A child selecting a book from the RIF cart



Storytime with Sherif Fraser, Community Board 17 District Manager

What is RIF?

Reading is Fundamental (RIF) is a federally-funded national program that prepares and motivates children to read by delivering free books and literacy resources to children and families who need them most.

At Brooklyn Public Library (BPL), RIF consists of a weekly RIF Program in the Central Youth Wing and in each of its 58 neighborhood libraries. Each year, over 120,000 free RIF books are chosen by babies, children and teens throughout Brooklyn to start their own home library.

For more information about RIF, you can visit their official website.

How does RIF work?

If you are between the ages of 0 and 18 and you have a library card, then you are eligible to join RIF. When you register for RIF, you will receive a free book. Whenever a library is offering a RIF program, stop by the RIF desk with your library card and two library books you are about to borrow or return. After reading and returning six books, you can choose a free gift RIF book.

For more information about how RIF works, read our Frequently Asked Questions.