Search this site

The mission of First Library® through its BUMS & BOOKS program is to promote daily reading & monthly library visits for single first time mothers. We provide free books, diapers and supplies weekly/ monthly with enrollment. BUMS & BOOKS A First Library ® program OUR PROGRAM What We Do Free Children’s Books We mail age-appropriate books to families each month to build early literacy habits from birth. Essential Diapers Families receive diapers delivered directly to their homes—reducing stress and supporting healthy development. Literacy & Family Support We connect families to reading routines, library engagement, and educational encouragement. Who We Serve Who We Support: First-time expectant mothers Single-parent households Families with infants under three months old Families facing financial hardship How It Works: Apply online Healthcare professional submits referral Get approved Submit library visit documentation. Receive monthly mailings of books & diapers Start Now FIRST LIBRARY GOES VIRTUAL! Mother meetings and First Library's BUMS & BOOKS Shop are now online. Fill your child's life books from your local library and basics for their bum! Daily Reading, Weekly Diaper Delivery and Monthly Library Visits for New Single First Time Mothers In Need. 1/1 APPLY NOW MAKE YOUR HOME YOUR CHILD'S FIRST LIBRARY®. We just don't give, we engage. First Library® is an early childhood literacy 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that promotes daily reading and monthly library patronage for expectant and new single first time mothers in need (newborn to age three months old children) by offering free diapers, books, and educational support until their child’s third birthday.* Mothers are asked to read to their child daily and are required to visit their local library monthly and perform various free reading related activities to participate in our three year program. The first three years of a child’s life offer parents an amazing opportunity to shape their child’s growth and form healthy habits. First Library's mission is to promote early childhood literacy for preschool children through daily reading, monthly library patronage and educational support plus we help children develop other healthy habits. Our vision, at First Library, is to not only give every newborn child a foundation for a lifetime love of reading and library patronage, but to actively engage their parents in the process. At First Library, we choose quality over quantity. Our board books and hardcover books are made to last First Library We don’t just give. We walk with families. Helping children grow with care, dignity, and books. At First Library, we believe the library is one of the last true equalizers — a place where everyone belongs, curiosity is free, and opportunity is shared. Through our Bums & Books program, we support families with es sentials and early literacy while honoring every parent’s strength and dignity. Our Mission First Library exists to support families with young children by combining early literacy, basic care, and human dignity. We believe: • Every child deserves access to books • Every family deserves support that feels respectful and private • And every community is stronger when opportunity is shared The library is our inspiration. It is open to everyone — regardless of income, background, or circumstance. In a world where so much divides us, the library remains an equalizer: a place where knowledge is free and belonging is universal. How We Help Through our Bums & Books program, we provide: • Diapers and hygiene essentials • Children’s books • Parenting and learning resources • Quiet, respectful support delivered discreetly to families’ homes We don’t require families to stand in lines or explain their hardship in public. Support should feel safe, personal, and dignified. Our Heart At First Library, we believe real support is more than a handout — it’s a relationship. We don’t just give. We walk with families. We listen. We encourage. We share tools, resources, and hope. We believe every parent wants the best for their child, and with the right support, every family can grow stronger. A Note From Our Founder “I started First Library's BUMS & BOOKS program because I saw how many loving parents were doing their very best — yet still felt invisible in systems that were supposed to help them. I wanted to build something different. A place where families could receive support without shame. Where dignity comes first. And where books and basic care go hand in hand. At First Library, we meet people with compassion and confidence in their ability to grow.” — Catherine Tinger Goldberg, Founder First Library Motto The library is for everyone. An equalizer in a divided world. Providing books, essentials, and dignity to families — one home, one child, one story at a time. OUR PROGRAM RESEARCH BACKED MISSION DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND PARENTS AS TEACHERS STUDY SHOWS THE NEED FOR REGULAR READING TIME VALIDATING FIRST LIBRARY’S MISSION PEW RESEARCH CENTER STUDY SHOWS THE NEED FOR REGULAR LIBRARY PATRONAGE VALIDATING FIRST LIBRARY’S MISSION NEW JAMA PEDIATRICS FINDINGS SHOW PAPER BOOKS BEAT TABLETS IN PARENT-CHILD INTERACTIONS TAKE ACTION FUNDRAISE FOR YOUR COMMUNITY’S PROGRAM. BECOME A CAT MEMBER - VOLUNTEER . TURN OFF TECH AND TURN ON READING & MORE! WORK TO BRING THE FIRST LIBRARY TO YOUR COMMUNITY! "I thought if reading could bring so much comfort and joy, to just one child, how much could it bring to multiple children? It was then that I decided to create First Library®." Catherine Tinger Goldberg Founder First Library was the first and one-time largest affiliate of the "Book Lady"' aka Dolly Parton's Imagination Library Free Book Gifting program in New Jersey for over ten years and served sixteen counties during its tenure as its affiliate. First Library previously offered this program as part of its overall program and is now independent of it. *Some exclusions apply. Not available in all areas. Please email info @firstlibrary.org to be placed on our waitlist of new coverage areas. PRESS Best Social Assistance Program - Chatham GuideStar Bronze Seal of Transparency Rotary Club Selects First Library for its “Beds for a Cause” Service Project 2019 My Life Publications - First Library in 7 of its 16 NJ Issues. First Library Founder Interview TOT4TOT Turn Off Tech 4 Two hOurs Today PROGRAM Mission V alidation Impact First Library® Book List First Library® Application Form First Library ® Registration Form First Library ® Shop © 2012 - 2026 First Librar y® By continuing on this website you are agreeing to our Privacy Policy . GIVE Become a Business Sponsor Create a Fundraising Page Give Financially Sponsor a Child Turn Off and Turn On Volunteer First Library® 4 Old Turnpike Road Morristown, NJ 07960 Suite 1 firstlibrary.org@gmail.com 973-610-8833 CONNECT Contact Us Join Our Mailing List Make a Referral to First Library® Board of Trustees Guest Book & Blog Become a Local Community Representative Local Community Representative Free Book Gifting Chapters First Library® is a 501(c)(3) charity. 46-2001321 All rights reserved. First Library is a registered trademark symbol of First Library, A New Jersey Nonprofit Corporation

Privacy Policy Privacy Policy Privacy Notice This privacy notice discloses the privacy practices for (firstlibrary.org). This privacy notice applies solely to information collected by this website. It will notify you of the following: What personally identifiable information is collected from you through the website, how it is used and with whom it may be shared. What choices are available to you regarding the use of your data. The security procedures in place to protect the misuse of your information. How you can correct any inaccuracies in the information. Information Collection, Use, and Sharing We are the sole owners of the information collected on this site. We only have access to/collect information that you voluntarily give us via email or other direct contact from you. We will not sell or rent this information to anyone. We will use your information to respond to you, regarding the reason you contacted us. We will not share your information with any third party outside of our organization, other than as necessary to fulfill your request, e.g. send you a shipping label, set up a clothing drive or to ship an order. Unless you ask us not to, we may contact you via email in the future to tell you about special events, new products or services, READyay or changes to this privacy policy. Your Access to and Control Over Information You may opt out of any future contacts from us at any time. You can do the following at any time by contacting us via the email address firstlibrary@firstlibrary.org : See what data we have about you, if any. Change/correct any data we have about you. Have us delete any data we have about you. Express any concern you have about our use of your data. Security We take precautions to protect your information. When you submit sensitive information via the website, your information is protected both online and offline. Wherever we collect sensitive information (such as credit card data), that information is encrypted and transmitted to us in a secure way. You can verify this by looking for a lock icon in the address bar and looking for "https" at the beginning of the address of the Web page. While we use encryption to protect sensitive information transmitted online, we also protect your information offline. Only employees who need the information to perform a specific job (for example, billing or customer service) are granted access to personally identifiable information. The computers/servers in which we store personally identifiable information are kept in a secure environment. If you feel that we are not abiding by this privacy policy, you should contact us immediately via telephone at 973-610-2490 or via email at firstlibrary@firstlibrary.org .

Wee Give Box | Tax Receipt

First - being before all others with respect to time, order, rank, importance. Li·brar·y - a collection of any materials for study and enjoyment. First Library® Definition First [furst] - adjective - being before all others with respect to time, order, rank, importance. Li·brar·y [lahy-brer-ee, -bruh-ree, -bree] noun, plural li·brar·ies - a collection of any materials for study and enjoyment. PROGRAM Mission V alidation Impact First Library® Book List First Library® Application Form First Library ® Registration Form First Library ® Shop © 2012 - 2022 First Librar y® By continuing on this website you are agreeing to our Privacy Policy . GIVE Become a Business Sponsor Create a Fundraising Page Give Financially Sponsor a Child Turn Off and Turn On Volunteer First Library® 4 Old Turnpike Road Morristown, NJ 07960 Suite 1 firstlibrary.org@gmail.com 973-610-8833 CONNECT Contact Us Join Our Mailing List Make a Referral to First Library® Board of Trustees Guest Book & Blog Become a Local Community Representative Local Community Representative Free Book Gifting Chapters First Library® is a 501(c)(3) charity. 46-2001321 All rights reserved. First Library is a registered trademark symbol of First Library, A New Jersey Nonprofit Corporation

Make a Referral to First Library® First Library's mission is to compliment existing Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Programs ( mchb.hrsa.gov ) and other social welfare programs by offering expectant and new single first time mothers in need, educational toys, supplies, children’s clothing, and gifts from local businesses and professionals AND educational support while promoting daily reading and monthly library patronage. If you have a patient or client who is pregnant with their first child or is a first time mother with a child under one year old and is interested in the First Library program, please fill out the program information request form to the right for program details and an official referral form. Qualified primary care providers and service organizations will receive a detailed program description and referral form(s). We also accept referrals from the following agencies: Nurse-Family Partnership, NJ. Healthy Families, NJ. Mothering Mothers, NJ. Parents as Teachers, NJ. Healthy Start, NJ. Prevent Child Abuse NJ. Local Doula Providers, NJ. Program description and referral forms can also be obtained by calling 973-610-8833 or by email at firstlibrary@firstlibrary.org . REQUIREMENTS It is the mother's first child. The mother is single. The mother is more than 36 weeks pregnant or has a child under one year old. The mother is able to commit to the program for three years. The mother is planning to/enrolled in an another reading program (optional). The mother is currently enrolled in Medicaid, Food Stamps/SNAP, TANF, WIC or has extreme financial need. The mother is enrolled in a participating service organization program. Name* Company Email Address* Company Name* Company Phone* Company Zip* Mother's Name* Message SUBMIT Children from middle-income homes have on average 13 books per child. In low-income neighborhoods, there is only one book for every 300 children. Reach Out and Read, Reading Across the Nation: A Chartbook, 2007. Ten Things Every Child Needs “ Catherine, Thank you so much for my twin daughters newly donated ride on toys! They were thrilled to receive them today, and were so happy to each have their own. I as a mother thank you, for I really enjoyed their giggles as they played. Much thanks! Danielle ”

First Library® Free diapers and books with daily reading, monthly library visits while enjoying free reading related activities. Apply for First Library

First Library Parent Pledge First Library’s vision is to give every first born child a foundation for a love of reading and library patronage by actively involving their mothers in the process. Mothers are asked to read to their child daily and are required to visit their local library monthly. A yearly parent pledge is required for participation in the First Library program. Mothers are also asked to complete quarterly reading surveys and biannual questionnaires. New Mothers First Born Child Reading Aloud Daily New Educational Toys Library Visits Library Activities Parents who read to their child while asking minimal questions during reading, and pausing infrequently, had children who did not talk very much. On the other hand, parents who paused frequently during the story had children who asked more questions, talked more, and engaged in conversation. Home-School Study, DeTemple (2001) http://thenounproject.com The Noun Project Icon Template Reminders Strokes Try to keep strokes at 4px Minimum stroke weight is 2px For thicker strokes use even numbers: 6px, 8px etc. Remember to expand strokes before saving as an SVG Size Cannot be wider or taller than 100px (artboard size) Scale your icon to fill as much of the artboard as possible Ungroup If your design has more than one shape, make sure to ungroup Save as Save as .SVG and make sure “Use Artboards” is checked 100px .SVG First Library Pledge Year One Thank you for registering for the First Library program. Please fill out and submit First Library's Parent Pledge for admission into our program. Thank you. PARENT PLEDGE - FIRST YEAR Reading aloud is the single most important activity for building the knowledge required for eventual success in reading. Reach Out and Read, Archives of Disease in Childhood, Reading Aloud to Children: The Evidence, 2008. First Library Pledge Year Two Thank you for your child's participation in the First Library program. Please fill out and submit First Library's Parent Pledge for continued participation in our program. Thank you. PARENT PLEDGE - SECOND YEAR “ Wonderfully helpful and generous people and a great aim to make a practical difference. Sam K. ” By the age of 2, children who are read to regularly display greater language comprehension, larger vocabularies, and higher cognitive skills than their peers. Raikes, H., Pan, B.A., Luze, G.J., Tamis-LeMonda, C.S.,Brooks-Gunn, J., Constantine, J., Tarullo, L.B., Raikes, H.A., Rodriguez, E. (2006).h Out and Read, Archives of Disease in Childhood, Reading Aloud to Children: The Evidence, 2008. First Library Pledge Year Three Thank you for your child's participation in the First Library program. Please fill out and submit First Library's Parent Pledge for continued participation in our program. Thank you. PARENT PLEDGE - THIRD YEAR http://thenounproject.com The Noun Project Icon Template Reminders Strokes Try to keep strokes at 4px Minimum stroke weight is 2px For thicker strokes use even numbers: 6px, 8px etc. Remember to expand strokes before saving as an SVG Size Cannot be wider or taller than 100px (artboard size) Scale your icon to fill as much of the artboard as possible Ungroup If your design has more than one shape, make sure to ungroup Save as Save as .SVG and make sure “Use Artboards” is checked 100px .SVG

First Library Fundraising Materials

Good Books for a Good Night’s Sleep First Name and Last Initial * Leave a Note, if you'd like. We'll include it with your gift! SUBMIT ORDER TWO COPIES OF YOUR CHILD'S FAVORITE BOOK AND SEND THE SECOND COPY FOR A CHILD IN NEED. 61% of children from low income neighborhoods have no age appropriate books in their homes. HELP BRING BOOKS PLUS A GOOD NIGHT'S SLEEP INTO THEIR LIFE! All donations are 100% tax deductible. Fill in your first name & last initial and it will be included with the gift. GIVE THE LOVE OF READING TO CHILDREN IN YOUR COMMUNITY Give your child’s favorite bedtime book to a child in need today!

Patner with Us

2017 Book List (2 points)

Click Here to Add a Title First Library reserves the right to offer all clothing donations to its First Library Plus first time mothers in need program participants free of charge.