In common with many other people, librarians have been too prompt to assume that availability of books and materials will necessarily lead to their utilization. What has happened in all too many American communities is that libraries are intensively used by only a small portion of the population, while the vast majority are untouched by the library's service and its genuinely useful social and educational function. How librarians are committing themselves to reverse this trend is the subject of this brochure. Elementary and secondary school libraries, academic libraries, and community public libraries have all affirmed the goals of the Right To Read program, a national endeavor to eradicate illiteracy and functional illiteracy in the United States. Described here are the ways in which Federal funds have been used to sponsor local library activities in support of these goals. Such activities include tutorial sessions in inner-city libraries, reading-readiness programs in day-care centers and nursery schools, remedial reading exercises for out-of-school adults with difficulties in reading and writing, and bilingual collections and services for those who are literate in a language other than English. Taken together, they represent the library's new contribution to opening the once-closed covers of books for thousands of Americans. (Author)