In their September issue, The Journal of Pediatrics released findings from a University of Washington and Seattle Children's Hospital Research Institute study on the impact of DVDs and videos on young children that confirms one of the primary goals of the California State Library's Early Learning with Families (ELF) initiative. The study shows that reading aloud with caring adults is one of the best ways to develop early literacy in infants and toddlers. The report is available online at either
http://journals.elsevierhealth.com/periodicals/ympd/search/quick or
http://uwnews.washington.edu/ni/article.asp?articleID=35898.
Currently fifty-three California library districts offer ELF services. For more information about ELF please contact Suzanne Flint, Library Programs Consultant, at 916-651-9796 or sflint@library.ca.gov or Judy Klikun, Project Coordinator, at 916-446-6378 or jklikun@sbcglobal.net.