In the human brain, the greatest growth takes place between birth and age five. (By age 3, roughly 85% of the brain’s core structure is formed.) By contrast, most educational investment begins the K-12 years; i.e. after age 5. This initiative encourages parents to discover the resources available to them and their child at the earliest age possible and introduces new parents to the benefits of reading to their infants while welcoming them to check out the library.

• KDL partnered with trusted local healthcare organizations to give new parents “prescriptions” to read to their newborns, enforcing the idea that reading is just as valuable to infant health as vitamins and medicine.
• Distributed materials (books and postcards) were in English and Spanish so that more parents would feel welcomed to participate.
• Brand new parents received a gift and personal invite from their local library during a time when they may need to feel more connected to resources and support than ever before

• The project started with a single partnership with HealthNet West Michigan, but additional healthcare partners were engaged for a more diverse roll-out in the community.
• Over 2K families in Kent County received a board book and library invitation in 2022.
• Overburdened new parents were introduced to valuable library resources during medical visits without even having to visit the library.
• Increased web traffic to KDL’s Books for Babies webpage, which promotes library offerings for babies and shares book recommendations