Sue Tracy, Associate Librarian, Children's Readmobile(CR), has been selected as the recipient of the 2003 Sandy Berman Award for Social Responsibility in Library Services. When she joined HCL staff three years ago Sue's background as an early childhood educator invigorated all of Youth Services and specifically the Readmobile outreach to childcare and early childhood sites. Early on she presented a mini workshop on how to subtly, but effectively incorporate research based techniques in storytimes to make that traditional library experience more effective in laying the groundwork for literacy development. Sue's thorough training capitalized on YS existing competencies and helped expand staff awareness of the importance of this new direction in programming. She encouraged staff to experiment and made the training fun an non-threatening.

Her early childhood experiences were extremely useful as Sue revised CR service to South Vista, a District 287 program for pregnant and parenting teens. It's hard and sometimes discouraging to work with young parents whose lives are filled with such challenge, but Sue was able to develop a stronger relationship with teachers and the young parents that has led to more successful visits to this site and to a dramatic increase in parent participation during the visits.

Working with families whose first language is not English and who may not necessarily understand the importance of reading to infants and young children, has been a challenge Sue accepts with enthusiasm. She has spearheaded Readmobile service development to meet the unique cultural and language needs of Somali and Hmong parents and childcare providers.

Sue was involved in helping develop collaboration with the Eden Prairie Schools Early Childhood Family Education Program (ECFE) that established a joint ECFE/CR service to Somali families new to this country. Initially this service at the Briarhills Apartment Complex in Eden Prairie languished. The traditional HCL/ECFE way of promoting and presenting programs simply wasn't effective. Working with Somali liaisons from the Hennepin County Office of Multicultural Services, school and CR staff revised the service and program plan so Somali parents are comfortable attending programs and using the Readmobile.

At the same time CR staff began an in-house collaboration with the Outreach Department. HCL's Hmong outreach liaison, Nong Lee, recruited 6 Hmong childcare providers in the Brooklyn Center area and with Sue began a new CR based outreach to them. Sue trained Nong in the basics of early literacy development and storytime techniques and Sue and other CR staff received an orientation to Hmong culture and customs. Sue presents storytimes for these Hmong providers and children and with Nong is developing a set of best practices for CR and other staff in working with young children, parents, and providers from this culture.

The CR has been visiting a Head Start site in Richfield for several years. The children at this site live in families below the poverty level and many are Spanish speaking. Sue worked with the Head Start teachers to help refine and implement a literacy curriculum in their classrooms and suggested additional methods to incorporate more reading, writing, and talking into the classroom routine. Prior to every visit to the Head Start she selects specific picture book and easy non fiction titles for each teacher that best suit the curriculum. Sue and CR staff have observed an increased interest in the teachers in Readmobile services that extends to using the Augsburg Park Library more regularly. The teachers are overwhelmingly positive about Sue's impact on their program. Because Sue respects these teachers and is truly committed to helping them help the children in their classrooms a great trust level has been established. This led to the teachers being eager and willing to participate as guinea pigs as HCL tested components of the PLA/ALSC Early Literacy Project workshops, Sue Tracy's most notable achievement in the last two years!

HCL is one of 18 libraries across the country involved in a Public Library Association/Association of Library Service to Children (PLA/ALSC) Early Literacy Pilot Project. For information check:
http://www.ala.org/Content/NavigationMenu/PLA/Projects/PLA_and_ALSCs_Preschool_Literacy_Initiative/PLA_and_ALSCs_Preschool_Literacy_Initiative.htm

Sue immediately agreed to be HCL's lead person on this project. For two years she has independently worked with the other sites to test tools developed for libraries. She is an enthusiastic proponent of reading to children and that enthusiasm communicates itself to all the participants in the PLA initiative. Sue's work with providers, her collaboration with MPL staff, and her recruiting and training volunteers to help with data collection during this project has further pushed the library out into the community and placed HCL in a partnering position with the education community. Sue's recognition of the importance of literacy and her skills in relating to people in all walks of life are the major reasons that HCLs participation in the PLA/ALSC initiative has been so successful and had such an impact on HCL's partner organizations.

Best of all, Sue is always cheerful, is extraordinarily flexible and never says no to working on a project that contributes to children's literacy development! Her energy levels rival Sandy Berman's, too!