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St. Mary's County Library

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500 by Five
Help your child read 500 books by age five! Reading with your child helps to get them ready for school, increase vocabulary and speech skills, improve logical thinking, and encourage a love of learning. 500 books is just:

  • One book per day for two years
  • Weekly library storytime from birth to age five
  • Two bedtime books each night for one year
500 by five with an open book
little girl reading a book in a blue chair

Sign Up Today!

Track your child’s progress online, on the app, or ask at your Library for a 500 by Five booklet.

Use Beanstack to Register and Log your Books

  • Download ‘Beanstack Tracker’ from your device’s app store, or visit https://stmalib.beanstack.org. If you’re using the Beanstack app, search for St. Mary’s County Library.
  • If you have used Beanstack for summer reading or another library program, enter your username/email and password. If you do not already have an account, you’ll need to create one.
    • After entering your information to create the account, complete the reader profile. If you are an adult registering a child, enter your information first (you can participate in our winter and summer reading programs!)
    • If you’d like to sign up one or more additional readers, select “Add Another Reader” and enter your child’s information
      • For children not yet in school, select ‘None (or prefer not to say)’
  • To log books you have read:
    • In the Beanstack App:
      • Tap the plus sign in the menu at the bottom of the screen and select Reading
      • Choose the reader or readers
      • Search for the title, author, or ISBN, or scan the barcode, or select Log Without a Title
        • If searching for title, author, or ISBN, select the correct book, then make sure “Track Progress” is deselected. Select “Save,” then “Quick Complete.”
        • If scanning the barcode, make sure to scan the barcode on the back of the book, NOT a Library barcode!. When the book comes up, make sure “Track Progress” is deselected. Select “Save,” then “Quick Complete.”
        • If logging without title, you only need to input the number of books you’d like to log in “How many books did you complete?”. Leave the other fields blank.
  • To log books you have read:
    • On the Beanstack website:
      • Make sure you are logging for the correct reader (the name is in the top right)
      • Click “Log Reading” in the upper left
      • Select “Log Books,” then select the date. You can log one back and include the title and author, or log multiple books at once without recording the title/author.


Visit the library after each 100 books to earn a small prize. Visit after 500 books to earn a free book to keep and a special crown!

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St. Mary's County Library

Monday – Thursday: 9 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Friday – Saturday: 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Sunday: 1 – 5 p.m. (Lexington Park Library only)

 

Friends of the St. Mary’s County Library

St. Mary’s County Library Foundation

Locations

Charlotte Hall Library
37600 New Market Rd., Charlotte Hall, MD
301-884-2211

Leonardtown Library
23630 Hayden Farm Lane, Leonardtown, MD
301-475-2846

Lexington Park Library
21677 FDR Blvd., Lexington Park, MD
301-863-8188

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