Manu (2019) found that “the likelihood of being on track in literacy-numeracy almost doubled if at least one book was available at home compared to when there was none” (p. 1). This finding was supplemented by research indicating that each additional book in a home library has larger benefits for families with fewer books than for families with many (Sikora et al., 2018). While there is no agreement on the exact number of books needed for a sustained, measurable impact on young people, a survey of the research on the ideal quantity of books in a home library reveals a variety of insights.
THE CONTINUUM
Five Books: Reading five books during the summer can prevent a decline in reading achievement when returning to school (Kim, 2006).
Twenty-Five Books: A child who hails from a home with 25 books will, on average, complete two more years of school than a child from a home without any books at all (Evans et al., 2010). Forty Books: When second-graders were given 40 carefully selected books over three years for their home libraries, their fluency improved, and parents reported increased time spent reading at home during weekends, holidays, and summer breaks (Minkel, 2012).
Adult literacy by library size in adolescence
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Eighty Books: Having approximately 80 books in an adolescent home library raises literacy levels to average (Sikora et al., 2018).
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-0.5
-1.0
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100
200
300
400
500
600
Number of books at home when 16 years old N=162,955
More Than Eighty Books: While literacy increases beyond an 80-book home library, at some point the benefits of a home book collection level off in relation to reading skills—more than 350 books in a home is not associated with significant literacy gains (Sikora et al., 2018). However, growing up in a home with 500 books has other benefits—propelling a child an average of 3.2 years further in education than peers in an otherwise similar home with few or no books. That child is 33% more likely to finish the ninth grade and 36% more likely to finish high school than an otherwise identical child from a home with no books (Evans et al., 2010). THE RESEARCH IS CLEAR Books in the home matter.
HOME LIBRARIES TOPIC PAPER 15
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