Local libraries are doing their best to start kids early when it comes to literacy skills, encouraging parents to bring books into their children’s everyday experience, right from birth. 

The 1000 Books Before School program encourages exactly what it says, with parents encouraged to read 1000 books with their children before hitting the age of six. 

Macquarie Regional Library Coordinator Ken Klippel said that starting from the beginning of a child’s life is the best time to advance their literacy skills. 

“Children learn things very, very quickly, and repetition is a very important part of that process. It’s been a pretty successful program in making sure that children have good literacy skills before they actually get to real school," Mr Klippel said. 



Born out of Victoria, New South Wales libraries are slowly adapting the program after promising results. 

A recent grant for Macquarie Regional Libraries meant the program could come out west, including Baradine, Coonabarabran, Trangie, and Narromine. 

“(The grant) covers the books and there’s also incentives - small gifts, I guess - that are given at certain stages. So after a child has read or listened to 100 books then they get an incentive, and another at 250, 500 and 750,” Mr Klippel said. 

The grant has also provided funding for a consultant to assess early literacy programs at the local libraries. 

“Public libraries play a very big role in rural and regional communities, and one of their focuses is on encouraging and assisting children to read,” Mr Klippel said. 

While on the surface, the number looks both ambitious and intimidating, in the six years between birth and kindergarten, 1000 books can be conquered in less than 5 story books per week. 

“It’s not only books that children have read, but books that are read to their children. It can also be books that are read to a child at storytime or rhyme time, and if a child reads or hears a story several times, it still counts,” Mr Klippel said. 

“It’s about encouraging children to read and parents to read to their children,” he said. 

Interested parents can register at their local library, with books available to borrow to help their children hit their reading target.