were self-selected by the students and sent
home with them for the summer.
After three years, researchers compared student scores on the Florida Comprehensive
Assessment Test with those of a control group. They found that the reading
achievement scores of the students who received the summer books for three years
were significantly higher than those of the control-group students.
What’s more, the measurable impact of a home library was equal to or larger than
high-cost interventions.
• The score increase over three years was equal to or larger than the achievement
effect of attending summer school for the same amount of time.
• The score increase was equal to or larger than the achievement effect sizes
reported for implementing comprehensive school-reform models
(Allington et al., 2010).
While home reading during the school year will help to close the achievement gap
during those months, it is equally—if not more—essential that young readers have a
vibrant, exciting collection of books at home during the summer. With summer break
accounting for one-fourth of the year in many districts, books that are engaging and
easily accessible are an inexpensive, proven way to reduce summer learning loss.
HOME LIBRARIES TOPIC PAPER 7
THE IMPACT:
THE HOME LIBRARY IMPERATIVE
In an international study of more than 70,000 participants in 27 nations, Evans et al.
(2010) revealed that after controlling for economic status, father’s occupation, and
parental education, the effect of home access to books had about the same impact as
parental education on student achievement. The impact was double the impact of the
father’s occupation and outpaced family economic status. What’s more, students
with the biggest gains from home libraries are those who came from a lower
economic status.
These findings are game-changing. Schools and communities don't have control
over parental education, occupation, or economics, but institutions can put books in
children’s homes and close the achievement gap.
Studies from around the globe show that access to print resources—ranging from
board books to read-aloud books to magazines—and shared reading experiences
with caregivers in early childhood before formal schooling begins have both an
immediate and long-term effect on children’s vocabulary, background knowledge,
and comprehension skills (Neuman & Moland, 2019).
The academic impact of home access to books and reading materials continues
long after these early experiences. We know that when books are part of a home
environment, children are more likely to read for pleasure and have a better
vocabulary. Studies show they also have increased access to information and a more
comprehensive “cultural toolkit” that positively impacts educational achievement
(Evans et al., 2010).
Reading volume and exposure to books outside of school have a positive effect
on students’ reading achievement and are powerful contributors to a variety of
academic skills.
• Students with more books at home have higher educational attainment
(Evans et al., 2010).
• Children growing up in homes with many books go on to receive, on average,
three years more schooling than children from bookless homes, regardless of their
parents’ education, occupation, and economic status (Evans et al., 2010).
8 HOME LIBRARIES TOPIC PAPER
• Home library size predicts school success in both elementary and later years
(Park, 2008; Sikora et al., 2018).
• Twenty-one minutes a day of reading outside of school results in higher scores on
reading achievement tests and an increase of more than 1.8 million reading words
annually (Fisher & Frey, 2018).
• High literacy levels, enhanced by out-of-school reading, positively influence
academic performance at secondary school (Daggett & Hasselbring, 2007) and
on vocational choices later in life (Kirsch et al., 2002).
• When students have access to a larger number of books in their home, their
reading motivation is higher, their attitude toward reading is more positive, and
reading competence increases (Gambrell, 2011; Katzir et al., 2009; Merga, 2015;
Park, 2008; Retelsdorf et al., 2011; Sutter & Campbell, 2022; Zucker et al., 2022).
Above all, students who have more books read more and enjoy reading. In their survey
of the print access and reading habits of a group of Grade 11 students, McQuillan
and Au (2001) found that “the number of books personally owned by the students
in this study was significantly correlated with both reading frequency and reading
achievement” (p. 232).
The exponential benefits of books in the home extend far beyond students and brick-
and-mortar schools. When young people are provided with access to home libraries
filled with diverse, high-interest texts, the impact ripples into their communities
and beyond.
What students learn at home provides an essential foundation on which schools can
build. Without it, neither students nor schools can reach their full potential
(Wherry, 2004, p. 6).
HELPING MINDS AND BODIES THRIVE
Neuroscientists find that reading not only strengthens the language-processing
regions of the human brain, but also affects its sensorimotor regions (Berns et
al., 2013). In fact, the impact of an “early-life book-oriented environment may be
important in shaping cognitive aging” (Weinstein et al., 2021, p. 274).
Availability of books at home during childhood may be related to improved late-life
cognitive abilities and to slower cognitive decline, independently of education and life-
course factors, such as health, lifestyle, and socioeconomic indices
(Weinstein et al., 2021, p. 280).
HOME LIBRARIES TOPIC PAPER 9
Dewalt and Pignone (2005) argue that literacy is life-saving in the most concrete of
senses, as it provides adults with a better understanding of, and access to, healthcare:
“Patients with inadequate literacy have less health-related knowledge, receive less
preventive care, have poorer control of their chronic illnesses, and are hospitalized
more frequently than other patients” (p. 463).
A longitudinal study from Bavishi et al. (2017) found that book readers have a
23-month survival advantage over nonbook readers at the point of 80% survival, and a
20% reduction in risk of mortality over 12 years of follow-up. They put it simply:
“The benefits of reading books include a longer life in which to read them” (p. 44).
Books are not only good for our bodies. The empathy they build—along with social
perception and emotional intelligence—provides immeasurable benefits to society.
Perhaps the greatest hallmark of our humanity is our ability to understand the
thoughts and decisions of others. There is a clear link between regular reading and
social-emotional development and awareness. The greater access children have to
books in school and at home, the more likely they are to cultivate an appreciation for
diverse experiences and develop empathy for others (Cleaver, 2020).
“Understanding others’ mental states is a crucial skill that enables the complex social
relationships that characterize human societies,” write Kidd and Castano (2013),
adding that “reading uniquely engages the psychological processes needed to gain
access to characters’ subjective experiences” and increases our understanding of the
world around us and how others act within it.
It’s difficult to succeed in life if you can’t read well. And it’s very difficult to get good at
reading if you don’t have books to practice with at home. There may be no better way
to impact children’s overall futures than by making sure they have a steady supply of
quality books to read in their homes (Noonan & Fox, 2020, p. 3).
10 HOME LIBRARIES TOPIC PAPER
GETTING MORE BANG FOR YOUR
BOOK: BUILDING IMPACTFUL
HOME LIBRARIES
For years, research has shown that the very existence of books in the home is
correlated with student well-being, academic achievement, and future success.
Additionally, we know that students who own their own books are more likely to value
them (Clark & Poulton, 2011) and to read at or above grade level (Merga, 2015).
But what should these home libraries include?
We now have a nuanced understanding of how home libraries can yield the highest
impact, including which books should be included in home libraries, how those books
should be selected, and how many books make a measurable difference in the lives
of students.
A WIDE VARIETY OF BOOKS
Just as we want children to eat the rainbow as they fill their plate with fruits,
vegetables, and other healthy foods, we want children to read widely and have
experience with a wide range of story book types, genres, authors, characters,
and language (Cleaver, 2020, p. 27).
In their groundbreaking work, Nagy and Anderson (1984) identified an astonishing gap
in vocabulary exposure for school-aged children, finding that a middle-grade reader
who struggles to read might read 100,000 words a year, while a voracious reader in
the same class might read as many as 50 million words a year.
Those regular readers are wide reading—reading a variety of books at home and at
leisure—and in doing so, building stamina and increasing their reading fluency (Fisher
& Frey, 2018). Home libraries are essential for wide reading across numerous texts
every day, allowing for different progress depending upon a child’s age
(Torppa et al., 2020).
• In early grades (K–2), reading achievement drives the volume of books read;
children who are strong readers read more. During these years, home libraries
make for good practice, building fluency and comprehension and ensuring that
students think of themselves as good readers.
HOME LIBRARIES TOPIC PAPER 11
• After Grade 3, the relationship flips, and volume drives reading achievement;
children who can access and read large quantities of a variety of books become
more skilled readers.
No matter the child’s age, however, the research is irrefutable—the more access to
high-quality books outside of school, the better the reader (Mol & Bus, 2011). A home
library, like its classroom counterparts, should include illustrated chapter books,
graphic novels, fiction, nonfiction, myths, fairy tales, fantasy, poetry, or books that
are wildly successful in current popular culture (Zepp, 2022).
BOOKS SELECTED BY STUDENTS AND THEIR TEACHERS
In addition to wide reading—accessing texts with varied content and skill level—
students should be encouraged to read deeply. Deep reading is the hallmark of the
avid reader; it happens when readers fall in love with a genre, consume the backlist
of a favorite author, and get excited when they discover a new book on a topic they
love. This is where reading becomes fun and young readers become lifelong readers
(Cleaver, 2020).
Home libraries should be special. They should include books that are selected to
engage and excite individual students, honoring their unique skills and interests.
Teachers and administrators are well poised to help families build and create libraries
for their students, naturally understanding which texts best allow kids to explore and
learn. In partnership, students and educators work together to build a curated library
of books that inspire, educate, and entertain (Gabriel et al., 2012; Fisher & Frey, 2018).
Content selected with individual students in mind will interest and motivate even the
most struggling readers, resulting in stronger reading skills (Baye et al., 2019; Koskinen
et al., 1994). Students who play a role in selecting their own reading materials are
more motivated to read, expend more effort to read, and gain a better understanding
of texts (Gambrell, 1996; Guthrie, 2008; Schiefele, 1991). Book fairs, book clubs, and
summer book packs curated by teachers for their students all facilitate this kind of
home library collection.
As home libraries increase confidence in reading and encourage readers to read
more and think of themselves as better readers, the most effective home libraries
must include books with different difficulty levels, encouraging students to feel
comfortable reading at their own reading level while offering the opportunity to
expand and explore beyond their abilities (Zucker et al., 2022).
12 HOME LIBRARIES TOPIC PAPER
WHERE TO BEGIN?
The 2022 Scholastic Kids & Family Reading Report has identified the types of books
that young readers want to explore.
Kids want to choose the books that they read:
• 93% of kids say their favorite books are the ones they picked out themselves
• 92% of kids say they are more likely to finish reading a book that they have
picked out themselves
Kids want:
• Chapter books (58%)
• Picture books/storybooks (56%)
• Graphic novels (37%)
• Comic books (35%)
Personalization is key—content that is too advanced could frustrate readers, and
content that is too simple runs the risk of boring them (Baye et al., 2019). To achieve
the best possible results for any home library program, books should be selected with
the help of teachers and educators so students are guided to select books that will
engage, excite, and enhance their reading skills (Kim, 2006).
Success with challenging reading tasks provides students with evidence of
accomplishment, resulting in increased feelings of competence and increased
motivation (Gambrell, 2011, p. 176).
HOME LIBRARIES TOPIC PAPER 13
BOOKS THAT REFLECT THEMSELVES AND THE WORLD
Recent research indicates that effective home libraries cultivate appreciation for
diversity and empathy, allowing students to better understand not only the people
and world around them, but also themselves (Cleaver, 2020). Books in a home library
should reflect students’ personal experiences and culture while positively depicting
the rich tapestry of cultural and ethnic groups around them (Worthy & Roser, 2010).
Books are sometimes windows, offering views of worlds that may be real or imagined,
familiar or strange. These windows are also sliding glass doors, and readers have only
to walk through in imagination to become part of whatever world has been created and
recreated by the author.
When lighting conditions are just right, however, a window can also be a mirror.
Literature transforms human experience and reflects it back to us, and in that reflection
we can see our own lives and experiences as part of the larger human experience.
Reading, then, becomes a means of self-affirmation, and readers often seek their mirrors
in books (Bishop 1990, p .ix).
Every educator understands this intuitively, having seen students transfixed by mirrors
and opening and walking through sliding glass doors. When children find themselves
in the books they read, the experience feels magical. All children require windows and
sliding glass doors to thrive—and home libraries are an essential component of this.
Children from dominant cultural and social groups have no trouble finding mirrors in
texts. But if they are always staring into the mirror, they become transfixed, unable to
find empathy or understanding for those who are not like them. They require windows
onto the world beyond their small piece of it, and sliding glass doors to walk through
in order to see themselves as part of an enormous whole.
The reverse is also true. As Bishop (1990) writes in her landmark text, Mirrors,
Windows, and Sliding Glass Doors: “When children cannot find themselves reflected
in the books they read, or when the images they see are distorted, negative, or
laughable, they learn a powerful lesson about how they are devalued in the society of
which they are a part” (p. 557).
HOW MANY BOOKS?
While the precise number of books needed to produce the optimal impact on
children’s growth is not clear, one thing is certain: when a child begins their home
library journey with few books in their home, even one book can make a difference in
their reading lives.
14 HOME LIBRARIES TOPIC PAPER
Manu (2019) found that “the likelihood of being on track in literacy-numeracy almost
doubled if at least one book was available at home compared to when there was none”
(p. 1). This finding was supplemented by research indicating that each additional book
in a home library has larger benefits for families with fewer books than for families with
many (Sikora et al., 2018).
While there is no agreement on the exact number of books needed for a sustained,
measurable impact on young people, a survey of the research on the ideal quantity of
books in a home library reveals a variety of insights.
THE CONTINUUM
Five Books: Reading five books during the summer can prevent a decline in reading
achievement when returning to school (Kim, 2006).
Twenty-Five Books: A child who hails from a home with 25 books will, on average,
complete two more years of school than a child from a home without any books at all
(Evans et al., 2010).
Forty Books: When second-graders were given 40 carefully selected books over three
years for their home libraries, their fluency improved, and parents reported increased
time spent reading at home during weekends, holidays, and summer breaks (Minkel, 2012).
1.0 Adult literacy by library size in adolescence
Eighty Books: Having
Literacy in standard deviations
approximately 80 books 0.5
in an adolescent home
0.0
library raises literacy
levels to average -0.5
(Sikora et al., 2018).
-1.0
0 100 200 300 400 500 600
Number of books at home when 16 years old N=162,955
More Than Eighty Books: While literacy increases beyond an 80-book home library,
at some point the benefits of a home book collection level off in relation to reading
skills—more than 350 books in a home is not associated with significant literacy gains
(Sikora et al., 2018).
However, growing up in a home with 500 books has other benefits—propelling a child
an average of 3.2 years further in education than peers in an otherwise similar home
with few or no books. That child is 33% more likely to finish the ninth grade and 36%
more likely to finish high school than an otherwise identical child from a home with no
books (Evans et al., 2010).
THE RESEARCH IS CLEAR
Books in the home matter.
HOME LIBRARIES TOPIC PAPER 15
PROMOTING PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT IN LEARNING
More than half a century of literacy research, dating back to 1966, shows again
and again that the interactions young readers enjoy at home with caregivers—from
conversations to storytelling to read-alouds—play a significant role in academic
success and beyond. Children who are read aloud to at home develop a stronger
vocabulary, more background knowledge, better expressive and receptive language
abilities, and stronger phonological awareness and early-literacy skills (Durkin, 1966;
Bus et al., 1995; Neuman & Celano, 2006).
Book reading allows parents and children to derive meaning from text in relation to
their own lives (Neuman, 2016, p. 118).
The impact that families and caregivers have on reading skills continues long past
preschool age. Parent involvement in child reading is positively associated with
reading achievement for fifth-graders (Koepp et al., 2022), 13-year-olds (Price & Kalil.,
2018), and 15-year-olds (Schubert & Becker, 2010).
Researchers posit that, when caregivers and children share books, they enhance
the quality of their reading in the long term, making for frequent conversation and
increased caregiver understanding of a child’s learning (Fletcher & Reese, 2005).
Family involvement in learning connects the world inside and outside of school
and makes the school day more relevant to students—increasing developmental
outcomes for children (Weiss et al, 2006).
What’s more, when parents are encouraged to read with their children at home,
children become more interested in reading as a concept and more driven to become
readers themselves (Armbruster, 2001).
16 HOME LIBRARIES TOPIC PAPER
HOW IT CAN WORK ON THE GROUND
As part of their project on reading outside of school, Fisher & Frey (2018) encouraged
schools in the study to schedule additional family information sessions to “keep
focused on reading volume” (p. 93). Principals took the reins in these meetings,
pointing out that “Getting your kid to read every night is as important as getting them
to brush their teeth.” And they encouraged parents to institute family reading time—
time without screens, when families could read and talk.
The Results Are Powerful:
• Higher library checkout rates in the current year (+9%) than for the same students
during the same period the previous year;
• Higher writing scores on district benchmark tests (+4%) compared with other
district schools;
• Higher fluency rates (+2%) compared with the students’ past reading records or
with other schools in the same district; and
• Students and parents anecdotally reporting reading more books
(Fisher & Frey, 2018).
PROVIDING PARENT TRAINING AND SUPPORT
The benefits of home libraries for students are irrefutable, but they can be
supercharged if parents are offered training and support to enhance and encourage
student learning.
In a 2006 study of a voluntary fourth-grade summer reading intervention, young
readers were given eight books over the summer. Parents and families were provided
with comprehension strategies to employ with children. The results were remarkable,
with small, mighty libraries eliminating summer reading loss—suggesting that the
impact of home book collections was maximized when parents were engaged in the
process (Kim, 2006).
It is important to underscore the fact that students and families are not choosing to
forgo reading during summer and out-of-school time. In fact, research broadly shows
that the opposite is true—when children are provided with books outside of school,
families are eager to engage with them and support reading growth.
HOME LIBRARIES TOPIC PAPER 17
HOW IT CAN WORK ON THE GROUND
In a study providing 12 books in Spanish and English to young readers and their
families, Neuman and Moland (2019) prioritized fostering community among Spanish-
speaking parents.
To do so, they established a book club for parents, providing “an important social
opportunity for parents to gather together, to share information about books, and
other things as well” (Neuman & Moland, 2019). This book club provided time for
parents to talk about their children, academics, and school activities. Importantly, it
also provided a safe, nonjudgmental space for parents who struggled with reading.
In a group, parents with low reading proficiency:
• Chimed in more while reading with their children;
• Developed more confidence in their own reading using the repeated texts
as scaffolds;
• Reported high levels of enjoyment in fostering their children’s skills, as well as
their own; and
• Continued to attend book clubs after the study concluded.
What’s more, children across the project saw substantial increases in receptive
language and concepts of print measures in a 12-week period, regardless of the
parents’ own reading abilities (Neuman & Moland, 2019).
The personal connection that young people discover when owning and sharing books
with those around them is reflected in the research on young readers and motivation to
read far beyond preschool age. Data show that young people are motivated to be active
and engaged readers when they receive books as gifts, “suggesting that schools should
explore avenues for promoting book ownership, particularly for those children who may
not receive books as gifts” (Koskinen et al., 1994). This is true across socioeconomic
lines.
Book-sharing interventions, in which caregivers engage in interactive reading with
children, are relatively cheap, feasible to implement and improve the social-emotional
and cognitive skills (Manu et al., 2019, p. 2).
18 HOME LIBRARIES TOPIC PAPER
Beyond the quantitative data, students who receive books for a home library from
teachers, schools, and communities report an increased love of reading and an
eagerness to share that love with parents, siblings, and friends (Minkel, 2012).
Those students also report sharing their books with others in their family and social
groups—a familiar trait in book lovers, and perhaps the best proof that home libraries
are a powerful tool for positive change.
CONCLUSION
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, educators, communities, and families are
doing all they can to combat its toll on student learning—especially among children
in low-socioeconomic areas. To do so, schools and homes need every resource
possible, particularly those that make a large impact with a small investment.
Home libraries are powerful, purposeful, and productive. When intentionally built by
educators and students, small, personalized libraries deliver an undeniable bang for a
book, rivaling programs that require significantly more expense and manpower. Books
in the home reduce student learning loss, increase reading skills, engage families, and
establish a healthier, more active, and more empathetic community where young
people thrive.
Books change lives, and students deserve to have access to them all day, every day.
HOME LIBRARIES TOPIC PAPER 19
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NOTES
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NOTES
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