Cartoon illustration of two parents reading a book to their baby in the NICU.

READING IN THE NICU

by Alia Orra

At the ProMedica Russell J. Ebeid Children’s Hospital, 72 beds await babies born with challenges that make it too difficult to survive outside the womb unassisted. The Library’s Ready to Read program gives these children and their families a precious avenue for bonding and growth. The beeps are a steady soundtrack. Continue Reading

Two women sit outside in lawn chairs, reading books, wearing sunglasses, and drinking wine.

ROMANCE AND THE RISE OF THE UNAPOLOGETIC READERS

by Allison Fiscus and Abby Byers

View of Main Library's Computers Media lab.

TOLEDO LUCAS COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY AND NARROWING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE

by Stephanie Elton

Graphic for the Strategic Roadmap for TLCPL from 2021-2026.
Cartoon illustration of two parents reading a book to their baby in the NICU.

READING IN THE NICU

by Alia Orra

At the ProMedica Russell J. Ebeid Children’s Hospital, 72 beds await babies born with challenges that make it too difficult to survive outside the womb unassisted. The Library’s Ready to Read program gives these children and their families a precious avenue for bonding and growth. The beeps are a steady soundtrack. The sounds of machinery supporting life have their own rhythm. In a newborn intensive care unit (NICU), these noises form a familiar backdrop for babies and their parents—a symphonic performance of sorts they had never hoped to hear but must now depend on day and night, as a matter of survival. Babies in the NICU are born prematurely, often needing oxygen support and unable to take a bottle, receiving food intravenously instead. They are born so small they often cannot be held for a certain amount of time after the delivery; other times they have complicating conditions that make it impossible to live outside a hospital in the early days of their life. Continue Reading

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