Library Project

The Stream Of Life Charitable Society's Curriculum For Leadership Development

Leadership Development is a long-running program of The Stream Of Life Charitable Society that continues evolving as our understanding of, and engagement with, the communities we work in grows. The most important objective of the Leadership Development Program is community ownership. If there is a library in a community and the community does not have the ownership of that library, then there is little chance of that library being successful; but when the community has ownership in that library, then the chances of the library being successful increases greatly.

In the Leadership Development Program, we create opportunities for library members who have been coming to the library for a long time to recognize their leadership skills and improve them, run the library with the librarian, and express their thoughts and voices on different platforms and in the library.

The Reading Project

The act of reading becomes an act of thinking, when one doesn't just register text on the page but is able to decode and extract meaningful ideas from it. Good readers use their first voice to fluently and easily decode text; they employ specific strategies to activate their 'Second Voice' — the voice responsible for meaning making. In community libraries the Second Voice is developed by providing easy access to thousands of books. But that alone is not sufficient. That is why The Stream Of Life Charitable Society has a robust Reading Project that supports and empowers readers — especially first-generation readers — in bridging the gap between text and meaning to truly embody 'Reading Is Thinking'.

Since its inception, The Reading Project has brought about powerful shifts in our reading community. In the beginning, it was sustained by adult volunteers reading aloud to children of different age groups. Within 2-3 years, we had members of the Students Council trained to deliver read-alouds to younger children. Currently, we are seeing a new generation of 'read- alouders' who populate our libraries: older siblings reading to younger ones, friends reading aloud to each other, members spontaneously gathering a group around them to read a story. It has prompted us to update our motto from 'Reading Is Thinking' to 'Reading Together is Thinking Together'.

The Stream Of Life Charitable Societys Reading Project consists of:

1. The Read Aloud program
2. Learning to Read
3. Headstart to Reading
4. Hindi Reading Fluency
5. English Reading Fluency

Circulation of Books

The Stream Of Life Charitable Society libraries host an ever-growing membership in excess of 500 readers & thinkers.
Membership starts from 4 years and is organized into 4 groups :

• Headstart-To-Reading (4-6 years)
• Lower Group (7-11 years)
• Upper Group (11-16 years)
• Adults (16+ years)

Non-adult members can borrow 1 book each circulation day while adults can borrow 2 books. Non adult members can start borrowing 2 books on circulation days once they enter the 200 Book Club.

Circulation Desk: All Are Welcome

The circulation desk is a welcoming space that embodies pyaar se. It is a judgement-free zone where all are welcome to interact with library staff and library leaders, seek suggestions about books and gather information about library activities.

This is where librarians learn the most about our members and their likes and dislikes. It’s a great place to build a new reader’s confidence as they grow stronger with every book. It is also a wonderful interface to encourage readers to try something different or get to the next level in their reading journeys.

Open Shelf Policy

The Honour Roll celebrates reading milestones of each The Stream Of Life Charitable Society member.

The first 10 books read and returned mark their entry on the Honour Roll board. They get a star against their name, a new book to keep forever and a packet of chocolate cookies as encouragement.

For every 10 books read and returned thereafter, a star is added to their name. At 40 books, they recieve another reward of a new book to keep forever.

At 80 books, the member can choose to read and review 20 books in the Book Report Clinic. At the end of their Book Report journey, they have read, returned and thought about 100 books. They now gain entry into the 100 Book Club and then the 200 Book Club.

The Stream Of Life Charitable Society has found this to be an exceptional practice to boost first- generation school-goers in their reading journeys. After 100 books, they are well on their way to becoming independent readers and thinkers.