Storytimes are perhaps the most beloved component of library services to families with young children. As a result, finding fun and effective ways to support the librarians who provide these engaging services is crucial. These beliefs provided the foundation for our development of Salt Lake County Library Systems’ full day training called the Storytime Summit, held in August of 2017. Our attendees included youth services librarians, library branch managers and members of our administration and library board.
The Storytime Summit began with a fun activity designed to give everyone a chance to say hello and reconnect. We welcomed staff by sharing our central objective, which was to provide support for the creation, development and implementation of engaging early learning programming at each of our library branches. We also reviewed Every Child Ready to Read practices, as they provide the scaffold for all of the programming for our youngest customers and their grown-ups. Our sessions included:
- Baby Brain Builders: a brief overview of development in the 0-18-month stages, best practices for Baby Storytime success and tips for engaging and supporting grown-ups.
- Book Talking for Little Ones: suggestions for finding the perfect dinosaur, potty training or bug book for families and caregivers.
- Play and Movement: terrific information for open play programming to engage kiddos of all skills and abilities and movement programs that get grown-ups moving too.
- Toddler Tips and Tricks: strategies for keeping active bodies and minds engaged and participating in group fun designed especially for rapidly changing developmental needs.
- Music Magic: songs and music for welcoming, wiggling, transitioning and channeling our inner Beyonce.
- Preschool Pointers: help with developing and sharing early learning talking points that reflect the developmental needs of the 3-5 crowd and picking the perfect Storytime book.
We finished up with a heartfelt thank-you to our youth services team for their commitment to helping families grow. Evaluations were overwhelmingly positive and included pleas for more, along with suggestions for new topics and ideas to explore. We can’t wait for our next Storytime Summit!
This post addresses the following ALSC Core Competencies: III. Programming Skills, VII. Professionalism and Professional Development.