Parent and Child Library Services Program
Grant Project Report
1998-1999
LIBRARY OUTREACH VISITS EVERYONE
$17,963
1998
Haverstraw King’s Daughters Public Library
Natalie Tabbone, Project Director
(914) 429-3445
Brief project description:
This project was aimed at providing library services to preschoolers in child care facilities. Monthly story hours were modeled at twenty seven sites and materials were provided so that day-care providers could practice the same story-sharing techniques throughout each month of the program.
Needs addressed:
The Haverstraw Library recognized that many children, age birth through six, were not receiving library services because they were in day care facilities that lacked the transportation necessary to get children to the library. It was also proposed that because day care providers could not visit the library, they were less likely to use books and related activities as a regular component of their programs.
Target audience:
Children (ages birth to six) attending licensed or registered home day care centers and larger center-based family resource centers, nursery schools and daycare facilities in the North Rockland area and their parents.
Community partners and their roles:
- Child Care Resources of Rockland - Assisted in establishing need for program and in identifying home based and center based child care providers; provided mailing labels and letters of support for program; provided entry to provider associations and assisted in advertising; reported feedback from day-care providers and assisted in summative evaluation
- Local Home & Center Based Day Care Centers, Nursery Schools and Pre-Schools - provided input regarding program structure and materials; participated in story-hours; distributed literature to parents and encouraged parent involvement; provided feedback; distributed evaluation sheets to parents; responded to evaluation sheets;
- Starting Together – assisted in designing evaluation material and planning for their dissemination and analysis; assisted in recruiting teacher/providers for program; provided model program evaluation sheets; helped develop an in-depth assessment of how the programs have affected centers’ literacy activities and children’s literacy development
- MediaOne (local cable television station) - discussed feasibility of broadcasting story-hours; discussed copyright ramifications; produced and directed weekly on-air story time; videotaped segments for other than on-air viewing; promoted library outreach; distributed a questionnaire to teacher/providers and parents regarding program
Specific activities:
- Determined need; contracted day-care providers; assembled theme related kits and story boxes; created schedule of visits; distributed questionnaire to assess literacy practices at sites before the start of program
- Monthly story hours were demonstrated at 15 home based day care sites and 10-12 center-based facilities.
- Forty-four themed story time kits and seven storytime boxes were circulated to these facilities.
- A weekly story time was broadcast on the local cable TV channel.
- Parents and teachers were invited to four additional Bookstart programs.
- Two six-week toddler music and movement programs were also sponsored.
- Distributed flyers, library calendars and library card application to parents through day-care providers.
Staffing:
- Library Staff - Children’s Department Head = 44 hours; Children’s Librarian (Project Manager) = 280 hours; Library Assistant = 240 hours
- Project Staff – 1,390 hours
- Volunteers – 40 hours
Costs:
- Purchased Services - $13,586
- Supplies and Materials – 10,289
- Total in-kind costs related to staffing absorbed by library - $9,700
- Total in-kind costs (mailing and office supplies) absorbed by library - $775
Evaluation:
- Quantitative Measures – attendance records for day-care programs, Bookstart programs and library story time, infant and toddler programs; number of library card applications received; number of bibliographies requested.
- Qualitative Measures – program evaluation sheets, provider satisfaction survey; parent feed-back questionnaire; children’s responses to programs.
Changes/recommendations:
- Extensive amount of time required by library staff to facilitate program should be planned for.
- Day-care providers should be consulted before story time kits are assembled to insure that their needs are being provided for.
- Sufficient time should be allotted for the translation of fingerplay, craft and activity suggestions when serving a bilingual community.
Categories of service:
- Services to Children in Day Care Centers
- Education for Day Care Providers
- Learning Kits
- Services to Foreign Language Speaking Families
Go to Parent & Child Library Services Program Page
Last modified on February 29, 2000/djr
URL: http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/libdev/parchld/hkd.htm