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Today's Topics:
1. Volunteers at Storytime summary (long!) (Cathy Chesher)
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Message: 1
Date: Fri, 19 Mar 2004 16:13:34 -0500
From: "Cathy Chesher" <cchesher@monroe.lib.mi.us>
Subject: [PY] Volunteers at Storytime summary (long!)
To: "Pubyac" <pubyac@lists.prairienet.org>
Message-ID: <008901c40df7$0aafe7c0$050aa8c0@garfield>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Thank you to everyone who responded to my post last month about people
wanting to volunteer and read at storytime. I indicated that I told people
"thanks, but no thanks" but offered to find another "job"
for them. The
overwhelming majority of you handled these requests the same way I do and
for the same reasons. Your responses validated my own practice and the
next
time I have to give the "thanks, but no thanks" speech, I can speak
with
added confidence.
I have posted below most of the responses I received, so this is long. For
those of you who don't want to read everything, here is a summary:
Again, MANY of you do not let volunteers read at storytime. Reasons
include: you love to do it yourself, quality control issues, not wanting to
let volunteers take over or do a job a paid staff person does, storytime is
OUR responsibility and it's our Job and child/safety issues.
Some of you do use volunteer readers during storytimes, but there is usually
a training session and/or audition of some type. A number of responses
also
offered alternatives to reading at regular storytime: have a Book Buddies
type program, reading one-on-one with a child, reading to small groups,
adding additional storytimes, using volunteers at special programs.
The responses I received are below my name.
Cathy Chesher
Youth Services Librarian
Adrian Public Library
143 E. Maumee St.
Adrian, MI 49221
517-265-2265
cchesher@monroe.lib.mi.us
RESPONSES I RECEIVED:
Cathy,
I'm with you 110%! Although we have a contract person doing story time
(it's been going on for at least 15+ years here--way before I even
thought about being a librarian....don't know how it got started), I do
toddler time (and like you, love it!). I politely say we have someone
who does it as a job but we have other volunteer opportunities in the
library....and then I never hear from the people again.
I know of story times that have had volunteer readers who don't see it
as a job, leaving the library staff scrambleing to put something
together when story time came and but the volunteer didn't.
I have even had a mother who wanted her 6 & 9 yr. olds to read to kids!
"They want to volunteer and would be such an inspiration." Please!!!
I'm
all for encouraging kids to help, but let the kids be kids! They would
have been younger than some of the kids they were reading to! And it
terrorized me to do that when I could read early and was asked to read
aloud to my peers at the tender age of 6! I think the others thought I
was showing off or was a nerd to be decked (which might have happened
had I been a boy) or at least heckled a bit (at least as much as 1st
graders know about these things!). I don't think anyone was impressed;
they just thought I was the teacher's pet for a few days.
There are lots of other jobs volunteers can do, too; why does everyone
just want to read to the kids? Don't they realize I had to get a Masters
degree to be able to do it??? ;-)
Beverly K.
Hurst Public Library
Hurst, TX
____________________________________________
Cathy -
I would most emphatically encourage you to continue saying no to volunteer
readers. For all the reasons you mention (quality control, knowing the
kids, etc.), as well as a few others. My (very limited) experience with
volunteer readers in the school library where I work has consistently had
the following drawbacks: the volunteer is always a parent of a child in the
group, and the child sometimes becomes quite a pest during story time; the
volunteer sometimes crosses the line between "library volunteer" and
parent
and I find myself cringing at disciplinary actions dispensed that I would
never dream of allowing to happen in the library (which should be a fun and
enjoyable place, certainly.)
On a personal/professional level, I do consider story reading to be an
integral and essential part of our job, and allowing a non-librarian to do
it feels as awkward to me as it would feel to have a volunteer take my blood
pressure or give me a vaccination or fill out the form to draw up a will, or
any of the other million jobs that are done by any member of a recognized
profession. Every part of every professional's job is not something that
you need "training" for, but the job itself is more than simply the
sum of
its parts.
Lastly, allowing volunteers to do parts of the job devalues the profession
in the eyes of most people. Frankly, I am astonished that people would
volunteer to do something they see you doing -- would you volunteer to give
vaccinations at the doctor's office, on the premise that regular "lay"
people give injections to themselves and others every day? Would you offer
to operate a building crane to give a builder a break on the premise that
you can drive a car?
I'm in the middle of this very discussion at my school, and I am finding it
surprising how hard I have to work to gain the respect that has to go along
with any true profession. I appreciate very much the volunteers we have
who
shelve, repair books, help me maintain our computers in a standard way, help
me with checkout duties, help me with fundraising, etc. But I do feel very
strongly that there should be a clear job description (including story time)
and it should be crystal clear WHO carries the title.
So, that's my long-winded reply -- I'd like to know, in general, how other
librarians feel.
Kathy
__________________________________________
Hi Cathy:
We have 4 staff storytimes a week (two BabyTime! and two for preschoolers)
and they are *hugely* attended. It's a mob scene every time. We also
have
some people from AmeriCorps that come in on Saturday mornings and do a
storytime. They get the materials together, have all their own people, and
do all the work. It's great. It isn't really promoted by us in our
calendar (I think it's treated as a community group who is just "doing
their thing," but our librarians will mention it to patrons who call to ask
about our storytimes. They generally do a good job. Our AmeriCorps
group
has some Spanish speakers, some older citizens, etc., so there are lots of
different abilities. They've done a bilingual storytime that was
well-received (which we also have provided, as we have a Spanish speaker on
staff).
My suggestion would be to use some of the volunteers (I guess you'd have to
screen them first, somehow) to *add* storytimes, not to replace any of
yours. If it works out and you can get a couple of regular volunteers
doing their own thing, it could be a good way to draw in people who may not
be able to attend your storytimes. Or do you have a quiet corner somewhere
in the children's area where you could put a rocking chair and let them
just read a couple of stories to anyone who would listen? Just do a quick
announcement right before it is starting so anyone with kids can take them
over to let them listen? Just a thought.
My thought is that you can't have too many storytimes. Wouldn't it be cool
if you could walk in a library at any hour of any day and there would
always be a storytime going on? All those kids roaming around after school
may actually find something to keep them occupied!
Interesting dilemma.
Cathy Burnsed
Tallahassee, Florida
__________________________________________
Cathy,
I can see that it would be hard to say "Thanks but I'm the expert here
and you are not" when we are trying to encourage parents to read to
their children but on the other hand, we *are* the experts! I'm sure
that you have seen, as I have, well meaning volunteers butcher a good
book. Of course, I have also seen some very good readers - but you can't
tell before hand. Maybe you could say that? Something along the lines
of "I'm sure that you would be great but because there are some
potential volunteers who don't know how to do it well, we have decided
not to accept volunteers for this"
I'll be interested to see the responses.
Sheilah O'Connor
Toronto Public Library
__________________________________________
Hi Cathy,
I am with you in that I usually don't let other people read books for
storytime. I have volunteers who want to do storytimes for kids, but I also
hate to give that up. What I have done when I have had kids want to read a
story, is to let them read one book for storytime and introduced the reader
as a special guest. I have the kids "audition" by reading a book aloud
to me
before I agree that they can read during storytime. I then do a bit of
tutoring on how to read the book, how to hold it and display the book to the
participants. Then I have the child practice several times and give me a
final reading before storytime. I haven't done all of this with adults, but
I would have them audition and practice. I have even done that with a
co-worker when he volunteered to help read at a off site reading event. I
don't think that I could ever let someone else do an entire storytime alone.
I would want to at least be part of the audience so that I know the quality
of the storytime.
Another option might be to have an adult volunteer or two give a less formal
storytimes as extra programming. Summer Reading time has always been a good
time for me to do things like that. I now have preschool storytimes in the
summer and they are much less formal, more relaxed. I don't generate a
theme, just grab books that I like to read and usually don't have a craft,
just stories, fingerplays and such.
Hope this helps,
Nancy
Nancy Thelen
920 W. Michigan Ave
Three Rivers Public Library
Three Rivers, MI 49093
nthelan@monroe.lib.mi.us
__________________________________________
Hi Cathy,
I have also had many requests for people wanting to read to the
kids during storytime. I usually try to let them down gently. I tell
them that we have people assigned to do certain storytimes and that it
is part of their job. The one time that I did agree to let a persistent
woman come and read, she showed up late and reeked of alcohol. I swore
that would be the last time I would let anyone volunteer, unless they
were a library school student. I feel that storytime is our
responsibility and what goes on during that time reflects on us. I
think that is why we are so possessive. I don't think that is the wrong
attitude to have. You are not selfish -- we work hard on our storytimes
and take pride in them. There is certainly nothing wrong with that!
Vicki Muzzy
Juvenile Materials Coordinator
Stark County District Library
715 Market Ave N
Canton, OH 44702
330-458-2643
vmuzzy@starklibrary.org
Dear Cathy,
I normally read all the stories for our preschool Storytime
also.
Read Across America Day, March 2nd, (next Tuesday) is a great time to
invite volunteer readers to participate in your programming. I've
invited three volunteer readers to each of my Storytimes that day. They
will each share a favorite picture book with the children. Maybe your
volunteers would enjoy doing this also. We also invite volunteer
readers to read stories to the school age children during an
After-School Program in the fall when we celebrate Children's Book Week.
Linda Eatherton Montgomery City Public Libray
__________________________________________
Hi Cathy~
My reaction to someone volunteering to "read" to the kids is EXACTLY
the
same as yours. Storytimes are my job & my responsibility. These volunteers,
while well-meaning, simply have no conception of what goes into a storytime,
the amount of planning required, etc., etc. Most of them think that anybody
can read to kids, but I have heard many people read to kids (some at our
library system's Read-a-Thon last November) who have no concept of what it
is to read with expression, the importance of timing, how to hold the book
up so that the audience can see it, etc., etc. With the exception of very
special occasions (like our Read-a-Thon), I have no intention of turning
storytime over to amateur volunteers. A few years ago, I had a woman asking
to read because she was taking college courses in education, and I think it
was some kind of course requirement. Since she was a friend of the branch
supervisor, we let her read on a Saturday morning, which is not the
regularly scheduled storytime. She only did this a couple of times. So,
other than those types of rare exceptions, storytime is my baby. If you
haven't already, you might explain to these would-be volunteers that the
storytime is part of your professional responsibilities and cannot be turned
over to those who haven't been trained to do it.
Beverly Bixler
bbixler@sanantonio.gov
San Antonio Public Library, TX
__________________________________________
Cathy,
I get this question frequently, too - and I give them the same "thanks but
no thanks" response that you do. I feel very strongly that this is a
quality
control issue. The public expects - and has a right to expect - high quality
programs done by trained and experienced staff. I emphasize that there is a
training procedure for staff members that do programs. Also, at my library,
we don't have volunteers do anything that staff get paid to do. We sometimes
hire outside performers for programs, but that is different, because they
are also "professionals" at what they do.
Hope that helps!
Amy Switzer
Cleveland Heights-University Heights Public Library
----------
Cathy,
I have had especially teens interested in doing this. Once I did let a
mature teen read at an evening story time. You are right, they don't read
like you want them to, with expression and enthusiasm. Also the children
attending, seem to lose interest while the teen was reading and starting
getting a bit unruly.
And you are right too - I love doing it, it is my job, and it does seem a
bit
selfish saying that.
I have used adult volunteers to do my whole storytime when I have a meeting
or workshop outside of the library, but I only choose/ask those who I know
have a lot of experience with kids and would "love" to do it.
And I haven't
heard anything negative about doing that.
So I think that you are justified is saying kindly NO!
Vicki Kouchnerkavich
Henika District Library
Youth Services Supervisor
Wayland, MI 49348
269-792-2891
__________________________________________
Cathy,
Generally, we don't let volunteers read to the children either. (Some
exceptions are made for student teachers who need to do it as a class
assignment.) It is definitely a matter of quality control. A lot of
people
don't read aloud well, or don't know how to read to a group, or don't know
how to control a group. There's no way to know what they can or cannot do
if they are volunteers. Also, for us, it is a matter of library (because
of
our union contract) policy, that volunteers are not allowed to do jobs that
are specifically professional responsibilities. That's for
self-protection,
since the powers that be already think that librarians should really be
volunteers, if we let volunteers do what we do, why are they paying us? I
would stand firm and find other things for them to do.
Susan
__________________________________________
Cathy,
I'm of the same thought. Not sure if arranging a one day event where
volunteers could read would work. I've mentioned to the recent persons who
have inquired that I could really use them in Book Buddies, for the summer
or
tutoring afterschool. So far they want to read to a group.
I'd be interested in the responses.
Best wishes,
Amy Blake
ablake@kcpl.lib.in.us
Hi Cathy,
Don't Do It!!
Your instinct are right. Just because a person CAN read doesn't mean they
know HOW to read to kids. I allowed a person to do it once--she wanted to
promote Farm Week or some such thing. It was awful! It was all I
could do
to keep from jerking the book from her hands! Fortunately (I guess) the
kids were polite and didn't stage a rebellion!
Happy reading!
Suzanne Hall
Children's Librarian
Putnam County Public Library
Greencastle, IN 46135
__________________________________________
Hi there! At our library, we get many offers from school groups, 4H,
retirees, you name it, to read to our young patrons. We tell them
"thanks
but no thanks" and remind them that there are many volunteer opportunities
through the library, just not for that particular service.
Beyond not wanting to give up control over that particular aspect of our
jobs, the library system can hold library employees accountable in a way
they can't with volunteers for conducting appropriate patron interactions.
You just don't know what sort of person is asking to work with your kids,
even if you never leave volunteers alone, unsupervised with the public (a
policy at PBCLS).
As far as telling people why we don't use volunteers for reading, we tell
them that storytimes are OUR job, that we don't have space or staff time to
run a more free-form, one-on-one kind of reading program (which has been
suggested by a wannabe volunteer), and that there is a well structured
volunteer program at the library with "job descriptions" covering what
volunteers do (e.g. telephone volunteer, docent volunteer, Volunteen,
shelving volunteer, etc.) and we don't have a storytime volunteer position.
Hope it helps,
Jesse Lewis
Main Library Youth Services Dept.
Palm Beach County Library System
__________________________________________
I read your posting on PUBYAC and I'm glad you have a good way to say,
"thanks, but no thanks." I don't always get that part right.
Until a
recent experience, I thought that many people could be good at sharing
books and stories to groups, but then I learned. I put together a program
for a group of families with young school-age and preschool children. As
part of the program, the overall organizers (who requested the program)
asked to read a book to the kids. I was so surprised. One organizer
chose
a book that was much too long to hold the childrens' attention. The other
organizer read "Green Eggs & Ham," and her reading voice was so
flat I
couldn't believe it, she had no expression at all. What we do requires
training, judgement and multiple skills including crowd control. On the
other hand, I always give Library School practicum students an opportunity
to get their feet wet by reading in a storytime, and then I give them some
feedback to support their learning. Just my thoughts. -Karen
Karen Lucas
Youth Services Librarian
Madison Public Library, Sequoya Branch
261-9807, 266-6385
A partner in the provision of
library services to children
__________________________________________
Hi,
I am an outreach librarian in California. We are bombarded with volunteers
who want Children's Librarians to relinquish there jobs and take over story
time.
I've trained staff to direct these well meaning readers to my office where
they
go thru a 4 hr. training & are placed in a HeadStart classroom where they
can really do some good. I realize this is an entire program that takes
planning
cooperation, and continual financial support. But this programs serves over
3,000
children in our county on a weekly basis and has over 30 volunteers. These
are
children who are unlikely to have their family make regular library visits.
It helps
enormously.
In a less demanding program,we also have trained readers and scheduled them
in
picture book areas during our busiest periods. This informal reading
serves
children
who's parents cannot read to them and keeps order during chaotic times. In
many
California libraries this program is called book buddies. We also train
these
readers to participate in the Reach out & Read programs. see
http://www.reachoutandread.org
There are many ways you can use these volunteers with training and
cooperation
from other agencies that have the same goals as the library.
Get back to me with your questions.
Lyn Palme, Contra Costa County Library
Wilruss Programs: Stories to Go; Reach Out & Read
phone: (925)-927-3288, fax: (925)-646-6461 lpalme@ccclib.org
__________________________________________
Hi, Cathy,
I've always pretty much done the same thing that you have, and for the same
reasons. However, my preschool storytime attendance has been dropping and
I
knew I was needing something new and different--and here's what happened.
I was contacted by one of our local high schools' volunteer organization
wanting to do something at the library. It needed to be something that
could be done outside of school hours, and the majority of the students
specifically wanted to work with children (many of them do volunteer
tutoring at the elementary schools and really enjoy that.) We knocked
around a few ideas, and finally came up with a Saturday storytime/crafttime
program. It takes place on alternating Saturdays (because I only work
every
other Saturday, and I want to be here to surpervise.) The high school
students sign up for the dates they want to come--we use 6 for each program.
They get together ahead of time and pick a theme. Four of them select
books
to read (they let me know the theme ahead of time so I can pull
possibilities for them to choose from, or some of them choose books from
their high school library's child lit collection); the other two prepare a
craft. The storytime part comes first, th
en we wheel out the tables and do our craft. Though two of the
volunteers
did all the craft prep work, everyone pitches in and helps the children.
It
has worked out fairly well, though attendance is not very high or terribly
consistant. There are days when the high school volunteers outnumber the
children who come, though we have some older children who wait outside the
room until stories are over and them come in for the craft.
On the one hand, the high school kids *are* inexperienced readers, but I
find that the parents who attend with their children are very forgiving of
errors in speaking, voices that aren't projected, etc. They love the fact
that during the craft time part, there are so many volunteers that each
child gets tons of attention and all finished crafts are "oohed" and
"ahhed"
over greatly. This program allows us to have a weekend program--something
often requested on our annual surveys but which we've never had the staff to
provide before. It also satisfies our library director's feeling that we
should do more co-operative programs with the school district. And, since
the program is done by high school students, we were actually able to get
the newspaper to come out and do a piece on it. (Fortunately, they came on
a day that we have a good attendance!)
I know that this doesn't quite answer the question you had, but I wanted to
share our positive experience.
Susan Harding
Mesquite North Branch Library
Mesquite, TX
--
__________________________________________
Hi Cathy,
I quite agree with all your feelings about reading MY books to MY children,
etc. But---recently we had a Princess Party and 4 college students helped
in various ways. One brought in her own set of books of princess stories.
I had thought to read MY book "Princess Smartypants" and maybe let her
read
one if the princesses were ready for another story. Enter laringitus and a
slow recovery of voice and I did not sound very well even with a microphone.
I did booktalks with a microphone and thankfully let Christine read "The
Princess and the Pizza". Christine is a Elementary Education major at
Heidelberg College, she'll make a wonderful teacher. So for a special
program I would share the reading spotlight when I know something about the
person reading, but believe I would not for a series of PreSchool Story
Time, Toddler Time, etc.
__________________________________________
Hi Cathy,
I also get requests to be volunteer readers. I explain that we do not
offer that as a volunteer position but tell them about other volunteer
opportunities in the library. If they are stuck on reading, I refer
them to a program at a local hospital that does have volunteer readers.
They usually seem satisfied with one of the two options.
Hope this helps,
Joy Oliver
Children's Librarian
Seattle Public Library
________________________________________
Cathy,
I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one with this problem. We get a lot of
calls from senior citizens who want to read at storytime. Our desk people
tell them that that job is already covered, thank you. We don't bother to
explain that it is covered by a VERY busy paid staff member. Neither do we
explain that our experience tells us volunteers often have an inflated view
of their own skills at reading aloud, or that it isn't as easy as they think
it looks. We simply say that the job's being done and we have no need for
more readers.
Of course, we offer to find them another job to do, but they usually aren't
interested. It's my belief that such volunteers are more interested in
children than in the running of the library, so they probably wouldn't do
other jobs properly and we are better off without them. To my understanding
we haven't yet offended anyone, just disappointed them.
As for allowing someone else to read occasionally it can work out well. One
library in our system uses guest readers, but they must audition before the
Children's Librarian. When her director's husband asked to read she didn't
know what to do. The director told her to make him audition like all the
rest. He turned out to be the best and is a grandfatherly favorite among all
the children. Aren't success stories wonderful?!
Good luck in your decision making. Hope all this helps.
Peg Siebert
Blodgett Library
Fishkill, NY
Cathy --
Like you, I often have people (both random library visitors and parents of
story time kids) volunteer to read. For the most part I've thanked them
and done as you have. I haven't given explanations and, as of yet, that
hasn't been a problem. I, too, enjoy doing storytime and don't really want
to give it up.
That said, in the summer at my library I have a group of volunteers
(usually middle school aged kids) who help me with the summer reading
program -- and summer storytime. This is fun for them -- and they are a
great help with the crafts and crowd control -- but the reading part is
tricky. They often don't find a story until the last minute and their
reading is not as clear and animated as (I hope) mine is. This coming
summer will be my second at this library and I think that I'll have it
better worked out, but I'm planning to have the volunteers again -- partly
because this is how they've done it for years, and because its a good
experience for the kids. However, I will continue to politely decline adult
offers to read!
So, all of that boils down to this -- I think its fine to refuse the help
because it often translates into more work for you than actual help.
Erika
Erika Burge
Children's Librarian
Cedarburg Public Library
W63 N583 Hanover Avenue
Cedarburg, WI 53012
__________________________________________
I completely agree with you. StoryTime is my favorite part of my job! I
have a hard time sharing with other staff, practicum students, and so
forth.
Volunteers can be great, but they can also be dreadful. How do you
tell someone they just can't read to kids? Also, volunteers are not
reliable. We had a Bilingual StoryTime where we paid a bilingual
educator to come and present the program with our staff assisting. More
times than not, the staff member had to do the entire program because
the volunteer did not show up.
The only people we let do StoryTime besides trained staff members
(Librarians and Library Assistants) are library practicum students
interested in becoming children's librarians. I feel it is essential
for these students to get a chance to read to a forgiving group, like my
StoryTime parents. With so much of the library coursework online, the
practicum may be the only chance students have to experience real-world
programming. I have had students decide not be children's librarians
when they realized what StoryTime was all about. We have converted
other practicum students to youth librarianship the same way.
Other than that, I don't usually let volunteers do my StoryTimes. Now,
I have an afterschool program where volunteers have been great help. I
had a retired teacher who helped me for almost an entire year by coming
in, reading the story, or helping with the craft. She was great and I
enjoyed drawing on her school experience to help me with the kids. But,
there were many times she was out of town and I had to do everything on
my own (luckily, she was very good about informing me ahead of time so I
could make changes in my plans if I needed to.) I also have my father,
a retired college science professor, slated to come and assist me with a
couple of my upcomong afterschool programs. Since I am very weak in
science, I value his assistance in planning and presenting some science
demonstrations.
I would say use your best judgement on volunteers, but don't be in a
position to rely solely on their assistance. We get paid the big
bucks
(ha, ha) to do programming and that's one thing we should constantly
strive to make excellent.
That's my two cents.
Stacey Irish-Keffer
Denton Public Library
502 Oakland
Denton, Texas 76201
940.349.7738
Stacey.Irish-Keffer@cityofdenton.com
__________________________________________
Hi Cathy
I feel the same way as you do! You are right in saying that some people
think they can read to children, but not really! I also think it's
unsettling for your story time kids to have to listen to a stranger.
Sometimes it takes 3-4 weeks before a child is really comfortable with the
whole story time experience and with you. I usually tell these people that
we have a staff that does story times and we don't use guest readers. It may
sound harsh, but it's the truth. I am also very protective of the children's
safety with strangers. I don't want the parents to think that I am endorsing
this person when I don't really know them at all. It just goes to show you
how people think what we do is sooo easy that anybody could do it! Ha!
Anyway, just keep saying "No,thanks" with a smile and know that the
children
are enjoying you and your story time.
Adele Boeske
Head of Children's Services
Derry Public Library
64 East Broadway
Derry, NH 03038
>_________________________________________________________________
Have you ever thought about having a reading buddies type program where
people can pair up and read with/to a child or have a child read to them?
We have done this in Arlington for several summers--children and volunteers
sign up to read together on certain days at certain times--
Just an idea--
Susan Smith
Arlington, TX
To give ourselves a break, we used to have volunteers do our all ages
summer storytime. In a way, it was good PR for the librarians - we had one
mother who was very condescending and thought that it would be easy, and
found out we only made it LOOK easy. And the parents who did the
storytimes gained some respect for our job. Every once in a while we'd get
a true storyteller or teacher who did a great job. But for the most part,
the volunteer storytimes were of poor quality and the parents definitely
noticed the difference (and complained!) Also, volunteers aren't 100%
reliable. We ended up stopping the volunteer storytimes.
Our main thought behind not using volunteers is not only quality control
and reliability, but parents are putting their trust in the library when
they turn their children over for a program. How can we guarantee a
volunteer that we hardly know? Unless the volunteer is someone that is
very well known, how can we be sure of the children's safety?
Jen Marin
marinj@suffolk.lib.ny.us
__________________________________________
Hello All,
I have been following this discussion with interest. I recently began
volunteering to read stories to children ages 4-8 at the library twice per
month. Before I was allowed to read to the kids, I had to complete a 2.5
hour training program. I found the training program to be very helpful. It
covered the main points to keep in mind when reading to children (how to
hold the book so the kids can see it, how to choose books, suggestions for
keeping the kids' interest, how to handle disruptive kids, etc). The
trainee's also had to stand up before the group and read a few pages out
loud to get the feeling of doing it in front of people. In addition, the
first two times I read stories to kids, I co-read with the librarian. The
third time, which was just last week, I was completely on my own. It was
challenging, and there is definately room for improvement, but the kids
seemed to enjoy it. I am in library school and plan to become a children's
librarian, so I greatly appreciate this opportunity. Currently, the
librarian picks out the books I read, but because I am in library school,
she will let me pick out my own books in a few months after I have more
experience. There were about 8 or 9 other volunteers in the training
program with me who are not in library school, but who also seemed to take
the training seriously. I think the library was able to weed out people who
aren't serious about it by requiring volunteers complete the training
program, and by clearly stating that they expect a 9-month commitment.
While I understand your concerns about having volunteers do storytime, I
think that when done successfully, it's a great way to get the community
involved and emotionally invested in the library.
Thanks,
Claudia Sarconi
Claudiasarconi@sbcglobal.net
__________________________________________
Rebecca Rankin <rlrankin@sharon.lib.wi.us>
wrote:
I'm glad you posted this query, because I've been feeling not entirely
kosher about what's going on in my own library. I am a new director, and
the former director had volunteers conducting Story Time for children 3 and
over and Toddler Time for children under 3 and an adult. The volunteer
conducting toddler time decided she didn't want to do it any longer, and she
let me know a week before it was supposed to begin. This led me to point
out to my library board what I always believed, which is that it's not a
good idea to have volunteers perform essential library functions. So, I
took over Toddler Time, no problem. Well lately, the two story times have
become pretty much combined, because the parents prefer it that way. We
usually only have two or so kids under the age of 3 anyway. However, I
always feel bad when they can't work on their craft like the other kids, so
I still spend individual time with them. I let the parents of these
children know that we can do more a
ge appropriate activities, but they're not interested. But, that's a whole
other story. The volunteer conducting story time is a member of our very
small community. She frequently expresses to me that she has nothing else
to do while her kids are in school, so she looks forward to story time.
But, I don't think she does that great of a job. She chooses the books five
minutes before the kids arrive, and she hasn't read them previously to know
if they might work or not. Often times they don't. I've started suggesting
books for her to use, and she does use some of them. She doesn't always
hold the book so all the kids can see. But, I think one of the biggest
gripes I have is the crafts she has them do. They're sometimes more
appropriate for 2nd and 3rd graders, not toddlers. Usually, the parents and
caregivers end up doing the craft for their children. God forbid the
children learn from the process rather than complete the correct end
product. Again, another problem
altogether. I would love to do the story times by myself. I do take part
as much as possible, but the kids and the adults think she's running the
show. I think they're just used to how things were with the other director,
and they're having a problem adjusting to the change. I love kids, and I
love working with them in the library. Like Cathy said, I like doing it
(story time), and it's part of my job. I never would have accepted a
volunteer's offer to conduct story time, but the previous director
approached the volunteer from what I understand. I feel awkward telling the
volunteer that we don't need her anymore after the former director asked for
her help. I also don't want to give the wrong impression about our
acceptance of volunteers to our small community. I could see this as a
potentially bad situation if I asked her to discontinue her service. I
think many of the kids' parents and caregivers are loyal to this volunteer,
because she's their friend and neighbo
r. Comments? Advice?
Sincerely,
Rebecca Rankin, Director
Brigham Memorial Library
131 Plain Street
Sharon, WI 53585
262-736-4249
rlrankin@sharon.lib.wi.us
__________________________________________
I'm with you on the quality control issue. Unless you are working with the
person training them and supervising them, I wouldn't let non professional
do your storytime. Guests, whether paid or volunteered are okay from time
to time, under you supervision. However, storytime is a professional
activity. It is not something to be handed over to anyone who walks in and
decides they want to play "librarian."
__________________________________________
I use volunteer storytellers for most of my storytimes. The kids and I
love
the variety I have a gentleman in his early forties from Hungry, 2
grandmothers, two mothers in their early thirties, and an older woman from
England (the kids asked her if she was Harry Potter's mother). I also had
a
teen, a Hispanic male, and a gothic looking 20 year old male.
I just love exposing the children to different ethnics and accents,male and
female storytellers, old and young, different styles and talents.
BUT - we do insist that all our volunteers take a training class that we
offer twice a year by the Children's manager. There is a difference
between
doing storytime in a classroom and for your own kids and doing a storytime
in the library. I make up the schedules but I ask my volunteers if there
are any themes that they would like to do. We have story boxes made up and
provide the volunteers with the books. Some come in a week before to get
their books, other are experienced enough to just get them 15 minutes before
storytime. I am very lucky that my volunteers almost always show up or
call
me in advance if they can not make it.
My kids love the diversity. I have two storytimes a week and I do
storytime
at least four times a month. the kids make me feel great and get very
excited when I do it.
I love having the volunteers in our library, but again stress that they have
to go through our training before they can do storytelling in the library.
I make sure that they know I am always available to them and am open to
their suggestions.
Star Soto,
Children's Librarian
H.P. Wright Library
57 Day Road
Ventura, CA 93003
(805) 642-0337
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Main PUBYAC website: http://www.pallasinc.com/pubyac
End of PUBYAC Digest, Vol 10, Issue 35
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