Prescription Books – conference at the National Library
On April 13, the National Library hosted a conference as part of the “Book on Prescription” program. It was an opportunity to take part in training on the impact of reading aloud on the health and development of children up to 5 years of age, as well as practical workshops on introducing reading recommendations – appropriate books for children, as well as communication with parents who do not read.
The meeting was opened by Maria Deskur, president of the Powszechnego Czytania Foundation, who presented the assumptions of the “Książa Na Receptę” programme, based on the research and experience of prof. Barry Zuckerman and the Reach Out & Read foundation.
Then, the guests of the National Library were welcomed by its host – director Tomasz Makowski, who stressed the need to popularise reading in Poland and to promote and support campaigns that achieve this goal.
The first lecture was devoted to psycholinguistic research on the impact of reading on the development of speech and language in children. It was led by Prof. Ewa Haman – a lecturer at the Faculty of Psychology at the University of Warsaw, who conducts research on the language development of monolingual and multilingual children.
Next, the concept of reading as part of pediatrics was presented by Prof. Barry Zuckerman – talking about 30 years of working with children, including recommending book time as part of medical intervention in doctors’ offices.
In the next part, Dr. Agnieszka Lelek, M.D., talked about how reading to young children, from the cradle, affects their later development. From neuroscience, this topic was expanded by Prof. Maryanne Wolf in her lecture on early reading and dialogue intervention in the context of brain development.
The last lecture was a practitioner's perspective – doctor Magdalena Ossolińska on recommending reading to patients during medical visits. Doctor Ossolińska has been introducing this practice in her offices since 2019, when the first edition of "Książka Na Receptę" and a pilot program for including reading as an element of children's health prevention were created.
A very important part of the training were practical workshops conducted by trainers from the School of Leaders. The first one was devoted to books – or more precisely, choosing children's literature that meets the changing needs and competences – semantic, visual and social of children. The next practical part concerned communication methods in conversations with parents and guardians who do not read.
The last point of the conference was a question and answer session with the participation of Prof. Barry Zuckerman. This section was an opportunity to deepen the knowledge gained in a conversation with an undisputed authority, a forerunner of the idea of introducing reading as part of medical intervention in pediatrics.
People participating in the training received certificates as well as OIL educational points.
As part of their participation in the Conference, participants also received materials facilitating the implementation of the idea of recommending reading in medical practices – “recipes” created especially for the needs of the Programme, posters with advice on how to implement the daily habit of reading and practical guides to promoting reading #SupermocKsiążek.
The Universal Reading Foundation would like to thank the project partners, doctors, ambassadors supporting the program, as well as the conference participants.
Details of the Prescription Book program: https://www.ksiazkanarecepte.pl/
Program organizer: The Universal Reading Foundation
Program partners: Polish Pediatric Society, District Medical Chamber in Warsaw, Practical Medicine, PZWL Publishing House, Medelight, MEDtube, National Library
The conference and workshops “Book on Prescription” were co-financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage from the Culture Promotion Fund – a state earmarked fund.
