TD Summer Reading Club
Executive Summary / Key Findings

National Report of Program Statistics
For Library and Archives Canada

October 2005

Proprietary Warning

The information contained herein is proprietary to Library and Archives Canada (LAC) and may not be used, reproduced or disclosed to others except as specifically permitted in writing by the originator of the information. The recipient of this information, by its retention and use, agrees to protect the same and the information contained therein from loss, theft or compromise. Any material or information provided by LAC and all data collected by Decima will be treated as confidential by Decima and will be stored securely while on Decima's premise (adhering to industry standards and applicable laws).

Executive Summary / Key Findings

Objectives and Methodology

Library and Archives Canada's (LAC) interest in conducting this study was to provide TD Bank Group with accurate information about the success of the TD Summer Reading Club (TDSRC).

As libraries are organized differently in each province and territory, LAC had to identify a common denominator to respond to the survey. The library systems were identified as the online survey respondents. A library system refers to either the main branch of a library with many library branches, an individual library, or a regional library system with many affiliated libraries.

All the individual library branches were asked to provide the necessary information regarding the program to their library system using the Statistics and Evaluation Form found on the reading club website and in the Staff Manual. The library systems then compiled the data and filled out a unique online Statistics and Evaluation Form on the TD Summer Reading Club, using Decima's online survey.

Decima Research sent out 432 email invitations in both official languages to public library systems within the eleven participating provinces and territories, explaining the process of evaluating the program. In total, 372 surveys were collected between August 19th and September 30th, 2005, yielding an 86% response rate.

Where possible, comparisons have been made to 2004 data. Only those regions that participated in the TDSRC in 2004 have been included in the 2004-2005 comparative analysis: Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut. These results are presented in a separate report.

Research Results

The research highlights include the following:

Statistics on Participation
Across Canada, there are currently a total of 713 library systems, some with a number of branches as direct reports. Of the 713 library systems, 432 library systems participated in the TDSRC program during the summer of 2005. Within these 432 systems, a total of 2,086 library branches participated in the program, for a total of 2,518 participating localities.

An estimated 216,312 children registered for the TD SRC 2005 program. Girls comprise 117,800, or 54% of the participants, while the 98,512 boys represent 46% of the participants. The proportion of children within each age group is as follows:

In total, 228,141 reading kits were distributed across Canada by the participating libraries, as well as 160,018 posters. The number of TDSRC materials handed out to children, teachers, daycare providers, parents and other caregivers totals 388,159.

The estimated number of children's materials circulated within participating library systems reached close to 6.1 million. The circulation recorded on children's library cards is approximately 3.8 million.

Program Statistics¹
A total of 13,548 programs and activities were organized around this year's club theme entitled Blast Off! 2005. Total attendance at these programs and activities amounted to 254,909 children, which translates to an approximate average of 19 children per activity.

Overall, 27% of library systems ran their summer reading club exclusively as a drop-in program, whereas 32% of the systems ran theirs solely as a reading club. Almost one-third (29%) of the systems ran the summer reading club both as a drop-in and as a club. About 12% did not indicate using either approach.

In total, 67% of the library systems used stickers as incentives for children to read more books. Among these systems, close to 63,000 children reached the target of collecting all nine stickers.

Among the library systems that collected these statistics, each child on average reported on 4 books and spent 9 hours reading.

On average, each child read approximately 9 books, which calculates to a total of 1,946,808 books read as part of the summer reading club².

Promotion of the Program
Over half (52%) of the library systems indicate that their library staff made visits to schools and daycares to promote the summer reading club. In total, 6,796 visits were made to schools and daycares, and 364,839 children were reached by these means.

Roughly 60,000 participants (28%) first heard of the TDSRC through staff promotion in the branch, while roughly 51,000 (24%) first heard via a presentation at a school or daycare. Relatively few (14,679 or 7%) heard of the program through media sources.

Overall Satisfaction
More than six out of ten libraries (61%) indicate that they are 'very satisfied' with the program overall, while 28% are 'satisfied'. Just under 1 in 10 indicate that they are either 'neutral' (4%) 'dissatisfied' (2%) or 'very dissatisfied' (3%).

Comments and Suggestions
An increase in the number of visitors and membership to the libraries is reported as the most common indicator of reading successes from the reading club (29% of library systems who answered this question listed this as an indicator). Other indicators include improved reading, comprehension and reporting skills (23%) increased family time and positive parental feedback (22%) and increased reading habits (21%).

The most common testimonials from parents, caregivers and/or teachers are an enthusiasm for and appreciation of the reading club (33% of library systems who answered this question listed these as testimonials). Comments also indicate that their children enjoy the program (31%), and have improved their reading skills (23%).

A number of different themes are proposed for future programs, the most widespread ones relating to animals or pets, nature and fantasy/adventure.

A number of systems comment on the excellent program and high quality of the materials provided. The most common suggestion for the TDSRC is that materials should be provided to the libraries sooner and that more marketing and publicity for the program should occur.

The following table summarizes some of the key statistics collected.

1 Only libraries that had recorded this information provided data for this section. Because data is not available for a number of libraries that completed the evaluation form, too many assumptions would be required to extrapolate the statistics to all 432 participating library systems. Thus, results shown in this section are based on only those that answered these questions.

2 Total number of books reported on and total hours read has not been extrapolated due to the low numbers of systems that provided this information.

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