The University Library Community Outreach team pitched tent at Lions Children’s Home on March 22, 2024 in an event dedicated at fostering a reading culture among young children. The request for the pivotal library activity was initiated by the University Librarian Mrs.Janegrace Kinyanjui in an official communication to the Children’s Home Administration.
The University Librarian in the communication noted that the goal of the University Library Community Outreach programme is to inculcate a reading culture in children through raising awareness on the importance of developing reading, writing, and creative skills in them at a tender age. “The ultimate goal of developing a reading culture in school children is to improve their performance in school”, she noted.
The programme’s chairperson Ms Sally Kiplagat also the In-Charge Readers Services Division of the University Library said, the event targeted children in grade1-6 of Ananda Marga Academy which is sponsored by the Lions Children’s Home.The children’s orphanage and school are located along the Nakuru-Narok highway about 3kms from Egerton University.
The 2023/24 Financial Year performance contract community outreach activity involved;drawing,paiting,reading competitions, storytelling,poetry,song and comprehension exercises designed to enrich learning experiences in children.
Bibliotherapy
In June,2023 the University Library Community outreach team’s activity at the Nakuru Provincial General Hospital aimed at providing “an inclusive reading opportunity” to hospitalised children by offering a bibliotherapy service.
According to library and information sciences principles’ jargon, bibliotherapy is a health service that uses reading and other information services activities to divert the attention of a sick person from the pain he or she is undergoing. It can also be used as a correctional therapy for children undergoing emotional and behavioural disorders.
