In 2004 the ALA released a parent education initiative called Every Child Ready to Read. It identified 6 early literacy skills and aimed at educating parents and caregivers about the mechanics of how young children acquire early literacy skills. Johnson County Library was one of the early adopters of the initiative.
As we began to work with the science-based, scholarly initiative, our staff saw a need for something easier to share with caregivers. Under the leadership of Kathy McLellan, a Youth Services Librarian at that time, the language was modified into fun, simple-to-understand terms. Our staff could now easily and quickly talk about these ideas with caregivers in the Library and during Storytimes. For instance, the term "Print Motivation" usually requires some extra explanation. However, the same skill renamed to "Have Fun with Books" is immediately understandable. This meant that instead of explaining terminology, we can spend time giving caregivers an idea of how the skill can be nurtured and why it's important.
In 2009, Johnson County Library officially reimagined the iniative into its own 6 by 6: Ready to Read program, with its friendly terminology. 6 by 6 has been adopted by many library systems in Kansas and beyond.
In addition to new terminology and methods for guiding caregivers, Johnson County Library also adopted mascots for each of the six skills. Artist Brad Sneed created the adorable animal illustrations, and in 2024, gave them all an update for the 15th anniversary of 6 by 6: Ready to Read.
Six Skills by Age Six, an overview of the 6 by 6 program, was written by two former JoCoLibrary staff, Bradley Debrick and Anna Foote. It is available in the Catalog.
