How, exactly, does the R.E.A.D. program work?
In the library setting, it has worked several ways. When we introduced the program in the Salt Lake City main library in November of 1999, it was four weeks of “Dog Day Afternoons.” Kids who signed up for appointments, and came to at least three of the four weekly sessions, were rewarded at the end with the privilege of selecting a brand new book to keep, which was then “pawtographed” by their favorite R.E.A.D. dog. This is a good way for a library to start out with a pilot test of the program. Since then, in the Salt Lake main library and five branches, we just have one R.E.A.D. team that spends two hours at each library every Saturday afternoon, and kids can decide spontaneously to read with the dog. It’s a fun and popular activity, and would be classified as AAA or an animal-assisted activity. We now think that a special limited-time event, such as four weeks, or a once-a-month event, is the way to go, rather than ongoing indefinitely. It is a fact of human nature that when things s
