In an effort to understand the big picture of literacy, including best practices for other communities dealing with the issue, the Schenectady County Public Library embarked on a series of Community Conversations throughout 2016-17. Using funding from a grant from the Schenectady Foundation and with the assistance of grant consultants Scot Felderman and Rosalind Kotz, the library invited specialists from Rochester, Buffalo, and New York City to speak to invited educators, literacy advocates and other local stakeholders about successful programs in those cities. The information shared and discussed was interesting and informative. It created a momentum of intent to take some small action steps in our own community. STARS - Schenectady Takes Action for Reading Success - is the coalition of organizations who are committed to the support of early literacy, family literacy, and community literacy and who are taking action. STARS meets regularly to support collaborative efforts, both big and small, to advance and promote the value of early literacy in Schenectady.