Without public libraries, it is much harder to solve the problem of illiteracy. At a time when only 31% of U.S. fourth graders are reading proficiently, a continuing downward trend from previous years, it is especially worrying that public libraries — critical to helping children and their families begin the important process of reading and writing fluently to gain on-grade skills — are under attack.

Learning —especially reading — does not happen in school alone, nor should building readers be the sole burden of formal educators. By grade 3, children spend 80% of their waking hours outside of school

There is growing awareness of the literary crisis and its impact on our nation and children. States and schools are responsive to research and evidence that champions the success of structured literacy approaches. But for these approaches to succeed, community involvement is key, both during summer break and during the school year. That’s why public libraries are an essential piece of the puzzle, helping every student become an engaged, skillful reader.

Learning —especially reading — does not happen in school alone, nor should building readers be the sole burden of formal educators. By grade 3, children spend 80% of their waking hours outside of school. This means that access to books, programs, and services that promote early literacy and reading acquisition is crucial for the developing reader, and having books readily available during out-of-school time is essential for achievement. For many of America’s children, these resources are most readily accessible at their local community public library.

Libraries are more than just passive repositories of books; they are indispensable neighborhood resources. Libraries are learning hubs at the very heart of community literacy, anchor spaces providing essential support to our youngest readers and their families, teachers, and other literacy providers, helping to build out a strong “literacy ecosystem” across communities.

Right now, public libraries are facing multipronged attacks which, at best, serve as distractions from this crucial work, and at worst, threaten public libraries’ very existence. Book banning efforts challenge the principles of democracy and intellectual freedom that help children become critical thinkers. And attempts to defund the Institute of Museum and Library Services, which allows libraries to innovate and pool resources to remain efficient and responsive to the evolving needs of communities with limited resources threaten the existence of public libraries at a time when they are needed most. But public libraries carry on doing their important work.

I am the president and CEO of the Urban Libraries Council (ULC), an organization dedicated to strengthening and advancing the essential role of public libraries as dynamic, accessible places for opportunity, learning and innovation. I’m proud to say that, despite the challenging environment we are in, our member libraries are still stepping up to meet the needs of our developing readers and their families in numerous ways that are aligned to all that we know about how young brains learn to read. For instance, public libraries in Toledo-Lucas and Chicago have curated collections of short texts used to re-enforce specific phonics lessons and support materials for caregivers and their young children. The San Francisco Public Library’s FOG Readers program supports new readers. Skokie Public Library offers Booking With a Buddy,  a summer near-peer literacy instruction service.

This past summer, millions of children took part in free summer reading and learning programs across the country. And every year, in the weeks immediately before students go back to school, many libraries invite administrators and teachers, as well as parents, to the library to review the offerings that schools and their students can access during the academic year. If schools have reading lists but lack the hard copies of materials needed, librarians and teachers collaborate to ensure all students are able to access the books they need.

The work continues throughout the school year. The Brooklyn Public Library, for example, has a Teacher Lab online course that connects teachers with library resources through a free, self-paced course. For this program, the library was recognized as a Top Education Innovator by ULC’s annual Innovations Initiative awards.

Libraries also offer tutoring programs and homework help for students, all in a place that is safe, open, accessible, and, most importantly for many, completely free.

To build on the work of pioneering libraries and offer a path forward to best practices in the nation’s libraries, ULC has created a roadmap for action in its Science of Reading toolkit, In the kit, we challenge libraries to train their staff, collaborate with schools and literacy organizations, and, most importantly, co-create programs with parents and caregivers that meet the specific needs of families in their community. We press libraries to think about non-book collections of phonics games, manipulative language toys, and learning stations where phonics can come to life around scholar-interests during the out-of-school time hours. We also urge libraries to partner with their schools, train their staffs, and build new partnerships in service to the success of our children.

ULC emphasizes the importance of supporting families. Parents and caregivers are vital to the co-design of meaningful public programs, seminars, and educational initiatives at the library. Seminars and workshops aimed at parents can help them learn about scope and sequence and the essential role of decodable books in learning to read. We build on our field-wide knowledge to demonstrate why multilingual and culturally relevant resources are critical and highlight the ways library collections, after-school and summertime programming, homework help, and reading tutors can contribute to students’ success. Moreover, as always, we unapologetically do this with an equity focus, knowing that many families of color lack access to high-quality literacy resources at home.

These crucial institutions, and the organizations who serve them like the Urban Libraries Council, support schools and teachers as well as parents and kids. Imagine if school professionals and out-of-school-time literacy experts in public libraries came together to explore new and deeper strategies for bringing each child into the joy of fluent reading. Please visit urbanlibraries.org for more information or to learn more about how libraries are effective in supporting children’s reading.

Brooks Rainwater is the president and CEO of the Urban Libraries Council. As part of our commitment to elevating diverse perspectives, EdTrust occasionally features guest blogs. The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect EdTrust’s views or positions.