The City of Statesboro and the Bulloch County Literacy Council debuted on Tuesday a new reading nook for children at City Hall.

The Bulloch County Literacy Council goal is to place reading nooks in businesses to boost access to books for children and help improve preschool and early-elementary literacy in Bulloch County, according to a release from Hayley Greene, public relations director for Bulloch County Schools.
The City Hall reading nook is one of three to open in businesses this school year. Bulloch Solutions and Franklin Chevrolet-Buick-GMC, two of the Literacy Council's Bulloch READ program sponsors, were the first businesses to establish reading nooks for children in their locations, Greene said.
“Reading nooks are a great way to give children easier access to books, encourage reading, and create a literacy-rich environment for children in our community,” she said in the release. “The cozy corners offer a place for kids to look at or read books, and families may take a book home from the businesses' reading nooks to help build their own home libraries and nooks.”
The Literacy Council is available to guide businesses in how to establish a reading nook, Greene said. Contact Crystal Simpkins, director of early learning and literacy at Bulloch County Schools, at (912) 212-8892 or by email at csimpkins@bullochschools.org.
The Bulloch County Literacy Council is made up of pre-school, secondary and post-secondary educators, representatives from local businesses, and literacy and civic organizations. The Council works to increase Kindergarten readiness for children and to support the improvement of literacy levels for all children in Kindergarten through fifth-grade.

Bulloch READ is the group’s primary project. READ stands for:
Reading: Encourage the creation of reading nooks.
Environment: Encourage a literacy-rich environment.
Access: Increase access to books and reading resources.
Development: Increase early brain development.