Reading at home expands upon the early literacy skills gained in the classroom. Unfortunately, many children in our community don’t have books at home. This is where the Maryland Book Bank comes into play. Allowing young students to take home free books from our shelves creates a sense of independence and develops a love for reading that is otherwise difficult with the book deserts that limit the education of our youth today. A book desert is a geographical area that has limited access to reading materials. This makes it difficult for families in these areas to obtain books for their child’s home library.
A two-decade long study found that the mere presence of a home library increases children's academic success, vocabulary development, attention and job attainment. The lead researcher in this study, Joanna Sikora, explained that “Adolescent exposure to books is an integral part of social practices that foster long-term cognitive competencies.” The Maryland Book Bank offers a few ways in which you can get started in building your child’s at home library. First, when children come into our facility, they are able to take as many books as they can carry for free. For adults, non-members are able to come in for free once a month and collect up to 25 books. There is also an option to become a member which costs 45 dollars annually and allows you to take as many books as you want as many times as you want.
For those who aren’t able to get to our facility itself, we have also implemented the Bookmobile. The Bookmobile is basically a portable book bank! Sponsored by the Ravens, the Bookmobile is able to take the books to kids where they are able to make their selections just as if they were in the Maryland Book Bank itself. The Bookmobile visits schools, community events, festivals, and summer camps. In addition, the Maryland Book Bank has initiated the Home Library Program. This program is the Maryland Book Bank’s pre-kindergarten to second-grade reading initiative designed to help build home libraries during the critical years of early literacy by allowing students to board the Bookmobile and self-select 10 books to take home and keep. The Maryland Book Bank prioritizes the idea of a home library as it has immense benefits for children that will last them throughout their adult lives. Come by and start your home library today!
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