Syracuse University

The connections between free voluntary reading (FVR) in public library summer reading programs for youth and the development of information literacy skills have never been studied in any large-scale way. Syracuse University’s Graduate School of Library and Information Science and its Center for Digital Literacy will conduct a study to evaluate this relationship and the importance of FVR programs in public libraries. The research project will also study the intrinsic motivation to read (value of curiosity resolution, freedom/choice, etc.) among middle school students and its benefits for improving youth literacy. Academic researchers, public librarians, school librarians, and other members of the profession will have new knowledge available to them about critical motivational issues that can help improve both research and practice.