The Importance of Outreach for Libraries

At the Fayetteville Free Library (FFL) we push beyond our library’s walls to reach our community through outreach. Outreach is simply defined as “the extending of services or assistance beyond current or usual limits,” and can take all different forms (Merriam Webster). From visits to senior living communities to staffing a library booth at local events, we try hard to be visible and active in our community, meeting people where they are. In fact, many of these activities are regularly scheduled on an annual calendar. One particularly strong example is the relationship we have developed with area preschools.

A few years ago our community underwent a dramatic change as our library’s school district shifted from half-day to full day kindergarten. This had wide and far reaching consequences for our early literacy program. Suddenly, our preschool storytimes were empty; programs that used to draw crowds of preschoolers were suddenly down to just a few attendees. We realized that the school district’s shift had propelled more parents to enroll their 4 and 5 year olds in half day preschools, in order to prepare them for the full days of kindergarten ahead. As a result, many of our patrons were no longer available to attend morning storytime programs.

When things change, you have to re-assess what you are doing and adapt. We tried a number of options including rebranding and promoting the programs, changing the times to afternoon, and offering them on weekends. Some of these options worked well and others just didn’t pan out. Our plain old preschool storytime, for example, never recovered. So we stopped doing it. That’s right, we no longer offer a traditional preschool storytime program, because people stopped coming to it. This was a difficult decision to make, as I felt that preschool storytime was an essential service, but continuous assessment of the program demonstrated that it was no longer meeting a community need. Instead we got creative, offering unique twists on traditional storytimes like offer signing storytime and yoga storytime for preschoolers, both of which draw crowds.

We also decided to dedicate a good chunk of our time to going out and meeting the rest of the preschoolers were they are: in school. Every other month I visit approximately 9 preschools and read to over 300 children. You may be thinking “wow, that’s a lot of time outside the library”, and it is, but our efforts are worth it. In every outreach visit I am building a stronger relationship with the children, the teachers, and administrators. These bi-monthly outreach visits also afford us the opportunity to send letters and flyers home to families, reaching audience who might not be utilizing the library and reminding them of what we have to offer. One day, I was sitting at my desk and a woman approached me asking, “Are you Miss Stephanie?” When I confirmed, she told me that her daughter had come home from preschool, talking all about my visit and how she wanted to come to the Fayetteville Free Library (FFL) to see the books and toys and spaced I had described. I have seen them in the library almost every week since then. This is just one example, of how powerful these visits can be.

I wanted to share the outreach we do at our library, because we feel it is an integral part of the programs and services we provide to families, regardless of the fact that it takes place outside the library’s walls. Are you doing outreach to the community? I’d love to hear your success stories in the comments.

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Our guest blogger today is Stephanie C. Prato. Stephanie is the Director of Play to Learn Services at the Fayetteville Free Library (FFL), NY. With experience in youth services, community outreach, leadership, instruction, and technology, she has developed innovative programs for babies, toddlers, preschoolers, and school-aged children. She is an active member of the American Library Association and serves as a member of the Early Childhood Programs and Services Committee of ALSC. If you have any questions, email her atsprato@fflib.org.

Please note as a guest post, the views expressed here do not represent the official position of ALA or ALSC.

If you’d like to write a guest post for the ALSC Blog, please contact Mary Voors, ALSC Blog manager, at alscblog@gmail.com.