Children's and YA Services

Every Child Ready to Read® @ your library® (ECRR) is a parent/caregiver education initiative, directed toward public library staff, intended to promote early literacy. Early literacy is what children learn and know about reading and writing before they can read or write. Early literacy begins with the primary adults in a child's life.

ECRR empowers public librarians and library specialists to take a central role in supporting early literacy through teaching parents and other caregivers how to support the early literacy development of their children.

ECRR is a project of the Association for Library Service to Children and the Public Library Association, divisions of the American Library Association. It was first introduced in 2004 and was extensively revised in 2011. "ECRR1" refers to the 2004 edition of the ECRR toolkit and materials. "ECRR2" refers to the 2011 edition.

ECRR1 was organized around six primary early literacy skills which research had identified as essential for the later development of reading, writing, and language skills. ECRR2 shifted attention, from naming and describing the individual skills, to promoting five simple, everyday practices that help children develop all the foundational early literacy skills.

Talking - because children learn by listening to their parents and others talk. As children hear spoken language, they learn new words and what they mean. They learn about the world around them and important general knowledge. This will help children understand the meaning of what they read. Talking with children helps them learn oral language, which is critical to literacy. The experience of self-expression also stimulates brain development, which underlies all learning.

Singing - which also includes rhyming - increases children’s awareness of and sensitivity to the sounds in words. This helps prepare children to decode print (written language). Songs are a wonderful way to learn about language. Singing also slows down language so children can hear the different sounds that make up words.

Reading together - also called shared reading - is the single most important way to help children get ready to read and become proficient readers. Reading together increases vocabulary and general knowledge. It helps children learn how print looks and how books work. Shared reading also helps children develop an interest in reading. Children who enjoy being read to are more likely to want to learn to read themselves.

Writing and reading go together. Both represent spoken language and communicate information. Writing helps children learn that letters and words stand for sounds and that print has meaning. Children can learn pre-reading skills through writing activities.

Playing is one of the primary ways young children learn about the world. General knowledge is an important literacy skill that helps children understand books and stories once they begin to read. Children learn a lot about language through play. Play helps children think symbolically, so they understand that spoken and written words can stand for real objects and experiences. Play also helps children express themselves and put thoughts into words.

This project is funded by the State of Connecticut and the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act, administered by the Connecticut State Library.