PLAYroom @ the Cleveland Heights-University Heights Noble Neighborhood Branch

PLAYroom at Cleveland Heights' Noble branch library helps kindergarten preparation. (Cleveland Plain Dealer, 9/4/2011)

Excerpt: It’s never too early to develop reading skills.

That’s the thinking behind the new PLAYroom at the Cleveland Heights-University Heights Public Library’s Noble Neighborhood Branch. Geared toward preparing young children for kindergarten, the facility hosted a community open house on Aug. 27.

Opened in May in conjunction with the branch’s $1 million renovation, the PLAYroom (Preschool Literacy and You) encourages five activities identified by the American Library Association as crucial to building early literacy skills; singing, reading, writing, talking and playing. This is achieved through activities such as dramatic play opportunities, touch-screen computer stations, technology specifically designed for children with disabilities, interactive wall panels, word labels on items throughout the room and, of course, a “comfortable couch with a nest of pillows for cozy reading.”