The Importance of Children’s Libraries as an Early Intervention Center for Combating Child Poverty

Abstract

Child poverty means that the child’s primary needs such as education and health are not met, that he does not have the rights and living standards necessary for living in a society, and that the family does not have a resource to provide all these. If it is not intervened at an early age, this poverty turns into a cycle and is inherited from family to child, and this disadvantage continues for life. One of the problems faced by children struggling with poverty is undoubtedly education poverty. The academic, language and cognitive gap that emerges at the time of birth of socio-economically advantaged children and poor children grows over time if not intervened at an early age. This situation causes poor children to not develop their language skills and vocabulary capacity compared to advantaged children in the same age group, to have slower brain development and to lose their competitiveness when taking common exams such as LGS and YKS. However, studies show that these indicators, which they have started to succumb to, can be minimized, if not equaled, through intervention programs in which poor children will be involved together with their close circles. In this study, it will be explained through a sample project whether it is possible to increase the academic, language and cognitive levels of disadvantaged families and children who are necessarily disadvantaged because of their families, through children’s libraries, which are an out-of-school learning environment, and how children’s libraries can be used as an early intervention center. In this context, how to achieve academic and cognitive equality of opportunity as a result of programs and workshops in which disadvantaged children can be included in children’s libraries; how children’s libraries can be places of learning and socialization for these children and their families; It will be discussed how these services and activities offered by children’s libraries can affect a child’s life, and how the child can get rid of his forced disadvantage.