Okay, that may not be a fair statement to those librarians from our childhood but…. We’ve changed BIG TIME. Gone are the days where the older librarian women with orthopedic shoes grouched at you for laughing at the ending of a story or for pulling out a book you wanted to look at closer. Now it’s the new age librarians with tattoos and piercings and loud nerdy book lovers who sing Baby Shark while on the reference desk. At our library, we don’t bat an eye at tantrums or crying babies (within reason of course) because those are our next generation of Library patrons. We are breaking stereotypes left and right in the library world.
If you are new to the world of children’s services or wanted a new take on a classic job then we have added some tips that those “old school librarians” may not have followed. These tips have helped our library go from storytime numbers from the low teens to maxing out our space where we’ve had to turn away droves of families (and we have two storytimes back-to-back).
Also, please know that we are making more fun of the stereotypes than anyone imparticular. My school librarian from the 80s and 90s was amazing, more on her later. Here are the 10 tips we suggest for a new take on storytimes:
Never underestimate the loudness Loudness comes with the territory. The more children the louder it becomes. During storytime for toddlers and family, you’re going to get loud. The key is to be extra loud and exuberant. Become someone they want to look at, to laugh at. I love to let them scream. Think of me as the crazy aunt that will do the opposite of whatever you ask. Just make sure it's okay with your boss to make the adult patrons reading their Newsweek mad.
Crack some jokes Yeah, make some “Dad jokes”. Become like those kid movies who have jokes that go over their heads but the parents will get. I’m talking those jokes. The people who bring the children need to be entertained or they won’t bring their kids anymore. Make fun of yourself and be sarcastic.
Make mistakes Whether on accident or on purpose, embrace the mistakes. I love to make mistakes counting or when asking what sound an animal makes. I love to argue with the kids about my mistake, “How did you know that 5 comes after 4 and not 10?”, “WOW! This is why you must always read. Ms. Ashley didn’t read as a kid and now I think a cow says ‘oink’ and not ‘moo.’” My other favorite is to start reading the book upside down or backward. The more they laugh the more their attention will remain.
Skimp on the books
Yeah, you heard me. Stop reading so many books, especially long ones. Young children really can’t sit through them anymore. The world is fast-paced and instant rewarding so they will naturally start to get antsy. Usually, I read about two books a storytime for family storytimes (geared towards toddlers). Between the books I make them get up and move.
More songs, please Yep, more songs. Lots of them. I have three songs before I even read the first story. The first one is to grab their attention, the second is to get their listening bodies ready, and the third is “Open, Shut Them” to bring their hands together. In between stories I play a song with a felt and some action songs like ‘Singing in the Rain”. They love to dance and sing. It keeps them moving so when it’s time for a book they are prepared to actually sit because they know another song is coming.
Add toys
Toys instead of books? Are you kidding me? No. No, I am not. We offer a 20 to 30-minute storytime and then 20 to 25 minutes of playtime afterward. This helps the parents sit and have conversations with other parents and a safe place for their children to play. We added age-appropriate toys and even practicing sharing and cleaning up after ourselves. We rarely have an issue with our toys. The only downside for some libraries who are a one-person show (or few people) is we do invest our time into cleaning the toys. We have a soiled toy bucket we hand wash after every use and then a deep clean of all our toys before our season begins.
Don't sit down
For preschool storytimes, we sit on chairs as it mirrors what is expected of children in school. However, during family and toddler storytime we are so packed in the room that it helps if we stand and move around. During this storytime, you can see me sitting on the table and walking around the room so everyone can see the books I am reading. Obviously, some storytimes this isn’t possible or there is a handful of children. For this, I would have them all touch the book at least once.
Interaction is personable This goes without saying, obviously, but what do we mean by it? I love to talk with my kiddos and listen to their stories or their ideas on how the books I'm reading will progress. A cute baby squeals? I answer them as if they were a preschooler. During a dance number, I walk around the room and get on the children's level. Interaction is more than just reading and teaching. None of these children will remember every detail of each storytime. They will remember the feelings associated with a song or with a book their children pick up at the Library decades from now.
Make it about the adult
Well, the adults do bring the children into storytime. We try and make it fun and relaxing for the adults as well. We make sure the children have a safe place to wait (we're lucky to have a garden for this), that tantrums are normal (see below), and it's worth their time by reading stories, singing songs, toys, bubbles, crafts, etc. If the adults are willing to bring their little ones in then we are willing to make it an easy and fun experience for the adults.
Acknowledge the meltdowns
Yep, meltdowns happen and there isn't anything anyone can do about it. Maybe recognize a bad day or naptime, yeah, that's about it. During storytime, if a child screams out or does something that may make the adult embarrassed or uncomfortable I try and turn it into part of the plan. Usually when an upset child cries or screams I say something along the lines of, "Hey, I'm not that bad", "Right? Who does that?", "Don't worry, there is another story coming up next". Anything to get a laugh at the people in the room as well as showing the adult that the behavior of the child does not bother me. Now, of course, this doesn't mean consistent behavior issues where it ruins the rest of storytime. This we will save for another blog post.
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There may have been many children's librarians in the 80s who paved the way for this type of storytelling to exist and those ladies (and gents) are rockstars. What was the personality of your librarian growing up? Mine was actually the mom of two firefighters in town and she always used to shout, "Oh No! What did you die from this time?" when one of us would scream out the horror that was Oregon Trail. Then laughing she'd go back to stamping those checkout cards in the back of the library books. Gosh Ms. Tiss, I sure do miss you.
What other cool things do you do as a children's librarian or what have you see them do that made you stop and think just how lucky you are?
Let us know in the comments below!
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