The Foundation recognized that libraries play a central role in teaching and supporting children and families to master the skills taught by the Science of Reading. Thus in 2025 we underwrote catalytic grants to the Brooklyn Public Library and the Reading Institute to partner to further three overarching goals:
1) Equip library staff with science of reading knowledge and tools through the development and dissemination of a tailored, professional learning experience aligned with library-based literacy work.
2) Empower caregivers to support early reading development at home by creating and distributing engaging, research-backed resources across BPL’s 62 branches.
3) Develop scalable, replicable models for SoR-aligned programming in libraries that can inform and inspire similar efforts across New York City and beyond.
Among other aligned projects, BPL and The Reading Institute are collaborating on the creation of a condensed version of the Science of Reading Intro Microcredential that is more applicable to the library setting; developing new, co-branded caregiver-facing resources based on the current Reading Ready Caregiver and Letter Knowledge Guides. These new resources combine the reading science content expertise from The Reading Institute’s existing guides with the accessibility of the Library’s school readiness materials. These materials are designed for wide distribution in a library context, ensuring that they can be used by caregivers without preliminary guidance from an educator.
Brooklyn Public Library | The Reading Institute | Back to Catalytic Giving