A Story-time for Every Child

By Erica Rose –Head of Outreach

Story-time is a long-standing tradition in public libraries. For many families, bundling up children and making the trek to the library to listen to the sing-song of the librarian as she reads a wonderful story is a beloved tradition. No one who has sat with a child upon their lap, and watched the child’s delight and captivation by books and rhyme, can refute that these are cherished moments.

Though the laughter and pleasure it brings to a child are more than enough to prove the worth of story-time, there is so much more that is happening during this simple event. When a librarian conducts a story-time, she is introducing new vocabulary, stimulating imaginations, and subtly demonstrating the beauty of the cadence and rhythm of language. These are the things that form a firm foundation upon which children will build their literacy skills. Beyond the meaningful bonding that takes place between care-giver and child, story-time is often a staging ground for a child’s future success in reading.

I have yet to converse with someone who thinks story-time is a bad idea. But the hustle and bustle of every day activities often makes it difficult, if not impossible, for parents and caregivers to get to the library. As information professionals, we find it troubling to think about all the children who would never be exposed to the benefits of story-time because logistics keep them from our doors. After serious discussion, we have realized that the solution is very simple –we have to take story-time to those children who can’t make it to us.

Dynamic thinking is what has caused us to move beyond our library walls and carry our services and books where and when our patrons need them. So if you are looking for an Outreach librarian at 10:00 on a weekday morning, you probably won’t find one at the library. There is a good chance that we are singing, clapping, and reading our favorite stories with children at one of the daycares in our community. We know that chances are slim that those children will get to attend our library story-times, which is why we bring library story-times to them.

These story-times are carefully planned to compliment the curriculum that the daycares offer. They are also designed to expose children to the foundational principles of early literacy. Depending on the facility, we visit local daycares on a weekly or bi-weekly schedule, often in conjunction with our regular Bookmobile stop. During the summer, we will also incorporate our Summer Reading Program into these visits, allowing the children to sign-up and receive prizes according to their weekly reading amount.

Our work in the daycares has proven to be a meaningful and important service. Each month we see over 150 children in our daycare story-times and we have received extensive positive feedback from the providers and center administrators. Currently, we provide story-times at Kindercare, Kids’ Haven, Windmill, and Jungle Cubs. Our goal is to continue to reach as many children as possible because we believe that every child deserves a story-time.

Reprinted with permission, Windsor Beacon.