You're Never Too Young for a Good Book

Maryland recently unveiled a two-year, statewide campaign called "It's Never Too Early," in an effort to get more parents and caregivers to read to their babies, toddlers, and preschoolers. The media blitz features posters, billboards, and radio ads inviting parents to attend story sessions and take advantage of other services at their local libraries. The campaign, funded with $147,000 from the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services, was the result of a recommendation by the "Birth to Five" task force of the Maryland Association of Public Library Administrators, designed to gauge library use by parents and caregivers of toddlers. The task force found that children of low-income parents with little education were less likely to visit the library. "This is an attempt to reach out to the parent or child care provider who is uncomfortable in a library," Kathleen Reif, director of the Wimico County Library, told the Baltimore Sun. Reif is also one of the task force co-chairs. "It's more than saying, 'Remember your local library,'" she added. "It's so people aren't so darned intimidated."