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Professor Glyn Davis Endorses Reading Program

Professor Glyn Davis, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Melbourne, has lent his support to a new State Library program bringing together schools, families and libraries to foster a reading culture for teenage boys.

On launching the Boys, Blokes, Books & Bytes program, Professor Davis enthusiastically endorsed the program as a sensible, balanced and effective approach to the issue of teen literacy.

'There is a lot of passion on either side of the literacy debate,' he said, 'but this program reveals important thoughts about cultural literacy and the basic skills of reading. The result is a well-designed program to get boys reading and enjoy reading'.

Developed by the State Library of Victoria's Centre for Youth Literature, Boys, Blokes, Books & Bytes partners schools with public libraries to run a series of hands–on reading and book related activities for boys and their families.

The program focuses on a style of learning that appeals to boys, incorporating a blog and encouraging fathers and male role models to get involved in reading and sharing stories with their boys.

The Library will send a Boys, Blokes, Books & Bytes toolkit to every school and public library in Victoria. After very successful pilot runs in Melton and Drouin, acting Library CEO Sue Hamilton hopes the innovative program will be supported across the state.

'Reading for pleasure is one of the best things for a child's learning development,' she said. 'Boys, Blokes, Books & Bytes creates an environment which makes reading interesting and a normal part of adolescent life. By working together, schools, libraries, families and their communities can make a huge difference in a child's future.'

The Boys, Blokes, Books & Bytes toolkit is available for download from the Library's website.