wtm@bunker.uucp (Bill McGarry) (06/01/90)
Index Number: 8560
[This is from the Educational Research mailing list]
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
OFFICE OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH AND IMPROVEMENT
LIBRARY PROGRAMS
The Office of Library Programs funds projects through the
Library Services and Construction Act and Title II of the
Higher Education Act. The CHECK THIS OUT series summarizes
funded projects that have extended or improved library
services. Readers are encouraged to contact the manager of the
featured project for more information.
CHECK THIS OUT
LEKOTEK CENTER
BACKGROUND: This project, at the Galesburg Public Library,
Galesburg, Illinois, is based on the program established
by Lekotek, an international organization whose purpose
is to establish resource and support centers for the parents
of disabled children. Lekotek, which means "play library" in
Swedish, provides parents with the practical services they need
to care for
and educate their children. Traditionally these services
include family counseling, home loan of materials and
equipment, support groups, referral to other service
providers, home visitation, and sibling consultation. The
two features that make the Lekotek program unique are the
family-child-leader oriented service and the lending of toys
and equipment, which frequently are unavailable or unknown to
parents of handicapped children. Many of the toys are
so highly specialized, they are prohibitively expensive or
difficult to obtain, and would not be available to parents
except through this lending service. There are a number of
Lekotek centers in the United States, but only one other, in
Far Rockaway, New York, is affiliated with a public
library.
AUDIENCE: Disabled children under the age of 5 and their
families. The project's original goal was to recruit at least
24 families for monthly visits. By the end of the
first year of operation, 67 families were participating.
NEED: In 1987, the project's first year, Illinois did not
mandate services for handicapped children under the age of 3.
Of the approximately 950 handicapped children in the
two-county Knox-Warren Special Education Cooperative
District, 132 are in this age group. Studies have
shown that a child's most critical developmental years are
from birth to 3 years of age and intervention programs such
as Lekotek can help them progress quickly and
achieve high levels of functioning. To reach Lekotek's goal of
integrating children with disabilities into the mainstream
of society, the project provides a toy-, game-, and
book-lending library to those up to 5 years old.
OBJECTIVES:
o To provide space as well as new and adaptive toys, games,
and books for the center;
o To train center staff in the Lekotek method;
o To publicize center services; and
o To cooperate with other organizations and agencies.
BUDGET: Total for fiscal year 1987 (initial year of funding):
$20,000 from Library Services and Construction Act (LSCA)
Title I funds; and $25,000 from the Illinois Department of
Rehabilitation Services.
ACTIVITIES: Preparations for the Lekotek Center services
involved: Finding an adaptive toy maker who built some
pieces of special equipment and adapted others; training staff
through a Lekotek clinic and internship sessions; and
conducting public awareness activities such as presentations to
home extension clubs, churches, aerobic classes, schools,
libraries, rehabilitation centers, local health service
organizations, and private service providers. Television
coverage, newspaper articles, and Lekotek posters placed in
public access buildings in five counties generated
numerous inquiries about the program. Currently the
project hires one Lekotek leader who works 30 or
more hours a week. Volunteers handle processing,
maintenance, and check-out of the toys.
EVALUATION: A first-year survey of families participating in
the Lekotek program revealed that parents of the younger
children (below age 3) especially appreciated
the borrowed toys and the leader's assistance, but
were equivocal about the value of the program's location in a
library. Parents of the older children (age 3 and up)
were enthusiastic about the library/Lekotek connection.
Each child's progress was carefully documented
from month to month by the Lekotek leader, and these profiles
have provided useful information on the effectiveness of
parent-child play. A representative of the National Lekotek
Center made a site visit to evaluate the project at the end
of the first year of operation and identified three
significant strengths:
o Sibling-parent relationships were strengthened by the
Center'sessions;
o The children's progress was measurable, as shown by the
Lekotek leader's evaluations; and
o The library/Lekotek relationship was valuable as it
encouraged parents
to borrow picture books, enroll their children
summer reading
program, and take them to library story hours.
The project has been expanded to serve eight other Western
Illinois Library System libraries beyond the 50-mile area of
Galesburg.
ADOPTION: For general information about Lekotek and the rental
or purchase of videotapes of this and other projects, contact:
Ange Peebles, National Lekotek Center, 2100 Ridge Ave.,
Evanston, IL 60204, (708)328-0001. For on-site visits,
telephoe consultations, and specific information about the
Galesburg Public Library/Lekotek project.
CONTACT:
Betty Babanoury
Head of Children's Services
Galesburg Public Library
40 East Simmons Street
Galesburg, IL 61401
(309) 343-6118
series editor:
Christina Dunn
Office of Library Programs
555 New Jersey Avenue NW
Washington, D.C. 20208-5571
(202)357-6293