The Family Library at Kuhio Park Terrace is bustling.

Perched on a comfortable sofa, mom Gloria Liwis, who relocated here from the island nation of Chuuk in Micronesia, rocks forward to catch the eye of her first-grader. She's a regular, learning English as a second language; later, she'll check out a literacy kit that includes a children's book, flash cards and activities.

Her youngest son, Rich Hallers, 6, is a regular, too. He comes to listen to stories and play games specifically created to improve the reading ability of students in the low-income housing area.

Tamara Martinez, head librarian (or, if we're being official, program manager for the Family Literacy Program), is happy to see that reading here is a family affair.

With so many recent immigrants from Micronesia and elsewhere, Parents and Children Together (PACT) programs and a host of other providers are seeking to create a whole-family approach to needs such as literacy.

There are other needs, as well, admits Martinez, whose program is funded by Hawai'i Literacy but also is affiliated with PACT's Family Center. But for her, love of the written word is key.

"We want to center everything around literature, around books," says Martinez, "so they want to grab the next book. This crowd lately has been very good. They're checking out (the maximum number of) books and returning them, getting more."

If they can be inspired by a love of reading, well — perhaps that inspires them to greater achievements, as well.

Martinez makes sure reading is fun. Besides sharing aloud in an animated voice the story of Mike Dumbleton's "Dial-a-Clock," she and volunteers at the Family Library find other ways to occupy the hordes of keiki who make a beeline to the library on their way home from one of the neighboring schools. For Earth Day, they went out to explore the creepy crawlies in the ground outside the library. The day they read the Caldecott Honor Book, "Inch By Inch," there were a stack of real inchworms to poke at.

Of course, there's snack- and story-time on a regular basis. Other activities, such as board games, also reinforce language. If kids have homework to do, the volunteers make sure they cross that off their list before the fun starts.

The library used to be a cramped room in the PACT Resource Center. In just the past few months, it's moved to a compact brick building just 'ewa of the tall towers and across the street from Linapuni Elementary School. There's a main room for activities, a little kitchen, a library and bathroom. Hallway cupboards hold books and more books, all donated. The brick building is shared with a community Weed and Seed program, so one tiny room in the back doubles as storage. Inside that room last week were hala strips set aside for an upcoming adult weaving project.

In the new location, participation has burgeoned. But so has the need.

Martinez has a wish list: air conditioning, especially for the rooms with books — "in the summer, it's horrible" — laptop computers for ESL classes, little things like a motion-sensor light. And, of course, books.

They're also on the lookout for volunteers to help with the kids, since the move brought out a slew of new keiki. This day, a busload of Kamehameha students who belong to a book club are doing community service by helping catalog books, reading with kids and restocking shelves.

These are good problems to have, of course.

"We really need more bookshelves!" adds Martinez.