storytime katie

Today, I’m participating in the amazing series, “Show Me the Awesome!” that was started by Kelly, Liz, & Sophie. For more AWESOME, please check over at their sites for the official link-up. Also, don’t forget to tag your related posts with #30awesome on Twitter, Tumblr, Vine and/or Instagram if you’re liking what you’re reading and want to talk about it!

This is Part Five of a five part series about how I grew my storytime attendance. In the past three years since I took over storytime, I’ve increased our program attendance by 61% compared to the last successful season. (For the statistics nerds out there, I’m comparing Summer 2009 from before I took over to Winter 2012/2013.) And I promise that these are simple measures that almost every library can do, regardless of budget.

—

Part Five: Motivational Poster Time

(My last tips for increasing your storytime attendance all wound up sounding like motivational posters…so enjoy clicking the links to see what I’m talking about!)

1. Hang in there, this will take time. I grew bit by bit — that 61% did NOT happen overnight. And you shouldn’t expect it to. I’m still growing my attendance, THREE YEARS after taking over.

2. Keep trying. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. So, passing out flyers didn’t work for you — what are you going to do next? Leave some at a nearby daycare? Look into partnerships at the pediatrician’s offices around you? Keep trying!

3. Be yourself and find a way to be happy. No matter what size attendance you actually have in storytime, those are your patrons. Make storytime the best for them and the best for you.

—

And that about wraps it up. I hope you’ve gained some useful tips, I hope your storytime numbers increase, and I hope we keep sharing the awesome!

Today, I’m participating in the amazing series, “Show Me the Awesome!” that was started by Kelly, Liz, & Sophie. For more AWESOME, please check over at their sites for the official link-up. Also, don’t forget to tag your related posts with #30awesome on Twitter, Tumblr, Vine and/or Instagram if you’re liking what you’re reading and want to talk about it!

This is Part Four of a five part series about how I grew my storytime attendance. In the past three years since I took over storytime, I’ve increased our program attendance by 61% compared to the last successful season. (For the statistics nerds out there, I’m comparing Summer 2009 from before I took over to Winter 2012/2013.) And I promise that these are simple measures that almost every library can do, regardless of budget.

—

Part Four: Personalize It

This is going to be a short and quick entry, because this is super simple to implement — personalize your storytimes. The more familiar you become to your storytime families and vice versa, the more important storytime becomes to them and the more parents will value your advice and tips.

Here’s a list of ways that I’ve found successful:

• Learn the names of your storytime kids. Use nametags if you have to, or registration sheets.
• Learn the names of your storytime parents! They are coming and participating too!
• If you’re using themes, add in themes you know they’ll love and relate to! When I had only three or four year-olds boys for a few weeks running, I decided to do a dinosaurs theme since I knew they’d be over the moon. Last August, I did a “School” theme at the end of summer to help the kids going to grade school adjust.
• If you can, send home extra take-home sheets or coloring pages for siblings that used to come to storytime. Since my library does coloring sheets all the time and we have the budget for it, there’s no problem to send Lupita home with a sheet for Danny now that he’s in school.
• Provide read-a-likes! I have a ridiculously scary memory, so I remember from week-to-week that Bella really loved “Hilda Must Be Dancing,” so I pulled out “Brontorina” for storytime a few weeks later. Guess what? Bella loved that one, too.
• Share details of your life. When I sprained my foot last month, I explained that I couldn’t stomp my foot during the welcome song. This week I had Damian say to me, “Remember when your foot was hurt? It’s better now!” Another Mom asked me about library science since she knew what school I had attended.

I’m sure there are many more things that you’ve done to personalize your storytimes! Let me know if you’ve got any other suggestions in the comments. I’d really love for this to be a great discussion, but that only works if you’re willing to share.

Today, I’m participating in the amazing series, “Show Me the Awesome!” that was started by Kelly, Liz, & Sophie. For more AWESOME, please check over at their sites for the official link-up. Also, don’t forget to tag your related posts with #30awesome on Twitter, Tumblr, Vine and/or Instagram if you’re liking what you’re reading and want to talk about it!

This is Part Three of a five part series about how I grew my storytime attendance. In the past three years since I took over storytime, I’ve increased our program attendance by 61% compared to the last successful season. (For the statistics nerds out there, I’m comparing Summer 2009 from before I took over to Winter 2012/2013.) And I promise that these are simple measures that almost every library can do, regardless of budget.

—

Part Three: Change Is Good; Keep It Fresh

I know. I already said that you need stability and that preschoolers crave consistency. But once you get your routine established, shake it up every now and again.

1. Bring out surprises in storytime. On days when the kids have been remarkably wonderful or days when I sense the group needs a pick-me-up, I will often pull out the glitter and add it to our storytime craft. Just last week, I had bubbles at the end of my program. Do you give away stickers at the end of storytime? Get puffy stickers or fuzzy stickers for a treat!

2. Try something new. For about four weeks, I put toys out after storytime ended for kids to play with in our storytime room. When the kids started to stay after storytime, I moved it upstairs to our Youth Services area. Now kids can play while parents select books or talk to me about problems/concerns/ideas. I’ve heard everything from temper tantrums to picky eaters to toilet training — and I can get you the resources you need to help you out. This extension of storytime worked wonders for developing family relationships, but it only worked because I dared to try something new!

3. Find out what makes you excited to do storytime. For me, that was flannelboards. I *love* using and making them. If I need to get excited about a theme, I usually turn to the flannelboard. I make sure to do a different flannelboard every week. (That’s not to say I’ll never re-use flannelboards though, I just try not to in a single storytime session.) Even if our song cube is the same, and I’m reading familiar books — kids see a new story or rhyme every week on the board.

4. Take breaks. I run four storytime “sessions” a year. (September-October. November Off. December-January. February Off. March-April. May Off. June-July. August Off.) Those months off give me time to recharge, to develop new initiatives — like Growing Readers, to create new storytime props & flannelboards, to focus my attention on weeding or creating Picture Book City. And like I said in Part One, be honest and transparent towards families about why you need a break. If you can’t take time off, see if someone else can cover for you for just two weeks. I truly believe you’ll feel re-energized when you come back to storytime.

—

There are lots of other ways to keep storytime fresh for both you and your patrons! If you’re struggling to find out how to liven things up, ask a co-worker to observe your storytime — I bet they’ll help you brainstorm. Ask for help on Twitter or listservs, librarians are out there and ready to listen/help. And if you have any questions for me, leave them in the comments or @katietweetsya.