Kaliamme Ponnan knows how busy the life of a single parent with classes and a job can be.

So do her three daughters.

Ponnan, a literacy graduate student, said when her workload became like it did during finals week - too heavy for fun and games - she was ecstatic to see her youngest daughter amused by the latest program through the East Lansing Public Library - the Storyline.

“Some parents get so caught up in their own things they forget to read to their children,” Ponnan said. “When I saw her doing it, I thought ‘This is something all parents should know about.’ It’s a wonderful idea.”

The Storyline is a hotline through the city library that people can call to hear a story for free any time, day or night. A new story is recorded by volunteers each week to keep interest high.

Ponnan’s seven-year-old daughter, Preetha Palasuberniam, said she listens to the Storyline almost every week. Although she is learning to read on her own right now, she still enjoys hearing stories, even when her mother and sisters are too busy.

“Sometimes it’s funny,” Palasuberniam said. “It has fun poems, and it rhymes and stuff. I kind of like reading.”

Although the city library has no known way to track the number of callers, the response has been positive since its opening in December.

Children’s librarian Julie Pierce receives several calls each day looking for the phone number.

Pierce said the city library tries to reach the community through many types of programs both in and outside the city library. As brain-child of several librarians who had heard about similar programs in other communities, the Storyline was a way for the city library to use technology to reach out.

“We got a new phone system last year, and one of the options was to have various kinds of hotlines,” Pierce said. “And of course, since we’re librarians, we naturally thought of stories.”

Overall, Pierce said children’s programs at the city library are incredibly popular, particularly for parents who don’t have much money to entertain with.

“We just had story time sign-up and we were mobbed,” Pierce said. “Nobody could get through on the phones and they were standing in lines at the children’s desk. All of the sessions filled up in two hours.”

Community members help bring the Storyline alive by reading a new story each week. Most of the stories are read by senior citizens who volunteer at the city library. While some of the stories come straight from books on the shelf, others come straight from the mouths of grandparents.

“The first person who did it just told the story like she’d told her children,” Pierce said. “The stories can be anything the individual has.”

Most of the stories cater to children from ages three to 10. During some weeks, the recording features short poems or riddles to keep the program fresh. Each recording can be up to 11 minutes long, which is more than enough time to keep little kids amused.

“We like to try changing the story to longer or shorter for variation,” Pierce said. “We do have a time span of about 11 minutes, and with all the video games, TV and commercials they’re used to, that’s a long time.”

Those interested in the Storyline can dial 319-6915 . A different story is available each week.