Libraries Are Part of the Literacy Recovery Strategy

Published on September 08, 2026

Children and families in the foreground are gathered facing a Siouxland Storyteller who is holding and reading a picture book for storytime in front of a wall of book shelves. A young child is standing next to the storyteller pointing to part of the storybook.

By Alysia Boysen, Director of Siouxland Libraries

New national test scores confirm what many caregivers and teachers already know: literacy recovery is one of the biggest challenges facing our communities. Libraries play a central role, and we take that seriously.

Recent data from across the country show that reading scores in many school districts have not recovered from pandemic-era learning loss.* The districts making the strongest progress share a few things in common: they stick to the basics, use data to make decisions, and build support that shows up the same way every week. That's where libraries come in.

What this looks like at Siouxland Libraries

It looks like: every storytime for a toddler, afterschool reading space, reader's advisory conversation that helps a guest find their next favorite book, and a place where a kid feels like they belong. None of that is a small extra. It's the steady, everyday contact that builds reading confidence and keeps kids connected to books all year, not just during the school day.

Siouxland Libraries serves families across 13 branches in Sioux Falls and Minnehaha County, with programs that start at birth and carry through kindergarten readiness, adult learning, and career support. That continuity matters, because literacy doesn't happen in one moment. Kids build it over years, one book, one storytime, one visit at a time.

Two small children, a caregiver, and a library associate dig in a box of colorful pieces.

Intentional, Measurable, Equitable

The data on national recovery reinforces something we believe strongly at Siouxland Libraries: our work matters most when we're intentional about it. We design programs around literacy skills, and we make sure they reach the families who need them, not just those who can easily find us.

Our 2022-2027 strategic plan centers early literacy and beyond-classroom literacy support as core community priorities. We are not waiting for the recovery conversation to reach us. We are already in it.

A Community Effort

Schools are working hard, and they cannot do this alone. Neither can libraries. It takes schools, libraries, nonprofits, and families working together with the same goal in mind to help build a community of readers. When that happens, kids, adults, and the community all succeed.

We are proud to be part of that effort for Sioux Falls and the communities of Minnehaha County.

Learn more about our literacy programs

Storytimes, 1000 Books Before Kindergarten, reading programs, and after-school learning are provided at all 13 branches.

*National Center for Education Statistics. (2024). National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reading assessment 2024. U.S. Department of Education. https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/reports/reading/2024/g4_8/