More than 25,000 babies were born in Bexar County in the year 2002; 11,779 of those were births to mothers receiving Medicaid and 1,506 to mothers under the age of 18 (Metropolitan Health District). Forty five percent of the births in San Antonio are to mothers with less than 12 years of education, and 66 percent of all San Antonio births are to Hispanic women, whose educational attainment is much lower than the U.S. average. (Texas Department of Health).

Starting from the first day of life, the development of communication skills, language and literacy are significant. All children are born wired for feelings and ready to learn. From the time of conception to the first day of kindergarten, development proceeds at a pace exceeding that of any subsequent stage of life (From Neurons to Neighborhoods: The Science of Early Child Development, National Academy of Sciences, 2000). Children begin to pick up cadence and language patterns immediately after birth. An adult's potential vocabulary is determined largely by the words filtered through the brain before age three. Researchers have found that when mothers speak and read frequently to their infants, their children learn almost 300 more words by age two than babies whose mothers rarely speak to them (Report from Baylor School of Medicine’s CIVITAS Ounce of Prevention Fund, 1999). By reading to their newborns, parents stimulate “connections” in their babies’ brains that will transform them into readers. That interaction with their children will enhance their children’s future socialization skills, build their vocabulary and lead to success in school and in life. Parents must lay the foundations for learning; the experiences they give their children shape them for life.

As a response to the large number of teen mothers and based on the increasing understanding of emergent literacy, the San Antonio Public Library developed its first Born To Read program in 1996. Designed to educate teen mothers about the importance of reading to their infants, the program consisted of parent training classes, printed materials (games and suggested reading lists) and a video in both English and Spanish. This program has reached more than 15,000 mothers and fathers anxious to ensure their infants’ future success. In 2000, a second series was created to address the needs of toddlers and included reading lists, tips on reading to active toddlers and videos in both English and Spanish.

The Library Foundation plans to continue to reach out to the next generation, to help parents make them a generation of readers. As an extension of the earlier Born To Read programs, the Library Foundation is partnering with area hospitals, hospital volunteers and pediatricians to provide every newborn in Bexar County in 2005 with a Born To Read bag that includes: a Library card application; his or her very own age-appropriate, bilingual book; and Library branch addresses.

Click here to see the Born To Read Major Donor list