Engaging Children with Literacy at Armstrong Browning Library: An Archival Study of the Children's Summer Institute

Abstract

Children’s literacy programs, as an extension of community literacy, have the potential toengage children with literacy by either complementing or contrasting school-based literacy curriculum. While many achievement-based literacy programs have been widely studied, fewer studies have focused on the value of enrichment-based approaches. The Children’s Summer Institute (CSI), a literacy enrichment program administered by Baylor University’s Armstrong Browning Library from 1989 to 1993, aimed to cultivate an interestin literature and writing by exposing the students to the best of children’s literature (CSIRecords, Box 1, Folder 1). This study investigates what the Children’s Summer Institute canteach us about children’s literacy and how its model can inform current conversations surrounding literacy. To develop a comprehensive understanding of the Institute, I combined qualitative and textual methodologies, including archival document analysis and outside interviews. I found that the Children’s Summer Institute serves as an example of how engaging programming can effectively further literacy and foster an appreciation for literature within a community literacy framework. These results highlight the importance of enrichment-based literacy programs for children, as they can be a valuable complement totraditional school curriculum.