Our Children's Department

The children's department of the Boyd County Public Library is located in the basement of the Main Branch (1740 Central Ave). The department is open during library operating hours and is the location for children's programs.

We offer programs and services for individuals from birth to age 12. Board books with their sturdy pages give hesitant parents the opportunity to share books with their young toddlers. Paperback sections allow children to explore the collection without fear of returning a book to the "wrong place." Puzzles for all developmental stages are available for library users during their visit to the library. Puppets, blocks and dinosaurs give visiting children the opportunity to play while parents select books.

The children's department makes Accelerated Reader lists from local schools available to parents and students. A call number written beside a title denotes the library's ownership of the item.

Beginning readers benefit from the Red Dot section. These books have specific vocabulary geared toward the beginning reader. The read-a-long book and cassette combinations also assist that reading level. Blue dot books give parents and teachers materials to share with early readers. Subjects range from what it's like to be in a wheel chair to the life cycle of a butterfly.

The Boyd County Public Library focuses on two awards in children's literature: the Caldecott and the Newbery. The collection includes winner and honor books of each award.

The picture book (Je) section includes materials of interest from wordless books to third grade. Second graders start gravitating to the "Chapter Books" (JF) but may still find works in the picture books interesting. The chapter books are for ages up to eighth grade, though sixth graders may begin venturing into adult fiction. The same holds true for the Juvenile non-fiction collection. (Adults wishing for an overview of a subject or just learning a craft will want to include this collection in their books for check out. Older readers wishing for "tame" reading also find titles of interest in the JF collection.) Children's magazines are also for check out.

The public access terminals (PAC's) in the basement access the same information as the others in the building. Use these to search our collection for books, movies, audios and paintings. Also available are general reading lists that contain suggestions for various grades. Also note the reading rainbow and "Juvenile -- inspirational" lists. Two Internet computers are also in the children's department.

Visiting groups may call ahead and request a tour or story time tailored to their needs. These special programs are open to any school, group or club. Visits may take up to an hour and be a detailed tour for the older children with "researching" interests or more closely resemble a regular story hour for younger children. Call 329-0090 for special programming requests.