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Fostering early literacy skills in children's libraries: opportunities for embodied cognition and tangible technologies

Early literacy is a leading indicator of academic success. Recent findings describe the important role that embodied cognition can play in the promotion of early literacy. Libraries---children's libraries in particular---stand to benefit greatly from emerging forms of tangible and embodied interactive technology that can leverage these findings. As informal community-based learning institutions with a mandate to provide user-centered, personalized reading and learning experiences, children's libraries are uniquely positioned to empower young learners through the development of reading skills. Within these institutions, reading skills---particularly those representing embodied cognition---are supported by social interaction with peers, caregivers, and librarians. Through embodied cognition, children develop critical early literacy skills by linking concepts with corresponding physical actions, to establish the foundation of reading comprehension. When such activities are playful, fun, and interactive, learning to read becomes intrinsically motivating. While embodied technology is particularly conducive to creating such novel interactions, few libraries have adopted technology that deliberately channels these phenomena towards literacy development. Through qualitative ethnographic methods this investigation presents opportunities for embodied cognition and tangible embedded interactive play and learning systems within children's libraries.