Free literacy programs for all ages
Explore our library programs
Local, county, and state funding keeps the library running. Your giving helps it grow. Every Beaufort County Library program on this page is free to the public and exists because donors funded it.
Literacy programs, from birth onward
The Foundation spends more on reading than on anything else. That starts with infants and their parents and runs through the summer months, when children either hold on to what they learned in school or lose it.
Summer Reading Program
The Foundation funds the Summer Reading Program in partnership with the county’s public schools, helping children keep their reading skills strong and their love of books alive throughout the summer with prizes and programs. This year’s program, Unearthing a Story, drew over 3,000 participants. Adults took part too, and more than 1,000 people over 18 finished it. It is a very popular program!
WeeRead
New mothers get books for their babies, along with coaching on reading aloud from birth. Parents learn as much from it as their children do.
Early Childhood Literacy
For young children who have seen few books and heard little conversation before they start school. That gap is the hardest one to close later.
Literacy Together
A conference held twice a year where literacy education organizations from across Beaufort County compare programs and share what’s working. The Foundation sponsors it so these groups can coordinate instead of running the same programs twice.
Artist in Residence
Each year the Foundation pays stipends to two local artists to run hands-on workshops in the library branches. The workshops are free, open to all ages, and draw on Lowcountry culture.
The artists rotate each year, so the program never settles into one medium. Past workshops have covered writing, nature, and personal expression, along with local South Carolina traditions like indigo dyeing demonstrations paired with storytelling.
Recent artists
Collections and digital access
The library can only lend what it can afford to buy. Foundation gifts add to the collection where demand is ahead of the county’s budget.
Growing the digital collection
Foundation money buys e-books and audiobooks, which shortens the wait for titles with long hold lists. Digital lending now makes up more than a quarter of the library’s checkouts.
Large print and children’s books
The Foundation has bought large print titles for adults across the system and more than 10,000 children’s books for the St. Helena Branch Library. These purchases are on top of what the library buys with its own budget.
Beaufort District Collection
The Beaufort District Collection archives the history of Beaufort, Hampton, and Jasper counties. Foundation funds are buying a new map chest and added shelving to preserve its 900+ historical maps.
Every gift opens a new door for our community
Your gifts keep Beaufort County’s libraries free, vibrant, and open to everyone, for learning, leisure, and life.