If you can read this message, then it is likely that your browser does not support the latest web standards, and this site will appear in a less than optimal way. We recommend you upgrade to a standards-compliant browser to improve your Internet experience.

Skip to content | Accessibility Info

Completed Projects

A Place for Children: The qualitative impact of public libraries on children's reading

Public libraries provide the only statutory local government service available to children from babyhood to adolescence, yet prior to this project there had never been an official assessment of its value. A Place for Children therefore attempted to remedy this by undertaking a major investigation into the qualitative impact of public libraries in the UK on children's reading development.

The project was funded by the British Library Research and Innovation Centre (subsequently the Library and Information Commission), and ran from November 1996 until June 1998. It was conceived as a collaborative piece of research by the principal institutions teaching and researching in the field of children's library provision, and drew on expertise within three British universities: the University of Central England in Birmingham; Loughborough University and the University of Wales, Aberystwyth.

The research began with the view that library services for children and young people are a key national asset in supporting children's reading needs, a tremendous resource unlike any other. In focusing the study on public libraries' roles in supporting children's reading, the authors emphasised that reading development was key to children's success. The special place of the public library in reading development provided the title for the study and summarised the intention of trying to demonstrate a continuing role for children's public libraries into the next millennium. The case studies provided some inspirational examples, with particular evidence of social impact and libraries as a safe haven.

The findings of the A Place for Children research highlighted the special place of the library in the child's reading development. It was shown that the library:

  • caters for all
  • is socially inclusive
  • allows access to children, regardless of their age, wealth, background, gender, race, environment or geographical location
  • supports lifelong reading and learning
  • offers individuals the opportunity to become members for life
  • is child-friendly
  • gives all children equal status
  • provides all children with a social space of their own
  • benefits the child's quality of life
  • offers a model of adults and children sharing the enjoyment of books.

Furthermore, the research highlighted the continued importance of reading in the child's development. Reading has a value in the child's:

  • personal, social and emotional development
  • imaginative development
  • educational and reading skills development
  • literacy development, including computer literacy
  • information skills development
  • sense of pleasure and fun.

The research also reinforced the value of libraries' support for:

  • parents and carers, by empowering them through information and support
  • families, through family reading groups and family literacy groups
  • readers, through supporting educational resources and broader reading.

Publications

  1. Denham, D., Elkin, J., et al. A Place for Children: the qualitative impact of public libraries on children's reading. The New Review of Children's Literature and Librarianship, 3, 1997,
  2. Elkin, J., Evans, M. et al. Eds. A Place for Children: The Qualitative Impact of Public Libraries on Children's Reading. Final Report and Draft Manuscript for Monograph to be published by Library Association Publishing. Birmingham: University of Central England; Loughborough: Loughborough University; Aberystwyth: University of Wales, 1999.
  3. Elkin, J., Kinnell, M. Eds. A Place for Children: Public Libraries as a Major Force in Children's Reading. London: Library Association, 2000.
  4. Heeks, P., Denham, D. Evaluating the Place for Children. The Library Association Record, 100(4), 1998, 98.
  5. Mynott, G., Elkin, J., Denham, D. A Place for Children: Report on the UK-wide Research Project. An Leabharlann, 2000.
  6. Train, B., Elkin, J., Denham, D. A Place for Children: the library as a safe haven. Birmingham: University of Central England, 2000. ISBN 0904354156 (See Publications page for ordering information)
  7. Train, B., Dalton, P., Elkin, J. Embracing inclusion: the critical role of the library. Library Management, 21(9), 2000, 483-490.

Project Team at UCE
Professor Judith Elkin
Debbie Denham
Karin Richter