Perception of Children’s Reading with Literature and Audio Visual Materials in the Public Library

Abstract

This study examined the perception of children on reading, the audiovisual materials available for children in the public library, kinds of literature children love most, challenges inhibiting children from coming to the library, the lessons learnt and the implications of the findings. The survey took place in the children‘s department of the divisional library with twenty two (22) children who are registered members of the library. There were four (4) engagements with children using children‘s literature and audiovisual materials in reading. The instruments used were reading inventory, literature, focus group discussion (FGD) and observation technique. The study found out that the participants loved reading. While 20 participants loved books with pictures, 2 refuted the idea. The challenges revealed that the library is far from their residence, among others. It was recommended that more advocacies should be done to schools for more attendance to children‘s reading while more audiovisual materials should be provided for meaningful learning. The implication is that if children are not inspired with new reading facilities, their interest will wane which will affect academic and knowledge. With this, the national development will never be actualized because these children are the progressive population for resilient cities and communities.

Keywords: Audio visual, Children Literature, Public Library, Reading Resources