Reading Counts! coming to library

Alexis Barker
NLJ Reporter
 
Patrons of the children’s library at the Weston County Library may have noticed a newly placed yellow tag on the end of some 12,000 books in the children’s sections. The yellow tags, according to Amanda Sanford, the children’s librarian, include the information on each of the books associated with the Reading Counts! program used by Newcastle Elementary School. 
“I am trying to promote more frequent use of the library’s many resources in our younger generations,” Sanford said. 
Sanford said that she became fully aware of how big the Reading Counts! program is for Newcastle students in grades 2-5 when her daughter, Heidi, entered 2nd grade and began using the program. Not only does the addition of the Reading Counts! information make the library relevant for school reading, but it will also hopefully get young patrons involved in the library, encouraging them to use their local resources more to meet their needs and wants, Sanford said. 
“I first noticed the need when I first started at the library and kids would come in asking about the books,” Sanford said. “I can look the books up on the internet, but the webpage isn’t very user friendly.” 
“I started thinking about it then, but when Heidi asked if I could label the books like the school does, I finally said yes and began the project,” Sanford said. 
Sanford’s project began in October. She has labeled about 12,000 books, to date, with the difficultly level or Lexile level of the book, the interest level, reading level and the points the student will receive for acing the test. 
According to the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt website, Reading Counts! leverages a person’s independent reading program into a measurable and highly motivating literacy resource. 
“This Lexile-based independent reading program tracks students’ success on the books they read in and out of school. Software-based reading recommendations, assessment, instant feedback and monitoring are just some of the tools that help turn all students into successful independent readers,” the website says. 
Each student in the Newcastle program sets a reading points goal to reach before the annual Watiki water park field trip, and those who reach that goal are able to attend the day of fun. 
“The problem was that the kids wouldn’t know if the books here counted. I wanted the children to still get the enjoyment and learning experience of the books, but they didn’t know if they counted towards their goal,” Sanford said. “It was frustrating for those kids who were trying to get to Watiki.” 
To date, all of the children’s chapter books – also known as the junior fiction section – have been labeled if there is a quiz associated with the book, according to Sanford. She said that she has also labeled children’s nonfiction books and has begun the process of labeling the picture books, with the goal of completing the project in April. 
“My goal is to get children using the library as a resource for their school reading, as well as the school library, potentially increasing the usage of the library,” Sanford said. “One reason the library is so important is that the access to online books can cost and here they do not, unless they are late, of course.” 
Sanford said that she is also there to help guide children on their next reading adventure, helping the youth to discover books that interest them while achieving their goals. 
“I encourage the parents to let their kids pick books that will interest them. The main goal is to get them reading,” Sanford said. “If they’re reading, their reading level will improve over time.”