EBR Parish Library offers free programs, services & resources for students of all ages, along with parenting help too

Sponsored by East Baton Rouge Parish Library

Research continues to show that the best predictor of future education achievement and life success is a child’s reading ability. With books, programming and databases for every age group, all families are encouraged to take advantage of the East Baton Rouge Parish Library’s free offerings.

The Library aims to encourage a culture of reading in the home, Assistant Director Mary Stein says. That’s why the library has waived fines for any overdue children’s book, regardless of whether it was checked out by the child or the child’s caregiver. “Even if the kid loses it under the bed – and he will – once you find that book and return it, all is forgiven,” Stein says. “Every single child’s book in our buildings is fine free.”

Below are just a few of the library’s free offerings for children of all ages.

Early literacy:

Press Start is a three-year take-home booklet program for children ages 2-4 that converts Louisiana’s early literacy curriculum into activities you already do at home to prepare children to enter kindergarten. Parents or caregivers work through the booklet with the child at their own pace. Each month has an overall theme with lessons and activities using commonly found household items.

After registering for Press Start, the adult picks up a free booklet each month. For every 12 lessons completed, the child receives a free book and is entered into a drawing for a gift card generously donated by the nonprofit group Patrons of the Public Library. “Once they get to the end of the series, we hope they’ll be entering kindergarten confidently and ready to go,” Stein says.

K-12:

Homework Louisiana, homeworkla.org, is a free online tutoring resource available to all Louisiana students from 2 p.m. to midnight, seven days a week. Students go to the website, and after providing their grade level and the subject they need tutoring in, they receive live help immediately. Students may even submit essays and have them reviewed by a tutor with a response within a couple of days.

The EBRP Library provides online resources to consult for research and writing those papers and essays that are available 24-7 online in the Digital Library. These are grouped on the Kids’ and Teen’s webpages by grade level, so that the vocabulary, terminology and user interface is age appropriate and grows with the child. The library staff is also available in-person to guide students to the appropriate resources.

Parents:

The EBR Parish Library has an abundance of resources for adults who are involved in a child’s life – including parents, grandparents, older siblings, teachers, daycare owners, CASA or Big Buddy volunteers and others.

With a library card, adults have access to the Gale Courses platform of six-week, instructor led courses on topics such as Understanding Adolescents, Enhancing Language Development in Childhood and Homeschooling with Success, as well as other online courses completed independently.

Library staff recently put together a webinar on resources available for parents of students with learning disabilities. “That’s just one example of how the staff is trying to be there for you wherever you are,” Stein says.