Literacy Services includes many programs outside the library buildings.

Project Horizons—We have a long-standing presence in many of the homeless shelters in the county where we work with children and their parents. We stimulate early literacy skills, offer homework help and free books, help parents find ways to interact with their children that promote good reading habits and encourage students to stay in school. This program has been active for over twenty years.

Project REAP—Is a ten year effort to connect with immigrants and refugee families to promote literacy skills, learning English, and becoming more aware of what our public library offers them.
Often people from other cultures are unaware of the vast array of public library programs and materials.  Working with the whole family ensures that adults and children have this experience as well as the pleasure of sharing it together.

Family Readers’ Club—Through a partnership with DeKalb Medical Center and Prevent Child Abuse Georgia, DCPL is able to get free books and information about the library and its offerings into the hands of many teen and first-time parents before they leave the hospital. Having appropriate books in the home early is important, and knowing how to sign up for a library card is, too.

DCPL literacy facilitators have recently started reading with young children for several hours a week in some DeKalb Board of Health clinics. That, along with a monthly visit from our Library Take Out facilitator to do remote card sign up and demonstrate the Library’s web page with its many resources including a number of free databases, is helping reach newcomers to our area as well as previously unserved library patrons.