Lila Rodriguez and her grandfather.Reading to children in their earliest years has been proven as an effective strategy for cognitive development and reading proficiency, which is why the Imagination Library of Grant County (ILGC) mails more than 1,300 books each month to local children. A February 2016 article published by JAMA Pediatrics stated books stimulated more parent-child conversation than traditional or electronic toys. "The early language environment of a child influences language outcome, which in turn affects reading and academic success." Evans and Kelly (2010) found that the more books there are in the home the longer a child will stay in school, and Hart and Risley (2004) concluded that children from a literacy rich environment enter Kindergarten with a vocabulary ten times greater than those without books in the home.

These findings are reflected in the Imagination Library's local longitudinal research. Dr. Ann Harvey, Professor of Reading at Western New Mexico University, has performed the study. She found, "The [Cobre and Silver Consolidated Schools] students who were exposed to books and had their parents read to them were better prepared for reading activities in Kindergarten, first, and second grade. It would seem that students who have been read to have a richer vocabulary and are able to discuss stories using higher-level thinking skills, while the students who have not had the benefit of Imagination Library books before their school years received the benefit of these richer discussions."

Nancy Stephens reading to a group of children
at the Silver City Museum.Since 2010, ILGC has been delivering free, age-appropriate, high quality books to the homes of Grant County's preschool children every month from birth to five years. They encourage parents to read, sing, talk and play with their children, thus preparing them for school success while strengthening family bonds. By the time children reach kindergarten, they have acquired their own libraries of up to 60 books, including twelve bilingual titles. Board President, Barbara Nelson, believes this approach can help eliminate the need to retain third grade students because of poor reading proficiency scores. Nancy Stephens, Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Program Coordinator for ILGC, observes, "The benefits of reading together go far beyond building vocabulary. More than anything, babies thrive from their parents' positive attention, and reading aloud is good for your mental health at any age."

The Imagination Library has three objectives: to register preschool children to receive Imagination Library books, to encourage healthy parent-child interaction and bonding through time spent reading together and through distribution of educational and developmental material and to raise funds for materials and book delivery. As a 501c3 organization, ILGC receives funding from individuals, businesses and foundations including a $15,000 grant in 2016 from Freeport McMoRan Foundation's Community Investment Fund. For more information, contact The Imagination Library of Grant County at 575.519.4464 or visit their website at www.ImaginationLibraryGC.org.