Elementary school-aged children hoping to practice their reading skills have a willing audience at Central Library—trained therapy dogs from People Animals Love (PAL), a local animal therapy organization. Held twice a month, the Paws-to-Read program brings together children and dogs in 15-minute sessions.

Julia Karell, the youth services librarian who organized Arlington’s Paws-to-Read program, had learned that many libraries around the country—including one library in Fairfax and one in Washington, D.C.—host similar programs that give kids the opportunity to read aloud to dogs as a way to enhance their reading skills. “We were looking for a way for elementary school kids to practice their reading skills, and working with PAL seemed like a good match,” she said.

“Seeing the kids work with the dogs has been a fun and enjoyable experience,” Karell noted. “They’re able to practice the words and sounds with a nonjudgmental audience.”

Research from the University of California Davis School of Veterinary Medicine finds that children become better readers when they read regularly to dogs.

Karell explained that many children have attended more than one session, and many participants also have come for the first time. “I’ve been impressed and pleased that we’ve gotten the whole range of K-5 students at all different reading levels at our sessions. The fifth graders have been just as excited as the kindergartners,” Karell described. She added that many Paws-to-Read participants have been English as a Second Language learners.

The library staff has advertised the program on the library website, and Paws-to-Read also has received some press, as well as word of mouth. In addition, local elementary school librarians were asked to send information home to parents about the program.

The feedback from parents about Paws-to-Read has been overwhelmingly positive, according to Karell. “They’ve been really pleased,” she said. Karell cited an additional benefit of the program: Many parents have been excited to see their children who previously may have been scared of dogs become more comfortable around them.

The dogs that participate via PAL go through behavioral testing and are expected to work well in different situations and with kids. PAL handlers also attend the sessions.

“We use a storytime room for the sessions,” Karell said, “and the dogs are quieter than the kids! It’s important for us to have our own space because the kids can interact with the dogs in a more private setting without feeling pressure.”

Karell said that the library is working to bring Paws-to-Read to other branch locations based on volunteer and handler availability. Currently, Paws-to-Read sessions are held on an ongoing basis on the second and fourth Monday of each month at Central Library from 5:30-6:30 p.m.

The Columbia Pike Branch Library also is scheduled to begin holding Paws-to-Read sessions. See http://arlingtonvalib.blogspot.com/2011/07/dogs-help-kids-learn-to-read.html and http://arlingtonvalib.blogspot.com/2011/07/paws-to-read-comes-to-columbia-pike.html for more details or to learn how to register your child for a session.