Hackley Library Mon - Tues 9:00a - 7:00p | Wed - Sat 9:00a - 5:00p
Torrent House Tue - Sat 9:00a - 5:00p
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Sun / Closed Torrent House Tue - Sat 9:00a - 5:00p
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Sun - Mon / Closed 
Family Place builds on the knowledge that good health, early learning, parental involvement, and supportive communities play a critical role in a young child’s growth and development. The overall goal of Family Place Libraries is to develop and institutionalize a family friendly environment by transforming libraries into community centers for literacy, early childhood development, parent education and engagement, family support and community information.
Core components include:
Our Play and Learn Room is a fun and welcoming environment where children along with their caregivers can play, learn, and grow together. This specially designed space geared for children birth – age 5 features interactive materials for very young children and parents including board and picture books, age appropriate toys, dramatic play items, and more, providing a rich space for little ones to explore.
This five-week workshop, offered in the Spring and the Fall, connects families with community resource professionals. Children and adults are invited to play and learn in this relaxed environment. Topics include Early Literacy, Music and Movement, Nutrition, Speech and Language, and Child Development.
Registration is required. Check our Events calendar for upcoming workshops.
Special collections consist of books, toys, early literacy kits, music and multimedia materials for babies, toddlers, parents, caregivers and service providers.
Our Parenting Collection offers reviewed books to guide parents, caregivers, and service providers in raising their little ones.
ParentTV offers hundreds of on-demand videos to support the parenting and care of children from birth to teens.
An administrator and librarian participate in a multi-day Family Place Training Institute and related online training. Topics covered include all the core components as well as child development, family support, parent education, and best practices. Once trained, these professionals help instill a culture of support for families in all departments of the library–not just in Youth Services.
Through partnerships with health, education, and Human Service agencies that serve families and young children, librarians connect parents to needed community resources and enhance library services and programs. Identifying and reaching out to new and underserved families, via in person, partner, media and social media contacts enables the libraries to engage and build trust with new families.
Expanding on the traditional role of programming for children ages birth-5 (with emphasis on birth-3), Family Place Libraries specialize in developing age-appropriate programming that supports the importance of play and healthy parent/child relationships in early childhood development and learning. See our events calendar for information about Story Times and other programs.
This project was funded through a Library Services and Technology Grant from the Library of Michigan, in partnership with Muskegon Area District Library and White Lake Community Library.