Texas Library Gives Families “Another Way of Learning Together”

Engagement | Reimagine | Converse Public Library

Book clubs tend to be for either children or adults — and rarely do they overlap. But with a Texas Reads grant from the Texas State Library and Archives Commission, the Converse Public Library, outside San Antonio, demonstrated how to bring families together into a multicultural reading experience.

The Dia Family Book Club ran for seven months as a Saturday drop-in program featuring books from different cultures and allowing multiple generations of families to learn together.

“I had never done a family book club before,” says library director Derika Bailey. “A lot of kids gained confidence by reading out loud.” And older siblings would read to younger brothers and sisters, she adds.

Goldy Luck and the Three Pandas by Natasha Yim and Dave the Potter: Artist, Potter, Slave by Laban Carrick Hill are two of the books that were featured. To extend the reading experience, Bailey also teamed up with another staff member to add a craft activity related to each book that was selected.

For example, after they read My Mother’s Sari by Sandhya Rao, the participants made their own sari patterns with fabric markers. The grant also provided enough funds for each child in a family to take home a copy of the book after each gathering.

While the grant has expired, the craft activities — now with the clever title of Crafternoons — have continued, and Bailey says, provide all ages “another way of learning together.”

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