Welcome Baby.
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
December 26th 2023
Edmonton Public Library
7 SIR WINSTON CHURCHILL SQUARE, Edmonton AB, Canada T5J 2V4
Our mission: We share. Our vision: EPL is the gathering place for people and ideas, enabling a lifetime of learning, engagement and possibility for every Edmontonian. As Edmonton’s largest lender of information and entertainment, our greatest passion is creating connections to help, grow, inspire and change.
Elaine Jones
Manager, Youth Services
https://www.epl.ca/welcome-baby/
Public Library
600
Welcome Baby.
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
2013
The Welcome Baby program at EPL seeks to promote early literacy by introducing caregivers of children 0-36 months old to the importance of language and literacy for the long term development and success of children. Through the gifting of board books at the library and at local health centres and hospitals, Welcome Baby introduces families to the importance of reading, as well as the role the library can play in supporting this. Welcome Baby allows us two key touchpoints with families—at the two-month immunization at Public Health Centres/admission to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at hospitals and upon registering for a library card in our branches.
Library.
The City of Edmonton, 684 km.
The programme is not for profit.
None.
Consistent.
At public health centres: EPL Welcome Baby canvas tote bag; Board book – e.g: Kiss by Kiss by Richard Van Camp; Music CD (and download code) – e.g: It’s a Beautiful Day by Kathy Reid-Naiman; Two brochures that introduce the importance of early literacy and language and provide information about services and resources available at the public library for children and families. At library locations: Board book – approximately 11 different titles that the customer may select from; One rhyme booklet that introduces popular songs and rhymes for families with young children, and provides information about services and resources available at the public library for children and families. Rhyme booklet is also available in 6 languages (free digital download); Free Edmonton Public Library card.
Yes.
Library Hospital Health clinic.
Healthcare workers librarians.
Volunteers pack the contents of the Welcome Baby kits for public health centres and hospitals, as well as deliver the kits from EPL branches to health centres and hospitals – we have 17 volunteers working on Welcome Baby city-wide, with 259 volunteer hours spent on Welcome Baby in 2019.
Universal.
10,220 Welcome Baby packages were given out at health centre and hospitals in 2019, while 3,748 Welcome Baby packages given out at EPL locations in 2019.
Birth to 36 months.
No.
The books and contents of the Welcome Baby packages are in English; however, the rhyme booklet provided in the in-branch package is also available on our website or in-branch in multiple languages including: Chinese, French, Spanish, Tagalog and Vietnamese.
Yes – we internally assess and evaluate our programming on an ongoing basis. Additionally, we have received support from Dr. Amber Reichert, a local Neonatologist, whose research shows the science behind why language plays such a crucial role in our overall health and the low language outcomes in Edmonton’s premature population. Find out more at: https://www.epl.ca/sharing-voices.
