Kentucky Humanities, in cooperation with the Steele-Reese Foundation and the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives, will bring an award-winning family literacy program to Albany August 9th.

Prime Time Family Reading will meet at 5 p.m. Tuesdays from August 9 to September 13, at the Clinton County Public Library, 302 King Drive in Albany. The program is free and includes meals, door prizes, and educational childcare for younger siblings. 

Prime Time Family Reading helps families bond around the act of reading and talking about books. In each of six weekly sessions, a discussion leader and storyteller lead programs that demonstrate effective reading techniques. The books introduced to children ages 6 to 10 and their parents explore timeless issues of humanity – fairness, greed, courage, individuality, trickery, and determination – while helping them understand the dynamics of making life choices. The program is free and includes meals, door prizes, and educational childcare for younger siblings. 

The storyteller is Sandy Shelton, and Kathleen Gregory is the Prime Time scholar.

Kentucky Humanities Executive Director Bill Goodman is excited for the return of Prime Time after a hiatus due to COVID, and believes Prime Time is among the most important programs Kentucky Humanities brings to the Commonwealth. 

“We are thrilled for Prime Time Family Reading to return to libraries, classrooms, and community organizations across the Commonwealth,” Goodman said. “Kentucky Humanities is passionate about promoting literacy and sharing the love of reading with people throughout Kentucky. Prime Time Family Reading brings families together through books and gets them talking to each other in ways they never have before.” 

Prime Time Family Reading has won awards from the Public Library Association and the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities. The Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities created the program in 1995. Its studies showed that children who went through Prime Time increased their reading time by 80 percent and doubled their trips to the library. The program also benefited their parents, who improved their parenting skills and, in 29 percent of the cases studied, their employment status.

 To register for Prime Time Family Reading at the Clinton County Public Library call (606) 387-5989 or email clintonlib@hotmail.com.