| Support Libraries | Libraries empower children to become lifelong learners
Georgia’s public libraries are a place where children and families can discover the joy of reading, get help with homework, learn through hands-on STEAM activities and get free admission to great places around Georgia.
Children can express their creativity at one of the many library makerspaces around the state. These activities encourage engagement and critical thinking as they help children learn about robotics, engineering, cooking, electronics and more!
Many libraries offer weekly storytimes and early literacy activities for preschoolers.
Our libraries are innovating programs to engage youth in everything from gardening to encouraging reluctant readers.
Take advantage of special programs, including children’s story hours, summer reading programs and homework help. If a child has special needs, ask about services the library offers for children with visual or hearing impairments. There’s something at the library for everyone.
Find your local library and check their events calendar to find programming near you.
Explore this page to see what else libraries can offer your child.
Search the Kids’ Catalog
Find children’s books, DVDs, CDs and more in PINES-participating libraries across Georgia.
Helpful Links
Makerspaces
A makerspace is a collaborative work space for making, learning, exploring and sharing that uses no-tech to high-tech tools. These spaces are open to kids, adults and entrepreneurs and have a variety of maker equipment including 3D printers, virtual reality glasses, Legos, paint sets, soldering irons and even sewing machines.
Student PLAY card
Georgia Public Library Service developed the student PLAY card (PINES Library Access for Youth) to give more youth access to their local public library and the tools they need to build literacy skills. While it’s a statewide initiative, individual libraries and school systems forge local agreements for how to implement the PLAY card in their community. As of the start of 2024, forty-five school systems across Georgia have launched PLAY cards, granting more than 500,000 students free access to millions of PINES library resources.
Summer Reading Programs
Summer Reading Programs Keep Kids Active
Research shows that children who read during the summer do not have to suffer reading loss and may even show some growth in their reading ability.
We coordinate the annual statewide Summer Reading program that encourages children and families to read for fun during the summer months. Public libraries across the state promote summer reading by offering reading logs and prizes and by hosting activities such as storytimes, puppet shows, arts and crafts, and magic shows. Children who participate receive rewards for achieving reading goals.
Learn more about summer reading at Georgia’s public libraries.
Visit or contact your local public library to see what they have planned.
GPLS participates in the Collaborative Summer Library Program. You can find info on the program on the CSLP website.
1,000 Books Before Kindergarten
Keeping Georgia’s public library shelves stocked with books and other resources is crucial in getting young children ready to read.
We’ve partnered with libraries to encourage parents to read 1,000 books with their children before age 5. This program is designed to be a fun and easy way to help your child develop pre-reading skills vital to kindergarten readiness.
Research shows a striking correlation between pre-reading skills and later academic success reaching into high school and beyond.
Parents and caregivers are a child’s first and best teacher. By sharing stories at home, you can give your child a valuable gift – a sense of confidence and a love for books and reading that can last a lifetime.
Prime Time Family Reading
PRIME TIME, a unique six-week humanities-based program of reading, discussion and storytelling at public libraries and other venues, emphasizes the importance of families reading together to discuss significant cultural and ethical themes.
Created in 1991 by the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, this statewide family literacy program with national affiliates creates a precondition for all future learning by empowering parents/guardians to help their children enjoy reading and improve their reading abilities. Since the early days of the PRIME TIME national expansion, Georgia has held 52 PRIME TIME programs in over two dozen communities across the state.
PRIME TIME Georgia is supported in part by funds from the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by Georgia Public Library Service, a unit of the University System of Georgia, and through a grant from the Georgia Humanities Council.
To become a PRIME TIME site, please contact the director of Youth Services at ebush@georgialibraries.org for more information.
Get Georgia Reading
Get Georgia Reading is a collaboration of more than 100 public and private partners that are finding new ways of working together across Georgia, across sectors, across agencies and organizations, and across the early years and early grades, using data to inform decision making. The goal is to increase the reading proficiency of Georgia’s children.
