As the first day of school approaches, is your child prepared for the academic year? Libraries across Pennsylvania grow students’ school readiness social, cognitive and emotional skills. The James V. Brown Library, 19 E. Fourth St., offers year-round story times and early literacy programs to help preschoolers with transitioning.

“Coming to our story times can help young children get used to hearing a new adult read stories in a group setting, interacting with new friends, and feeling more comfortable in a classroom environment,” said Nina White, Youth Services and Programming Manager at the Brown Library.

The Brown Library’s children’s department can recommend first-day jitter titles for elementary school students and moving up to middle school books for older children.

The Brown Library’s digital databases can foster early literacy through online storybooks on Hoopla, OverDrive and TumbleBooks, all free with a library card. Families can find free online help across the grade levels and subject areas with POWER Library. Older students can receive free online test prep and school project assistance through Learning Express.

“Using our digital databases develops critical thinking skills important to school academic success and literacy skills vital for a love of lifelong reading,” White said.

The library supports the PA Forward statewide initiative, which believes that when Pennsylvania residents improve their command of five types of literacy – basic, information, civic and social, health and financial – they can achieve greater success as students, parents, employees, consumers, as citizens. Libraries are community centers of information, technology and learning that will fuel educational and economic opportunity for all of our citizens.

Visit calendar.jvbrown.edu to see upcoming programs and to register or call 570-326-0536.
The James V. Brown Library is open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday; noon to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday; and 24/7 at http://www.jvbrown.edu.

The James V. Brown Library, 19 E. Fourth St., Williamsport, Pa., is the place to go to learn, connect and grow. Founded in June 1907, the library champions the love of reading, opens new doors to lifelong learning, provides a haven to those who seek and ensures the preservation of public library services for future generations. The library has more than 225,000 visitors in a year and circulates a half-million items annually. A member of the Lycoming County Library System, the James V. Brown Library participates in PA Forward, a statewide initiative to promote literacies in our communities to power a better future for everyone.