Storytime Affirmation

Today's post comes from Kimberly Niesing, youth services consultant at the Monarch Library System.

Today, I am sharing an article to cheer on all storytime providers. I do not know where each library is at in their storytime offerings. I have been holding onto this article until it seemed like the appropriate time to share. It still might not be the right time for everyone—I respect everyone who is currently not offering storytime or is hosting storytime virtually because your library is short-staffed or because you have decided safety is priority and now is not the time to meet in person; those of you can hold onto this article until the time you do need it. 

But for someone, this article might be just the affirmation you need. Maybe your storytime attendance is down and you question the value of what you are offering. Maybe you feel emotionally depleted, and you have a hard time mustering up an enthused "storytime face" each week. Maybe you need to convince your library director or library board your time planning storytimes is vital time-spent even if only two families show up.

Okay, enough preambulatory musings—if you host storytimes or supervise someone who does, I encourage you to read this article, "An Ode to Library Story Time" by Amanda Nelson.

And no, you may not look into your storytime audience and see the face of someone who is like the mother in this article, but I challenge you to choose to believe there is someone in your storytime audience who needs your storytime more than you know. And if you don't have that person attending your storytimes yet, keep spreading the word in your community about storytimes so you can find that person.