Bringing the Library to Families: Supporting Early Literacy at ZSFG
As a toddler newly arrived in the United States, Yasamin Vafai, MD, MS, learned English through picture books. Her mother would fill her stroller with books from the local library, sparking a lifelong love of reading and a conviction that every child deserves the same start.
Now a pediatric resident at UCSF and in the PLUS: Pediatric Leaders Advancing Health Equity program, Vafai is working to give the families she serves a strong reading foundation by bringing the San Francisco Public Library directly to the hospital where they receive care.
Why Literacy Is a Health Issue
Children who enter kindergarten with lower reading ability often struggle to catch up — nearly three-quarters who test in the bottom 20% on readiness exams remain there by fifth grade. In San Francisco, where the school district is overhauling early literacy instruction, reaching children early has become a citywide priority.
“Reading regularly with young children stimulates optimal patterns of brain development and strengthens parent-child relationships at a critical time in child development,” Vafai says. “These early relational interactions build language, literacy, and social-emotional skills that last a lifetime.”
The American Academy of Pediatrics considers promoting early literacy an essential component of pediatric primary care, including helping families connect with local public libraries. Yet little is known about how to make those connections meaningful within a clinical setting.
A Library on Wheels, Right on Campus
This summer, the San Francisco Public Library Bookmobile is parking at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital every Friday from 3:00 to 4:30 p.m. through July 31.
Inside, families and staff find a full mobile library — shelves stocked with picture books, chapter books, and graphic novels for children of all ages, including in multiple languages. Families can borrow books and sign up for a free library card on the spot, and talk with library staff about their programs and resources.
“Every family deserves access to the community resources that help children thrive,” Vafai says. “Libraries are more than places to borrow books — they are trusted, welcoming spaces for learning, connection, curiosity, and belonging.”
Connecting Families to the Library
The Bookmobile is the latest step in a broader effort by UCSF pediatricians to connect families with literacy resources at the Children’s Health Center (CHC) at ZSFG, a safety-net clinic serving low-income families across San Francisco.
The initiative builds on years of work led by Neeti Doshi, MD, MPH, to support families in building early relational connections at home, including expanding access to culturally and linguistically inclusive books through the clinic. Vafai noticed that families were using the books but were often not connected to their local library branch or aware of the library’s resources.
“Access to the library is a high-yield, low-cost tool for promoting early literacy and connecting patients to a valuable community resource,” says Vafai. Drawing on skills she developed through the PLUS program – which trains pediatric residents to identify barriers to health and build effective community partnerships – Vafai formed a partnership with the San Francisco Public Library.
The effort began by creating a process that allows families to sign up for and receive library cards during routine clinic visits. Now, families can leave an appointment with a new library card and a book from the Bookmobile. Through a RISE (Resident-Led Physicians for Inclusion, Social Justice, and Equity) grant from the UCSF Department of Pediatrics, Vafai is studying how families experience the enrollment process to build an evidence base for the model.
By connecting families to libraries through a setting they already know and trust, Vafai hopes to help families build the strong language foundation that supports learning for years to come.
