Gals Read is a program of the Fairbanks North Star Borough Public Library in partnership with the Literacy Council of Alaska and FNSB School District. It is a companion program to Guys Read, which was developed to overcome the loss of interest in reading that is common among boys at that age. Only offering this fun program to boys, however, was seen as detrimental to the girls’ self-esteem. Gals Read is being developed to support girls’ interest in reading for pleasure while providing a mentorship opportunity with dynamic professional women from the local community.
Women who are willing to spend one lunch break or several reading to fourth grade girls are needed in Fairbanks this semester. Here’s how it works: four Gals Read books have been specially selected by local librarians. Teams of volunteer women will read to the girls during their lunch period while projecting images from the books using document cameras to provide an interactive experience. Multi-copy sets of the books are also given to the participating schools’ libraries and the children are invited to a party at the Noel Wien library at the end of the program.
Gals Read will reach ten district schools this year, up from three last year. The program runs in late January and February. Each of the ten schools will have either a Wednesday/Friday or Tuesday/Thursday schedule. Women readers will visit each school twice a week for four weeks. Gals Read takes place during the fourth grade lunch period which falls between 11:55am-1pm, depending on the school.
Volunteers only have to attend one of the three available trainings to become a Reader. If you are interested in being a reader this year, please contact Cherie Johnston, Gals Read Coordinator: cherie@literacycouncilofalaska.org - phone 456-6212
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