In these days of increased testing and continued failure of inner-city and poor rural schools to meet the grade, it is becoming more and more necessary to turn to the public library to help students reach the ever-increasing goals being set for them. It seems somewhat unfair to hold the schools solely responsible for continued failure when the simple fact is that too many students arrive at school too late. To overcome this obstacle, those in the know are turning to their public libraries to support early and continued literacy experiences above and beyond what is already being accomplished in schools. The public library, being the only free government-funded educational service available to children from birth through adolescence, remains an invaluable resource in the area of child literacy development. In this article, the author discusses the role public libraries can play as a child literacy development resource for educators and parents. (Contains 4 notes.)