LIVERPOOL, N.Y. (NCC News) – Central New York is facing a serious literacy problem in its community. Syracuse leads the nation in child poverty and many schools in the area are still struggling from COVID setbacks in learning. A recent study showed that in large districts such as Syracuse, eight out of ten children fail their annual reading tests. If a child is unable to read by the fourth grade, their academic struggle will only get worse. The Liverpool Library has taken notice of this crisis.
The Liverpool Mobile Library pulls into the Onondaga Lake Park every Monday in the summer to expose kids to reading. Alissa Borelli, the Liverpool Mobile Library coordinator, said the mobile library is a great way to showcase all of the resources available at the library. “We really do serve people throughout their whole lives,” she said. Families who suffer from poverty do not have the resources to properly educate their children. Many children who are unable to read have parents who struggle as well. Borelli said the library has that covered, “We have resume assistance, tech training, programs focused on different things, educational or just for fun,” she said.
Borelli knows how important it is to get kids to read early on. “We want to ensure that children develop that early love of reading, and that it can continue to manifest throughout their lives,” she said. Borelli said it’s not uncommon for kids who came to the mobile library to start showing up to the actual library. “We got to them,” she said.
The Liverpool Mobile Library rolls up every Monday during the summer to the Onondaga Lake Park at 10:15 a.m. with a story time at 10:30 a.m.
