Early literacy and family engagement: A cross-country analysis of caregivers’ perceptions of the public library's role in the digital age in Taiwan, Malaysia, and Vietnam

Abstract

This study aims to explore caregivers’ perceptions of the public library's role in supporting early literacy and family engagement in the digital age in Asia. Family engagement is important from birth through young adulthood, and public libraries matter for family engagement. However, this topic has been little explored in Asian countries. Structured interviews were conducted with librarians, followed by a survey approach to understand what caregivers of five- to 12-year-old children think about the scope of family engagement practices in public libraries in Taiwan, Malaysia, and Vietnam. In total, 454 valid questionnaires were collected. Findings show that caregivers value the importance of public libraries’ role in promoting family engagement in the digital age in Taiwan, Malaysia, and Vietnam. In order to reap the rewards of family engagement practices, public libraries are suggested to build relationships with families through proactively understanding families’ interests and needs, involving families in the library decision-making process, and engaging families in both print-based and digital literacy programmes.