Local nonprofit, Friends of the Talkeetna Library, was one of three Alaskan groups to be presented with a CLIA award this past weekend. CLIA stands for “Contributions to Literacy in Alaska” and the award is granted each year by the Alaska Center for the Book. The award is granted for making a significant contribution in literacy, the literary arts, or the preservation of the written or spoken word.
For almost ten years, The Friends of the Talkeetna Library have conducted the Reading Mentors Program. Each semester, about ten to fifteen children in 1st through 3rd grade, are partnered with local volunteers for one-on-one reading sessions. The pair meets once a week at the library to read books together after school. Sandra Ehrlich, a member of the Friends of the Talkeetna Library, says that having fun together is the number one priority.
“We take turns. You know, I read to them, they read to me. And so it might be a line that they thought was really funny and I might read it three different ways, and then just making them giggle because then I start giggling and then that’s all over.”
Ehrlich was instrumental in starting the program. She describes how the idea came about.
“Our daughter, Rebecca, was the Title 1 Reading Specialist at Talkeetna Elementary at the time. And, they had identified some first to third graders that could really use some help. And so I started researching about the reading/readiness gap for kids and the importance of closing that gap by the time that they’re nine or ten, which is about third grade, so that they can succeed and they can thrive. And, we didn’t have any money, but we had a library, full of books, and full of dedicated individuals and volunteers that cared about literacy and cared about the love of reading.”
Ehrlich says that the program could not exist without the unwavering support of other local organizations. Sunshine Transit shuttles the children to the library after school, where the the students are met with snacks provided by the Upper Susitna Food Pantry. The Friends of the Talkeetna Library is also supported with monetary grants from local foundations and community councils.
Ehrlich says allowing the children to direct the process is important.
“We wanted them to have choices. And so they have the opportunity to select the book they want. And, you know, it might be slaying dragons, it might be riding dragons, it might be climbing mountains. Whatever it was that was of interest to them that day, because opening a book opens all sorts of channels to imagination. It allows us to travel to places we’ve never been and experience things that we’ve never seen. So if it’s something they’re interested in, then immediately we know that we have that engagement.
Others receiving this prestigious award this year were The Anchorage Daily News and authors Ann Fienup-Riordan, Alice Rearden and Marie Meade.
