Reading introduces us to an array of other worlds and perspectives; within the pages of books are paths that lead us toward a greater understanding of one another. Books can amplify unheard voices and offer visibility for the unseen and overlooked. 

Additionally, stories of people who have faced challenges similar to our own resonate with us and make us feel less alone. 

Crystal Faris, the Library’s deputy director for youth and family engagement, says it’s important to encourage families to read together.

“We know from research that young children seeing their parents read reinforces for them that this is a behavior they should have,” she says. 

But some children don’t have access to books and don’t see reading modeled. The Library designed the Books to Go program 30 years ago to put books in the hands of children who otherwise would not have them. 

Books to Go is the Library’s largest children’s program and serves 4,500 children a month, delivering 7,000 books to children at daycare centers and in kindergarten classrooms at more than 50 sites throughout the Library district. 

“It's hard for full-time educators to get out to a library or to organize a field trip to get little ones into the Library,” says Brad Krohe, the Books to Go coordinator. “So, we bring the Library to them; that's really crucial.” 

The program started in 1994 as “Books at Your Place,” a collaboration between Catherine Wilson, a children’s librarian at the old Main Library in the Board of Education building, and Carrie McDonald, then head of the outreach department. 

McDonald, now retired, wanted to find a way to impact the community, “maybe do something amazing,” she recalls. 

She says she noticed Wilson – a doctoral candidate who went on to teach in higher education – “schlepping books to Della Lamb, maybe a couple other places, but to some of the underserved children and underserved agencies in the Northeast.” 

That’s when McDonald saw a “little opening for some kind of big outreach,” she says. “I thought, 'Well, how could we replicate something like this for the whole Library district?'” 

By the fall of that year, McDonald reported that nearly 30 childcare agencies had received boxes of books; the organizations would act as go-betweens and take responsibility for checking out the books on behalf of their students. 

But McDonald knew that to spread Wilson’s outreach idea to the entire Library service area – 75 square miles – she’d need a lot more books. 

She applied for funding through the Library Services and Construction Act, a state-administered program in Missouri. In 1995, she received $30,000. 

In the application, McDonald included some statistics. At the time, the Heart of America Family Services and Parents as Teachers estimated that as many as 9,000 Kansas City children from birth through 5 years were underserved in the area of literacy. The Children’s Defense Fund reported that in 1990 the majority of Missouri’s youngest children received care from someone other than a parent – and most childcare facilities were “marginally equipped and funded to provide developmental opportunities which prepare the child for successful school experiences.” 

To provide 20 books to each of the estimated 228 unserved childcare sites, McDonald noted in that first funding application that the Library would need an additional 4,560 books. Adding in families served by Parents as Teachers and larger childcare sites, the application estimated that a total of 10,400 more books would be necessary to truly meet the needs of the youngest children. 

Today, the Books to Go program has 17,936 books in circulation. Some books are purchased through private individual and corporate monetary donations, though most are funded through the Library’s collection development budget. 

Krohe, the Books to Go coordinator, says that regular access to books is a critical part of early preparation for success. “Reading helps spark their imagination. It develops early literacy skills and also helps their cognitive development.” 

North Hyde Park childcare center, Birdsall House, became a Books to Go recipient in 2018. Director Kelly Raines agrees with Krohe about the importance of access to books and adds that “reading opens all the doors. So, if they establish a love of reading and an excitement for books at a young age, it lasts throughout their lives; they will continue to love books and get information that way.” 

Books to Go aims for a two-to-one book-to-child ratio. Generally, every four-week installment to childcare facilities and schools includes 20 hand-curated, age-appropriate books – picture books, board books, nonfiction books, and readers – checked out to the cardholding site. 

At the time of delivery, the previous month’s books are picked up. Krohe and his team ensure several things: That each book is in good condition, that the story is relevant and doesn’t seem outdated, that the book doesn’t include negative depictions of any people or culture, and that the titles represent the communities they circulate in. 

McDonald emphasized the importance of representation in her initial funding application, paraphrasing Harriet Rohmer, founder and director of Children’s Book Press, as saying that “children who cannot find themselves in books often feel invisible, but those who find only themselves are also deeply deprived.” 

Books to Go continues to play a critical part in educating the youngest Kansas Citians. And Raines sees the program working at Birdsall House. 

“When the box of books comes, it's always a big deal, and the kids get excited about seeing the new ones,” she says. “Learning that books have stories in them and that the letters on the page reflect the words and that words makes up the stories… If they can establish a love of reading in the early years, it's going to stay with them for the rest of their lives.”