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The Book Bank is a unique resource that is neither a library nor a bookstore. Rather, all of our gently used books are free, and they may be kept and enjoyed for years to come. Each year we give out close to 100,000 books.

First-time visitors to the Book Bank will find hundreds of children’s and adult books sorted into categories and shelved in both our main front room and the larger back room. Visitors are limited to five children’s, board, or picture books per day (per child); there is no limit on other books.

Victoria is our Book Bank Director. Originally from Pennsylvania, Victoria moved to Connecticut in 2014 to attend the University of New Haven. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Community/Clinical Psychology, and hopes to pursue a master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Rehabilitation. Victoria joined New Haven Reads as an intern during her final semester at UNH, and joined the staff as the Book Bank Director after her internship. Her favorite book is The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger.

Jo-Ann is our Office Manager. Jo-Ann was born and raised in New Haven, CT. She has worked as a nurse’s aide for over 20 years and has two sons who are her world. Jo-Ann’s favorite book is Rhythms by Donna Hill.

Location: 45 Bristol Street, New Haven CT 06511
Phone: 203-752-1923

Hours:
Monday: 12pm-4pm
Tuesday: 1pm-7pm
Wednesday: 1pm-7pm
Thursday: 1pm-6pm
Friday: 12pm-6pm

Saturday: 10am-1pm

Posted in Blog, Book Bank, Featured, Home Page

THEY’RE BACK!
 
ATTENTION TEACHERS: 2022-23 IN-PERSON field trips are here! New Haven Reads offers field trips for Pre-K through 5th grade classes in the Greater New Haven area. Students will have an opportunity to choose 5 free books to take home and hear a story…or a few! Spread the word — we look forward to seeing you this school year!
To sign up click here, find the date you would like, and sign up through the link.
 
If you have any questions, you can check out our FAQ

Posted in Book Bank

Teachers, please join us for New Haven Reads’ Summer Teacher Open House on Saturday, May 21st from 11 AM to 3 PM. The Book Bank will be closed to the public so that you can browse to select free books for your students for summer reading.

Register Here

***Please note that you MUST RSVP to attend. We no longer have a time limit for teachers, but we will have a limited capacity due to COVID-19 restrictions, so we cannot allow anyone inside the building without a ticket.***

 

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Posted in Blog, Book Bank, Events, Home Page

We are ecstatic to have our Community Book Bank at 45 Bristol St. open five days a week! We recently spoke to our Book Bank Director Victoria about what procedures and safety measures were put into opening the doors to visitors and more volunteers. 

  1. What steps had to be taken to reopen 5 days a week?
    There were lots of things to consider, Vaccination rates, COVID Infection rates, etc. before we could even think about reopening our doors. We had to establish special rules for all of our visitors and volunteers to ensure that everyone can be in the building safely.
  2. What steps are being taken to keep staff and visitors safe?
    We are still cleaning the high touch surfaces several times a day. We have a limited schedule of volunteers to keep the number of people in the building down. We have a limit on the numbers of books people can take, as well as a limit on the number of people allowed in the building. Everyone in the building is required to wear a mask (when we are open to the public), regardless of vaccination status and to follow social distancing rules.. We ask anyone who is feeling unwell to stay home. Hand sanitizer is available around the entire building so anyone can clean their hands whenever necessary.

    New ventilation unit that was installed prior to opening.

  3. What did you miss most while the book bank was closed/open fewer days/hours?
    I missed all the volunteers of course. As busy as it can get, I did miss just having people in the building. It is always nice to see people browsing for books.
  4. What are you most excited about?
    I am most excited about being able to distribute books once again. We were doing so at a very limited capacity while we were closed, but I love knowing that we can resume distributing hundreds of books to our community each day
  5. Favorite book you like to recommend.
    I don’t have a favorite book at the moment, but I would highly recommend The Cellar by Natasha Preston. It’s a young adult book, but I absolutely loved it. It’s a fast paced thriller that you won’t be able to put down! All the twists and turns completely blindside you. 

We are SO excited to welcome you all back safely. We hope to see you at the book bank soon!

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Posted in Blog, Book Bank, Home Page

With the coronavirus numbers in Connecticut rising, we have decided to close our Community Book Bank for the safety of our staff, volunteers, and book bank visitors. We will be closed through the end of 2020 and will reopen in 2021. We will still be accepting contactless donations by appointment only! Please call (203)752-1923 or email books@test.newhavenreads.org to schedule an appointment. We hope you have a safe and wonderful rest of the year and look forward to seeing you in 2021!

Posted in Book Bank, Home Page

Book Distribution
There are two ways that you can help us!
 
Volunteer!
We need volunteers to collect books from our Book Bank and distribute the books at the meal distribution locations in New Haven. Training, masks, and gloves will be provided. Social distancing rules will apply and the books will be pre-packaged in bags. There will be no contact with families.To volunteer or find out more, please contact our Book Bank Team here.
 
Donate your gently used children’s books!
We will need over 5,000 books for this 8 week program and we will not have enough books to meet this demand in our current collection. If you have children’s books that you would like to donate, please contact our Book Bank and make an appointment to drop them off. We will store them for the appropriate amount of time before distributing them.Make an appointment for a no contact drop off here.
 
At this difficult time, it is important for families to have access to books and we are so happy to be working in collaboration with our partners and our community to make sure that books are getting into the hands of children who need them!Connect with us on our social media channels to keep up to date with the latest developments! Thank you for your support!

Posted in Blog, Book Bank

There will be no tutoring during NHR’s Summer Recess, Monday, August 12 through Monday, September 2.

During this time, the Book Bank will have the following modified hours:

  • Monday, August 12—Friday, August 16: OPEN 1-5 PM
  • Monday, August 19—Friday, August 23: CLOSED
  • Monday, August 26: OPEN 1-5 PM
  • Tuesday, August 27: CLOSED
  • Wednesday, August 28—Friday, August 30: OPEN 1-5 PM

Tutoring and regular Book Bank hours will resume on Tuesday, September 3.

Posted in Book Bank, Holidays and Recess

This year NHR reached a HUGE milestone: for the first time EVER, 600 students enrolled in the tutoring program! This week we’re celebrating our community’s accomplishments by taking a look back at some other highlights from the school year.

The Tutoring and Pre-K/Kindergarten Programs  

  • By March 2019, 608 students were attending 762 tutoring hours EACH WEEK.
  • All 608 students were supported by 454 amazing tutors.
  • Approximately 25% of students in the tutoring program took this year’s CORE test. Of those students, 72% improved at least one grade level (or more) in their independent reading level!
  • In addition, 46 more students participated in 10 Pre-K and Kindergarten classes.

A student works in her workbook.

A student concentrates on her workbook, hugging her “reading buddy” Pikachu.

The Book Bank and Field Trip Programs 

  • The Book Bank distributed 116,176 books to the greater New Haven community.
  • Of those books, 11,676 went to 2,013 students who visited us from 36 different schools through the field trips program.

A volunteer sorts books in the book bank.

A volunteer works behind the scenes in the Book Bank, sorting books.

Community Events  

In October 2018, the Board of Alders honored NHR with the Mentorship Award, given to individuals and organizations making an impact in New Haven.

NHR Executive Director Kirsten Levinsohn accepts recognition award from the Black and Hispanic Caucus of New Haven.

Executive Director Kirsten Levinsohn accepts the Mentorship Award from the Board of Alders’ Black and Hispanic Caucus.

In April 2019, the New Haven Alumnae chapter of Delta Sigma Theta sorority honored NHR with the 2019 Youth Development Community Award.  

NHR accepts Delta Sigma Theta's Youth Development Community Award.

Executive Director Kirsten Levinsohn poses with members of the local Delta Sigma Theta chapter after accepting the 2019 Youth Development Community Award.

Finally, in June NHR staff participated in the Freddy Fixer Parade for the 2nd year in a row. This year we created our very first float, and we gave out more than 1500 books!

A NHR staff member gives out free books at the parade.

Science Park Site Director Audra Clark gives out free books at the 2019 Freddy Fixer Parade. (Photo taken by the New Haven Independent.)

As we look ahead, we’re excited to continuing growing and serving even more students with the support of parents, volunteers, and other community members. 

Posted in Blog, Book Bank, Books, Events, Field Trips, Tutoring Program

New Haven Reads’ Summer Teacher Open House will be held on Saturday, June 8th from 3:30-6:30 PM and Sunday, June 9th from 11 AM-2 PM at the Book Bank (45 Bristol St).
We host this teachers-only event before the end of the school year so that you can select unlimited FREE books for your students’ summer reading! (Or your own…)
Note that you do not need to RSVP to attend, but doing so will expedite your check out process.
We hope to see you there!

SIGN UP TODAY!

 

Posted in Book Bank, Events

With the end of the school year approaching, we want to share some adorable thank you cards from the field trip program. Mrs. Reynold’s 2nd grade class at Quinnipiac STEM visited us at the end of March. Thanks to these wonderful students, and all of the classes who have visited us and made it such a great year!

field trip thank you card

Dear Ms. Victoria and Ms. Casey, [Thank you] for having us today. I really liked when you read us a story and when we got to pick books. I love you guys. From Shelenne

field trip thank you card

Dear Ms. Victoria and Ms. Casey, You are the best people I ever met. I love you guys reading to me and my friends and love all of the books. You guys are the best and I can’t wait when I go there again!

field trip thank you card

Thank you for letting me have 5 books to take because I liked picking 5 books from the book bank. I like to read books.

field trip thank you card

Books are the best! From: Tori

field trip thank you card

Ms. Victoria and Ms. Casey

field trip thank you card

Thank you for having us there and I love the 5 books. I can’t wait to read my 5 books at home. I like the 5 books. I am going to come here again because I love your books so much. Thank you for reading the colorful crayons to us. I love the colorful crayons book so much. From Kayci

field trip thank you card

Ms. Victoria and Ms. Casey

Field trip thank you card

Ms. Victoria and Ms. Casey! Books are so fun to read!!!!!!

field trip thank you card

Dear Ms. Victoria and Ms. Casey, I loved the 5 books you guys gave me, I hope I come back and get more books and donate some books so you have more books for kids. From Callie

field trip thank you card

Ms. Victoria and Ms. Casey

field trip thank you card

Dear Ms. Victoria and Ms. Casey, Thank you Ms. Casey for helping me find Percy Jackson books. And Ms. Victoria thank you for telling me where to find the different kinds of books. Thank you for inviting us. If you didn’t I would not have seen an amazing _____! Your friend Jonas

field trip thank you card

Dear Ms. Casey and Ms. Victoria, Thank you for all the 5 books and reading to us. My favorite book that you read was “The Secret Pizza Party.” We had pizza for lunch. Your friend Rashan

Posted in Blog, Book Bank, Field Trips

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