Library Tours
“Don’t be afraid to go in your library and read every book…”
Dwight D. Eisenhower, 34th president of the United States of America
At Wiseland, we strongly encourage parents to make full use of our city’s public library system. As such, we organise regular library tours aimed at familiarising parents with the working of a library, and to help them and their children to select appropriate reading material.
One of the most effective ways to learn is to read; and for children who are keen on reading, the library is often their favourite place. In recent years, however, book habits have been somewhat eroded by the ever growing popularity of electronic media. For a while, it was thought that the interactive motion stimulus material offered by electronic books and tablet computers would provide an advantageous means of learning for children.
Recent studies have shown that to be otherwise… In fact, it has been found that electronic media often over-stimulate children to a point where they are losing the proactive learning skills that were meant to be developed through reading. Such skills are very important for higher cognitive development and are very much expected from children in the secondary and tertiary stages of their lives.
Furthermore, studies have reinforced that aged-old wisdom that the more children take books from libraries, the better they would perform in schools and public assessments. In short, the benefits of reading and making good use of public libraries is irrefutable. For further reading on the subject, refer to examples such as
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6590044.html
Our library tour contents vary according to the age groups of the participants. Major activities include showing the participants around different sections of the library for an overview of its facilities and services. Children will be shown how to select books for themselves so that over time they would not only develop a good reading habit but also learn to select their reading appropriately and wisely.
It is not Wiseland’s intention to profit from these tours. Parents and children who are deterred by the cost are encouraged to participate in publically available tours such as
http://www.hkpl.gov.hk/english/aboutus/aboutus_hkcl/aboutus_hkcl_gtfso/aboutus_hkcl_gtfso.html