Programming Librarian | Call of the Wild (and of the Canines)

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Call of the Wild (and of the Canines)

Angela Hanshaw | April 27, 2010

Let’s just get this out of the way: I’m a dog person. I’d say ask me about my own dog, but you don’t have to—chances are, I’ll tell you about her anyway*. And so when I saw that Stockton-San Joaquin County (Calif.) Public Library external link had picked Call of the Wild by Jack London for their Big Read program and kicked it off with an event featuring dogs, I had to share.

To attract children and promote literacy in the city’s younger generation, the library recruited Indie and Frosty, sleds dogs with the Sierra Nevada Dog Drivers, for the kick-off. Turned out to be a good choice—more than 100 children and their guardians attended the event to meet the huskies and learn more about sled dogs. Each child also received a copy of Balto, the story of the Siberian husky famous for delivering diphtheria serum to Nome, Alaska, in 1924 and 1925. After meeting the dogs, young and old alike were invited to enjoy the music of the Sacramento Banjo Band.

Other events scheduled for Stockton’s Big Read include puppet shows, film screenings, Call of the Wild book group discussions, and a two-hour performance on Jack London’s life by actor and scholar Michael Oakes. You can find out more on the library’s page external link on the Big Read site. You can also see more images from the kick-off event at the Record.net, the online version of Stockton’s newspaper.

Aside from my love of dogs, I’m impressed the library came up with such a unique idea for a partnership. Has your library formed any unique library partnerships, dog-related or otherwise? Share in the comments below.

*She’s a sweet, adorable, medium-sized, five-or-so-year-old rescue mutt of no obvious breed. She also really likes to eat damp paper—I’m sure she’d find Call of the Wild quite tasty if it was left out in the rain.

Angela Hanshaw is Program Officer/Web Editor for the ALA Public Programs Office.

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Adrienne Bourne
Posts: 3

Dog Sledding & Island Tail Tutors
Reply #3 on : Tue June 22, 2010, 20:03:11

Our Library in Friday Harbor, Washington has had Laura Daugereau, the first woman from Washington State to finish the Iditarod, come and speak at our Library 3 times, and each time we have had at least 80 people. She is an excellent presenter, and brings one of her dogs - and sled! with her. If you live in Washington, you should try to schedule a program with her. Her website is: www.nightrunnerkennel.com

Our Library also sponsors a program called "Island Tail Tutors", where elementary school aged children can read to a dog, to help increase their reading confidence. We partner with the Friday Harbor Animal Shelter for this (very popular) program.

George Konder
Posts: 3

Tails to Tell reading program
Reply #2 on : Fri May 07, 2010, 13:13:50

Onondaga County Public Library’s Mundy Branch, a neighborhood library in the city of Syracuse, New York, created a read-to-a-dog program for children in 2001. Named “Tails to Tell,” the 30-minute reading sessions occur several times a week year-round and are for children in grades one through four. Children in higher grades sometimes request permission to participate, too. There are three mixed-breed dogs and three pure-bred dogs active in Tails to Tell, along with their human handlers. All of the dogs have completed formal, specialized obedience training and received their Canine Good Citizen certificates, issued by the American Kennel Club, through the Syracuse-based organization Sunshine Friends, Inc.

Children read aloud, one-on-one, to a dog in the library’s community room with the dog’s handler present. Experience has shown that children who are reluctant to read aloud are more apt to read to a dog because if they make a mistake, the dog doesn’t judge them. Over the years, Mundy librarians and volunteers have witnessed children gain confidence and skill in their reading ability thanks to Tails to Tell. One child who visited the library often was in third grade but only read picture books. After reading aloud to the dogs in Tails to Tell for one year, the child began reading chapter books on her own and started sharing them in the program. Here is a link to a video story about Tails to Tell featuring Tana the collie-mix. http://blog.syracuse.com/video/2007/12/tails_to_tell.html

George Konder, Librarian
Onondaga County Public Library, Mundy Branch
1204 S. Geddes St.
Syracuse, NY 13204
(315) 435-3797
http://www.onlib.org

Denise Robinson
Posts: 3

Ruff Readers
Reply #1 on : Wed April 28, 2010, 10:47:44

I work at Kent District Library in Kent County, Michigan. We do a program called Ruff Readers, in which we partner with a local therapy dog organization. This organization recruits community volunteers who train their dogs to be good listeners when someone's reading to them. (I've been told that this training involves rubbing soft treats on the pages of books, so the dogs learn to stare at the pages with great interest!) The volunteers and their dogs come to the library, and we schedule fifteen minute blocks where school-age children get to read to the dogs. This is especially beneficial for struggling or reluctant readers, as the kids get to practice reading aloud with a lovable friend who will never judge or criticize their reading abilities. It's been very successful for us, and I've heard of many other libraries across the country doing similar programs. :-)