Bibliography

1. Davis, Robin Works. Toddle On Over: Developing Infant and Toddler Literature Programs. Fort Atkinson, WS: Alleyside Press, 1998.

2. DeSalvo, Nancy N. Beginning with Books: Library Programming for Infants, Toddlers and Preschoolers. Hamden, CT: Library Professional Publications, 1993.

3. Ernst, Linda L. Lapsit Programs for the Very Young II. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc., 2001.

4. Jeffery, Debby Ann. Literate Beginnings: Programs for Babies and Toddlers. London: New York: American Library Association, 1995.

5. Lerner, Fred. The Story of Libraries: From the Invention of Writing to the Computer Age. New York: Continuum International Publishing Group, Inc., 2009.

6. Marin, Jane. Babies in the Library. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2003.

7. Nichols, Judy. Storytimes for Two Year Olds. American Library Association, 2007.

8. Schuette, Shirley and Nathania Sawyer. From Carnegie to Cyberspace: 100 Years at the Central Arkansas Library System. Little Rock, AR: Butler Center Books, 2010.

Sample Questionnaire

This survey from Debby Ann Jeffery's book Literate Beginnings: Programs for Babies and Toddlers can be adapted to fit your needs.

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Sample Baby-Toddler Program Questionnaire

Date____________________

Thank you for taking the time to fill out this questionnaire. Your answers will help plan future programs for you and your child.

Name____________________________________________________(Optional)

Address__________________________________________________(Optional)

1. How many children attend the program with you? ___________________
2. Child/children’s ages? _________________________________________
3. What is your relationship to the child? ___________Parent/legal guardian

___________Other family member ___________Babysitter/nanny

___________Other (please specify)______________________________

4. Where did you find out about the Baby-Toddler Program?

___________Library Flyer/poster ___________Friend/neighbor

___________Other (please specify)______________________________

5. Is the program day and time convenient for you? _____Yes _____No

If no, when would be a better day and time? _________ Saturday

___________Weekday (please specify) ___________________________

___________Morning __________Afternoon ___________Evening

6. Did you feel the material was appropriate for the children?

Books _____Very _____Somewhat _____Not appropriate

Finger Games _____ _____ _____

Songs _____ _____ _____

Puppets/Feltboard ______ _____ _____

Film/Video ______ _____ _____

7. Do you find the program handout sheets helpful during the program?

______Yes ______No ______Sometimes

8. Do you find it helpful to take he program handout sheets home?

______Yes ______No ______Sometimes

9. How often do you repeat elements from the program at home?

______Often ______ Sometimes ______ Never

10. Has your child’s interest in books, songs, and finger games changed

since attending the program?_____No Change ______More interested

______Less interested

11. Since attending the program, do you spend more time with your child?

Reading books? ______Yes ______No

Singing? ______Yes ______No

Doing finger games? ______Yes ______No

12. Did you have a library card before you attended the program?

______Yes ______No

13. Did your child have a library card before you began attending the

Program? ______Yes ______No

14. Do you check library materials out when you attend the program?

______Yes ______No

15. Would you recommend this program to other people with young children?

______Yes ______No

16. What do you like best about the program?
17. What do you like least about the program?
18. Do you have any suggestions or comments?

Evaluate!

As meaningful and worthwhile as programs for babies and toddlers are, many libraries, including the Little Rock Library, fail to document their success. “Measurable factors include attendance, circulation, and survey responses. Other evidence of the program’s results may be anecdotal in nature, including positive comments from participants, letters from the public and interest from the news media or other libraries. This evidence should be gathered and documented in reports and files that can be produced to justify the program. Weaknesses as well as the strengths should be evaluated to come up with possible solutions to problems. Questionnaires filled out by program participants are a good way to gather information directly from those being served.”[i]

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[i] Jeffery, Literate Beginnings, 10-11.

For More Information

Children’s librarians can access a trove of information by joining professional library and reading organizations and associations, such as the International Reading Association (www.reading.org) and the American Library Association (www.ala.org). These organizations have local affiliates and divisions for specialty areas like children’s services. They also offer professional conferences and webinars, listserves. Scholarships are sometimes available for librarians and students to attend conferences through these organizations. Some employers subsidize the cost of joining professional organizations and attending conferences.

Early literacy information and programming ideas may be found in the books listed in the Bibliography and on the following websites:

www.reachoutandread.org

www.readingisfundamental.org

www.readtome.org

www.getreadytoread.org

Training

Libraries with budgets for staff training would do well to consider hosting an expert to conduct a workshop to teach children’s librarians why and how to conduct programs for infants and toddlers. Speaker expenses could be offset by inviting parents, teachers, and neighboring library staff and charging a fee to attend. Robin Davis, author of Toddle On Over, Developing Infant and Toddler Literature Programs, recommends that children’s librarians who are considering starting their own program “find someone in a nearby community who already has experience and arrange to go there and observe.”[i]

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[i] Robin Works Davis, Toddle On Over: Developing Infant and Toddler Literature Programs (Fort Atkinson, WS: Alleyside Press, 1998) 13.

Funding

Starting a storytime for infants and toddlers does not have to cost a great deal of money. Most libraries already offer programming for older preschoolers, and have the material resources necessary to get started - a children’s librarian, simple picture books, puppets, flannel boards, etc. A professional resource such as the Mother Goose On The Loose Guide and Kit is an invaluable and relatively inexpensive tool. Funds for guidebooks may be available from library collection budgets or from Friends of the Library groups.

Libraries and Communities Benefit, too!

Libraries, too, benefit from offering programs for the very young. When libraries create a welcoming atmosphere for families by offering effective programming, providing relative and appropriate materials for them, and modeling for parents the best way to share early learning experiences with their children, these families become users and supporters of the library, ultimately improving the communities in which they live.[i]

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[i] Jane Marin, Babies in the Library (Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2003) 2.