The Community of the Virgin Islands (CFVI) has recently been honored with an invitation to serve as an affiliate Center for the Book. The Center for the Book was originally founded in 1977 by the Library of Congress to promote books, reading and literacy programming, and it works in coordination with branches in all 50 states. With the inclusion of the U.S. Virgin Islands center, it now has affiliates in every U.S. territory too. The USVI is already home to five libraries, and although damage occurred to buildings and contents during the hurricanes in 2017, repair work is now underway at the Elaine I Sprauve Library, St. John, and FEMA has provided funding to restore Enid Baa Library on St Croix. In addition to repairs to the IT and Archive rooms, the funding of over $700,000 will cover interior and exterior renovations to the Children’s section. Restoration work to preserve and replace the contents of the libraries is ongoing, but in the meantime, this year has seen the introduction of literacy initiatives that are giving parents and children access to more books and helping them to enjoy all the benefits that reading can bring.
Interactive Literacy Program Encourages Parents and Young Children to Read
As well as boosting literacy skills in children, curling up with a book has a positive impact on development, resulting in improved behavior, creative skills and overall well being. To encourage children to read more, the VI Education Department introduced an interactive literacy program designed specifically for parents and infants. The Cradle Literacy Parent Webinar Series started in March this year with the aim of teaching language development, communication skills and storytelling. The initiative builds on the success of a book drive held in December last year where parents with young children between the ages of two and three were invited to pick up a basket of books from designated schools. Both these initiatives recognize the importance of enhancing literacy from an early age and the significant impact that reading can have on child development.
Rallying Community Support for The Dolly Parton Imagination Library
To mark National Reading Month back in March, the local community of St Thomas was asked to support the Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library Program, an international initiative aimed at inspiring a love of reading in young children. The Children’s Museum has been the USVI affiliate for the program since 2017 after the first museum suffered hurricane damage. Through the introduction of this simple and effective library program, the museum, with the support of the CFVI and a local coffee bar, has provided books for thousands of under fives throughout the US Virgin Islands. As the program is not funded at present, support from the community is necessary in order to cover operating costs and continue delivering books to the 900 children who are currently registered.
While libraries are still undergoing essential repair work to restore both buildings and contents, local and international literacy initiatives ensure children from a very young age have access to books and are able to enjoy all the benefits of reading.