In the Universal Library

"Pochitayka". Loud readings in the family circle

For more than ten years, every Saturday, at the Blokhintsev Universal Library, young citizens of Dubna and their parents have taken part in "Pochitayka" - one of the library's most successful projects.

Here, children learn about the classics and the latest pieces of children's literature, enthusiastically listen to poems and fairy tales and afterwards, play outdoor games, make crafts and discuss what they have read. We have talked about this all with the senior librarian of "Blokhinka" Olga Gaponova that has started working in the library as a volunteer and today, she is head of children's projects.

"Pochitayka" turns 12 this year. How did it all start?

- Oh, this is one of the turning points in our library. 12 years ago, Maria Klimova, a young mother that had recently moved to Dubna, came here and offered to read books aloud to the children. This is where "Pochitayka" originated. At first, there were only a few young listeners from her daughter's circle of friends, but later, these meetings became popular.

And for many years now, "Pochitayka" has been a place where children aged 4-9 years old are read aloud, introduced to fiction and educational books and where, after reading, there is discussion and interaction, be it master classes or outdoor games. Over the years, hundreds of books have been read and neither renovations in the library nor self-isolation have become an obstacle to meetings. The meetings are led by both Blokhinka employees and volunteers.

Tell us about your volunteers, please.

- They are more than volunteers, they are part of the team that creates events from an idea to execution, a wonderful community. The team includes parents, students and high school pupils, economists, engineers and chemists. For some, this is an opportunity to realize creative hobbies, for others - to try themselves in a new role, for the third ones - to learn more about children's literature. The main thing is that they are all caring people that are curious with children.

Volunteers are different and that's wonderful. And they choose different books. Some people prefer serious popular science books and enthusiastically explain rather complex topics in simple language. Some choose something philosophical, thoughtful and are not afraid to talk to children about complex topics. And some, on the contrary, read funny, hooligan books or cozy fairy tales and afterwards, create incredible beauty.

What age is "Pochitayka" intended for and what books do you read to children?

- It has so happened that today, we have two groups - preschoolers 4-6 years old and primary schoolchildren 7-9 years old. Initially, there was no "age"; general classes were held. But today, we often organize two parallel "Pochitaykas" at once. For younger children, we choose picture books, followed by outdoor games and simple crafts. Often the room is not enough: kids look for hidden pictures, repeat movements, run and jump in the corridor, or even throughout the entire library. With older kids, it's harder to read texts and they make more complex things, role-playing plots and historical events.

We read various books. Here, we have practically no restrictions! For example, I often take modern literature for meetings, because I see my task as helping parents to navigate the books that have appeared in the last 15-20 years. There are many wonderful ones among them, but unfortunately, we rarely see information about them anywhere. Anyway, we read not only recently published books, we also choose classics, those that we ourselves grew up with, those we know and love. The reading lists include both Russian and translated literature. The main criterion is that the book should first hook an adult so that he or she has a desire to share it.

How often do new books appear in the library?

- As far as possible. We follow book news, communicate with publishers, read hundreds of reviews, go to book festivals to buy the best ones for the library. In addition, there are partners that help us to buy books. For example, a banking organization has gathered an economic collection, a medical organization has collected books about health and the human body. Thus, the book fund is replenished. And then, we are happy to talk about acquisitions on the pages of our social networks.

What are they like, modern children? Do they read?

- Indeed! Recently, colleagues from the library named after N.A.Nekrasov have shared the research they carried out in 2021. It turned out that reading paper books is one of the top 3 activities for children aged 7-10 years. And the summer book marathon at Blokhinka confirms it: there are more and more participants every year. Perhaps this is because today, there is both such a wide choice of books and of the topics that are revealed in them. I have repeatedly heard from parents that children began to read not through fiction, but through educational literature, through encyclopedias. The child delves into his favorite topic and suddenly, through dinosaurs, he is drawn into reading and reads a lot and with pleasure.

There are a lot of children's projects in the library; do they have anything in common with "Pochitayka"?

- Certainly. Moreover, these projects from "Pochitayka" have grown. Once Denis, a volunteer, suggested reading science to children once a month. We picked up books that explain physical concepts and historical events in accessible language, thought through the activities and moved on. And today, in "Blokhinka" there is a separate project "Archimedes' pear", where children 10-12 years old build mechanisms and learn about the natural sciences.

In a similar way, "Progulki" has appeared for children aged 9-11, where armed with books and the necessary props, we study nature, history and carry out experiments right on the street. Another project "Fizyashki" is for children 7-9 years old, where they explore the properties of water, sound and light.

In fact, most children's book clubs have grown out of "Pochitayka". The first was "VIP", because it stands for: "Virosshie Iz Pochitayki" (that grew up from "Pochitayka"). At present, there are already four book clubs for teenagers, differing in age and interests.

We invite everyone to join our wonderful projects! We look forward to everyone at "Pochitayka" every week on Saturdays. Follow the announcements on the VKontakte page.

Ksenia MORUNOVA,
photo from the library archive