Caregivers

Parenting Collection and Resources

Do you have questions or concerns about your infant, child or teen? Lewis & Clark Library has a collection for parents and caregivers. You'll be able to find resources about child development, education and learning, fears and anxieties, family dynamics, and more. The Parenting Collection is located next to the Juvenile Audio collection at the Helena library. You can search for titles in the collection by using the search term "PARENT" in the catalog search.

If you have questions, concerns or requests to add specific titles to the Parenting Collection, please contact:

James Parrott, Collection Management Librarian, jparrott@lclibrary.org

Molly Hudson, Children Services Librarian, mhudson@lclibrary.org

Sherry Schlundt, Teen Services Librarian, sschlundt@lclibrary.org


The Montana Department of Health and Human Services (DPHHS) provides information and tools for parents of children at every age through Parenting Montana.


Common Sense Media in an independent, nonprofit organization whose mission is to ensure the digital well-being for kids everywhere. They offer age-based reviews of movies, TV shows, podcasts, books, and more so families can feel good about the entertainment choices they make for their kids.

Early Literacy Resources

Early Literacy refers to the building blocks that your child needs to learn before they can learn to read. You don't need fancy skills or tools to help your child though - just remember to Sing, Talk, Read, Write, and Play with your child!

Sing: Singing slows down language so that babies and young children can hear the smaller sounds in the word.

Talk: Talking in a way that encourages babies and young children to babble, talk, and respond will help them to understand what they later read. 

Read: Shared reading (interactive reading) is the single more important activity to help children get ready to read. 

Write: Reading and writing both represent spoken language, and pre-writing begins with fine and gross motor skills.

Play: Symbolic play (using one object to represent another), dramatic play (acting out and retelling stories), and role playing help children develop language, learn to express themselves, and to connect with their world. 

Help get your child Ready 2 Read with resources from the Montana State Library. 

Check out the weekly early literacy tips from the Ready 2 Read Texting program! You can sign up for FREE with a cell phone by texting "SIGNUP" to 406-204-3583 and you will receive three texts a week with ideas and suggestions on how to help your child develop early literacy skills. The tips are easy to do, and don't require any prep work.

Public Library Association Early Literacy Activities Calendar

Lewis & Clark Library purchases the rights to share the Public Library Association (PLA) Early Literacy Activities Calendar with the caregivers and families in our community. Each month provides skills-building activity suggestions, book lists, rhymes, and songs based on the Every Child Ready to Read® practices of early literacy. Stop in at your local library branch to pick up the monthly PLA Early Literacy Activities Calendar.