I am privileged to coordinate a team of outreach staff who give over 120 storytimes each month in preschool and Head Start classrooms. We also visit babies and toddlers at private and in-home daycares to provide early literacy-based sessions for the kids and model new techniques for their caregivers.
While recently observing a storytime conducted by one of my team members, I was struck by the wrapt attention demonstrated by adults in the room. While my staff is ostensibly providing a single service for a primary audience – preschoolers and their caregivers – they also, though these interactions, stand as advocates for the resources available within our system. In my role, I encourage staff to interact with adults as much as possible and be well versed in their ability to communicate all of the offerings at our libraries – especially those that can empower parents. This advocacy has proven to be effective, as it encourages our citizens to be empathetic to the importance of the library in the lives of kids. This then garners greater possibility for their financial support or support via a vote.
Not only do my team members do this on a professional level, but it carries over to their interactions with people at the grocery store, at church, playing with their own kids at parks, and while socializing at parties. We are ambassadors of the library by spreading the joy of the opportunities available, for free, to all. Everyone in the library family is an advocate, even in their daily activities. That’s the kind of grassroots support that is effective. No matter where we go, we are wearing our library hats!
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Robyn Lupa, Coordinator, Kids & Families at the Jefferson County Public Library (Colorado) wrote this post for the Advocacy and Legislation Committee.