Little Libraries transforms clinic waiting rooms into book nooks

Published Jan. 15, 2025, 7:04 p.m., last updated Jan. 27, 2025, 11:19 a.m.

Sterile lights. Uncomfortable chairs. A clock, ticking away on the wall — doctors’ waiting rooms are usually places of unease and apprehension.

Now, they seem to be less so for young patients at select clinics across the Peninsula, thanks to Little Libraries.

Little Libraries is a program at the Haas Center for Public Service that turns the page on patient anxiety by creating reading corners in clinic waiting rooms. Started in 2018, the program aims to aid children in developing early literacy by placing book collections (“libraries”) in pediatric clinics throughout the Peninsula, where families can read and take home books for free.

According to Reshma Thadani, a clinical associate professor of pediatrics at Stanford, the books have energized clinic atmospheres. Before the project, waiting for an appointment was a silent affair. Now, however, children jump at the chance to read. 

“They light up when they get the books,” she said. “It’s really quite a special moment.”

Little Libraries had humble beginnings. The initiative was founded by Lisa Chamberlain, a professor of pediatrics at Stanford Medicine. At the time, Chamberlain was practicing pediatric medicine at the Ravenswood Family Health Center, where the waiting room had nothing but a television. With the help of her daughters’ girl scout troop, Chamberlain transformed the space into a reading room with a shelf, a rug and some chairs. The program snowballed from there. Over the years, the project has expanded to eight primary care clinics, and continues to grow with the support of volunteers from the Lucile Packard Foundation’s Association of Auxiliaries for Children.

The program tries to reach disadvantaged children and overcome language barriers, according to Cindy Nguyen, who’s the senior development associate at the Lucile Packard Foundation Auxiliaries. 

“[The clinics] are normally in underserved communities, predominantly Spanish-speaking.” said Nyugen, who coordinates book drives for Little Libraries. “That’s why we have an emphasis on really trying to get Spanish books.”

As children are allowed to bring the books home, the shelves are in need of regular replenishing. Emily Trieu, a research assistant at the Stanford School of Medicine, is among four volunteers who help restock clinics with 500 to 700 new books every quarter. Doctors and providers are also eager participants in the initiative, actively communicating whenever stocks run low, according to Chamberlain. 

“A lot of them have said it gives them a lot of happiness [and] joy,” Chamberlain said.

Beyond the clinic, Little Libraries addresses a big problem: a 2023 policy brief from the EdVoice institute reported that California is currently suffering from a “literacy crisis,” in which almost six out of 10 students in third grade read below grade level. The challenges are particularly prevalent for low-income children, only three in 10 of whom can read at grade level.

According to Thadani, supporting early literacy is so important because children from underprivileged families often lack access to early education, which is where pediatricians can step in to help.

“There are just not enough preschool slots, or [rather], affordable preschool slots for those children,” Thadani said. “[Pediatricians] are probably one of the only people that these [children] have a lot of contact with in the early ages until they get connected to the education system.”

Learning to read early is essential because neurodevelopment occurs rapidly for children below the age of five, according to Chamberlain. 

“It’s really important that kids are exposed to books so that they can all start kindergarten on a fair, equal footing with all of their peers,” she said.

For parents who want to help their children kickstart their reading, the first step is having more books in the home, according to Trieu: “Having a space where a child can freely explore different types of books…is really important for early literacy development.”

Correction: A previous version of the article misstated that Little Libraries sets up book nooks in hospital waiting rooms. “Hank the Heart” books are also not available in clinics, as they are not distributed outside of the Heart Center. The Daily regrets these errors.



Login or create an account