In 1997, the National Institute of Child Health Development, under the direction of Congress and the Secretary of Education, created the National Reading Panel to study scientifically based reading research. The Reading First initiative under President Bush's No Child Left Behind Act focused on five of the panel's research topics: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. In light of the significance of this legislation, this article summarizes the results of major scientific research in these five areas and provides implications for professional practice for library media programs and specialists. (Contains 3 online resources.)