LIBRARY WEEK IN TURKEY

Libraries and Dyslexia

Due to the fact that I have worked in a library and that it was library week in Turkey recently , I decided to write something about libraries and dyslexia !!.

If your child is dyslexic they will generally try to avoid reading because it is something they find difficult.This is a normal human reaction as we generally prefer not to do something we are struggling with !! Of course, we as parents must encourage our child to read on a daily basis, in order for them to improve their reading skills.In fact ,this is even more important in the long school holidays.!!

In countries ,like the UK, in every neighbourhood their are well- stocked public libraries where you and your kids can borrow books. In fact many libraries are “dyslexia –friendly with easy to read books and talking books etc available for loan.Childrens librarians read stories to children and many libraries run events to promote childrens reading.Some schools in the UK carry out “Paired Reading Projects” in the school library to help struggling readers. (I have talked about paired reading in an earlier article.)

Unfortunately when we look at Turkey – libraries are few and far between and also poorly stocked. School libraries are non-existent except for some mainly at private schools. My son’s school has a room with “library” written on it but it doesnt function as a library.Its quite sad I think !!!!

Though I am lucky and I can go and buy books which will interest my son , many other people in Turkey can not afford the luxury of purchasing books !! This is why librairies SHOULD be an important priority in Turkey. If there were decent libraries then children could at least borrow books…… !!!

Due to the lack of a well- stocked library near me I resort to spending time with my son looking around book-shops and browsing.This is a helpful exercise to do with your child to encourage a liking for books. Also make sure you read to your child – especially books which are perhaps too hard for them to read by themselves. Yapı Kredi often hold events to promote new childrens books where you can meet the author of a book. These are also useful to take your child to.

Interesting statistics :

In Europe there are 7.500 people for every library but in Turkey there are 51.000 people to every library !!

In Turkey every 6 people read 1 book in a year !!

Only 19 – 25 % of children own books in Turkey

Only one mother/father in 4 shows some effort to encourage their children to have good reading habits .

40 % of the population have never visited a library. Another 31 % have been occasionally.

In 2006 the Childrens Foundation wrote a report about the reading habits in Turkey.This is where a lot of the statistics I quoted have come from . Go to the site to see the report:

http://www.cocukvakfi.org.tr/
Not a very good picture does it paint !!