Your Library Is Building Readers—And Deserves Your Support

Right now, in communities across America, public libraries are doing far more than lending books. They're training staff in early literacy milestones, delivering resource guides to teachers, issuing thousands of new library cards to young families, and tracking whether caregivers are singing and talking with toddlers at home. A major new study from Mathematica—funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services and drawing on 84 research manuscripts—shows that libraries have become essential infrastructure in the fight for childhood literacy. And they need our help to do it well.

Libraries Are Measuring What Matters

The research makes clear that engaged reading isn't just about time spent with a book. It's a constellation of behaviors: how often caregivers and children read together, the quality of those interactions, the variety of books at home, caregiver attitudes, and children's motivation and confidence. Libraries are now tracking all of it—from program participation and checkout numbers to new library card registrations and caregiver perceptions of reading readiness. In Georgia, the Take 5 Early Literacy Family Engagement Initiative administered surveys to caregivers about children's readiness. In Alaska, the Raven Reads program assessed how much time caregivers spent reading with children outside the library. This isn't guesswork. It's rigorous, outcome-focused work.

Staff Training Leads the Way

When Mathematica analyzed 50 literacy-focused library grants across 24 states, the single most common investment was staff training—supported by 32 percent of grants reviewed. Arizona's Building a New Generation of Readers program gave librarians the opportunity to complete Early Childhood literacy certificates. Colorado's Growing Readers Together equipped library staff to provide caregivers with information on key developmental milestones related to literacy. These aren't add-ons. They're recognition that librarians are frontline literacy workers who deserve professional development as robust as any teacher's.

Summer Reading Still Works—And It's Evolving

Twenty-six percent of the grants studied supported summer reading programs, and the best ones now reach far beyond the library walls. California's Summer @ Your Library leveraged the state's existing book club infrastructure to curate titles and authors. Rhode Island's Kids Read Across Rhode Island provided resource guides to teachers so they could integrate summer reading materials into fall classroom lessons. The old model—sign up, log books, earn prizes—has matured into a coordinated literacy effort that bridges June and September.

Libraries Play Three Distinct Roles

The Mathematica team identified three ways libraries support childhood literacy. First, as resource hubs: they house books, multimedia, and physical spaces designed for learning. Washington's Stillaguamish Library Program invested in age-appropriate, adaptable furniture for its early learning center. Second, as direct service providers: they run storytimes, after-school tutoring, and programs like Prime Time Family Reading, where elementary-age children and caregivers gather for storytime led by a humanities researcher. Third, as conveners: they collaborate with schools, pediatricians, and community organizations to knit together a literacy ecosystem. Pennsylvania's Library System of Lancaster County deployed a bookmobile to bring resources directly into underserved neighborhoods.

Caregivers Are the Missing Link

Twenty percent of grants provided resources or training specifically for caregivers, and the research shows why that matters. The foundational framework—Every Child Ready to Read—teaches five practices: talking, singing, reading, writing, and playing. Its core insight: reading begins at birth, and parents are a child's first and best teacher. Massachusetts's Strength in Families program matched activities to children's developmental stages—songs and storytimes for infants, music and movement for toddlers, play groups for preschoolers. Louisiana's Early Literacy grant distributed literacy packets with reading materials and activity guides for home use. When libraries equip caregivers, they multiply their reach.

The Research Behind This Is Rigorous

This isn't anecdotal cheerleading. Mathematica screened 336 manuscripts, prioritized 98, and ultimately analyzed 84 studies published between 2013 and 2024. They reviewed 14 landscape documents, interviewed IMLS staff, and examined grants funded between 2020 and 2023—filtering an initial pool of 9,000 discretionary applications and 10,000 Grants-to-States activities down to 50 exemplary projects. The Institute of Museum and Library Services funded the work because understanding what works in library-led literacy is a national priority.

We Need to Invest Like We Mean It

Public libraries are doing the work. They're training staff, expanding collections (22 percent of grants), distributing literacy packets (8 percent), and building infrastructure that serves our youngest learners. But they're doing it on shoestring budgets, often with part-time staff and outdated facilities. If we believe literacy matters—if we believe every child deserves to enter kindergarten ready to learn and third grade ready to read—then we owe our libraries the funding, space, and community support to make that happen. Bond measures for library buildings aren't luxuries. Staff lines aren't overhead. Collection budgets aren't discretionary. They're investments in the next generation's ability to think, learn, and participate in civic life.

The Mathematica study is available at https://www.imls.gov/sites/default/files/2026-03/LibraryChildLiteracySecondaryResearch.pdf. Read it. Share it with your school board and library trustees. Then ask what your community is doing to support the institution that's quietly building a generation of readers.