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Born to Read, Read to Bond programme

The Born to Read, Read to Bond programme aims to promote lifelong learning and deepen family ties by increasing parent-child bonding. The programme, introduced by the National Library Board in 2002, is designed for children from new borns up to three years of age.

History
The project came about through the collaborative efforts of the Ministry of Community Development and Sports (MCDS) and the National Library Board (NLB). Statistics revealed that children generated most number of its book loans but only half their number were library members. Instead, parents were borrowing books on behalf of their children. Thus a programme was designed specifically to meet the needs of children. It ensured that the child would be registered as a library member. As MCDS's mandate is to promote family bonding, the programme was designed in such a way that a parent spends quality time with his/her offspring by read books out loud to the child and helping the child borrow books.

The Born to Read, Read to Bond project was launched on 27 November 2001. Though the programme is an ongoing one, a child can join in at any point of time. It is free-of-charge. All libraries of NLB participate in the project. A total of nine hospitals and four private organisations have joined the project so far. The private organisations together with NLB and MCDS raised S$1 million in cash and in kind for one year of the programme.

Description
Research has shown that a child's learning ability start at birth. Babies learn to focus on things when shown colourful pictures. By reading stories out loud, their vocabulary skills develop faster, their imagination is stimulated and their ability to understand develops. Apart from enhancing learning skills, it inculcates the love of learning in them. Being talked to means giving attention and this makes the baby feel special resulting in emotional growth and forming the base for a lifelong value system.

The programme is publicised at hospitals so that babies can join in the programme early. Parents with children from new born to three years can register their child for this programme. Upon registration, they receive a membership card, a reading bag and passbook. They also get discounts in the NLB workshops on parenting. The membership card is shaped like a key denoting a child's entry into the world of learning. The reading bag comes with a suggested booklist titled "Oh Babies" for various age groups and product samples of participating private companies. Parents have to borrow at least four books on the same day of registration. The passbook is to record books that were borrowed. It is valid for three months. At the end of three months, the participating parent and child are given a goodie bag. The Born to Read, Read to Bond framework includes various programmes such as "Read to Me", "Read with Me" and "Reading Togetherness". The programme includes a "Read-N-Bond Parents Group" session for parents to share their experiences. They can get answers to questions on their children, on family bonding and learn tips from librarians, child psychologists, family counsellors, social workers, marriage therapists and nutritionists.

List of participating groups (as at 2003)

Hospitals	Private Companies
KK Women's and Children's Hospital	Dumex
Gleneagles Hospital	Johnson & Johnson
East Shore Hospital	Motherhood magazine
Mount Alvernia Hospital	Tumble Tots
Mount Elizabeth Hospital
National University Hospital
Raffles Hospital
Singapore General Hospital

Author
Naidu Ratnala Thulaja



References
National Library Board. (2001). Annual Report. Singapore: Author.
(Call no.: RSING 027.05957 SNLBAR)

Tee, H. C. (2002, July 23). Never too young. The Straits Times, Life!.

Chia, C. (2001-2002). Annual report to CDNL 2001-2002. Retrieved April 4, 2003, from www.nla.gov.au/initiatives/meetings/cdnl/singapore.pdf

Congress of Southeast Asian Librarians (CONSAL). [2002].Innovative ways of promoting reading. Retrieved April 4, 2003, from www.consal.org.sg/webupload/resource/brief/attachments/%7BA3E1A9D2-E8B2-4A48-853A-D45947A6A63A%7D.pdf

Ngian, L. C. (2001/2002). Public libraries in Singapore International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions. Retrieved April 4, 2003, from www.ifla.org/VII/s8/annual/cr0102-sg.pdf

Public Service Division. (2002). Binding ties by reading together. Retrieved April 4, 2003, from www.ps21.gov.sg/Challenge/2002_03/staff/staff.html 

The information in this article is valid as at 2003 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.

Subject
Events>>National Campaigns
Library outreach programs--Singapore
Libraries--Singapore
Education>>Elementary education>>Reading



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