Delaware County Libraries actively encourage parents and young children to participate in the nationally recognized 1000 Books Before Kindergarten program. This initiative fosters early literacy skills crucial for school success by encouraging parents and caregivers to read regularly with their preschoolers. Research shows that frequent reading with young children is the most reliable predictor of future academic success, helping to build vocabulary, letter recognition, comprehension, and narrative skills—all essential for learning to read. Most importantly, it fosters a lifelong love of books and reading.
Reading 1,000 books is more achievable than you might think! Reading just one book a day with your child from birth to age five results in 1,825 books read! To support families in this journey, DCL offers 1000 Books Before Kindergarten backpacks for county-wide circulation. Each backpack includes a selection of 10 picture and board books along with early literacy tips. These backpacks are available in the catalog and at participating libraries.
To celebrate our young readers, children in the program can have their names added to a special wall at the J. Lewis Crozer Library, highlighting their progress and achievements and providing a sense of pride as they work toward their goal.
How to Sign Up
Register on the web here or in the app!
- Download the Beanstack Tracker App: Available on the App Store or Google Play.
Getting Started
- Open the app, tap “Let’s Go,” and choose “At my library, school, or bookstore.”
- Tap “Find a Site” and enter “J. Lewis Crozer Library” or “Delaware County Libraries.” Select “Delaware County Library System (PA)” to access the sign-in page.
- Tap “Sign up!” and follow prompts to create an account and add readers.
- When creating an account, you will be prompted to enroll in an active challenge. To explore additional challenges:
- Scroll through current challenges on the home screen or tap “Discover” for a full list.
- Use the dropdown menu to view “Current,” “Past,” or “Ignored” challenges.
- Scroll to see the More Challenges section, displaying other available challenges.
- Tap a challenge card for details and available badges, and tap “Join Challenge” to enroll.
For more information on using Beanstack, visit the Beanstack Help Center.