The Butler Area Public Library distributed literacy kits to families last November to ensure developing readers still had something to read while staying at home during the coronavirus pandemic.

The library will distribute family literacy kits again this November, which is designated as Family Literacy Month, according to youth services librarian Tiffany Harkleroad.

Harkleroad said the kits will be aimed at children in preschool to elementary school, and will teach them how to use the library's resources in addition to getting them interested in reading.

“Part of it is to keep us connected to families because we're not back to doing in-person programs yet,” Harkleroad said.

Each family that registers for a kit will get a book containing information about general library resources, how to get a library card, e-resources, and how children can get their own cards, Harkleroad said.

Additionally, the kits will have items such as hot chocolate and instant coffee packets that Harkleroad said will inspire children to read creatively.

An advantage of providing take-home kits, according to Harkleroad, is that it allows children to read at their own pace, and not be confined to books assigned at school.

“You can read for fun, you can read whatever you want to,” Harkleroad said. “I am a firm believer that there is a book out there for everybody, and my job is connecting them with the right books.”

The supplies provided in the kits can be kept by the families, Harkleroad said.

Harkleroad also said she is in the process of making videos to post online for families to follow along with the library.

There is a limited number of literacy kits available at the library, but Harkleroad said there are still enough left for more people to register.

She said she is looking forward to getting more books in children's hands because of the impact that can have from an early age.

“There has been such a change in the way children's books had been written in the past few years,” Harkleroad said. “There is nothing more exciting to me than parents coming in and saying, 'He never liked reading until he got his own books at the library.'”

People can register for a family literacy kit by emailing Harkleroad at tharkleroad@bcfls.org by Monday, which is when distribution begins.