Published: September 11, 2007 04:45 pm      

MAKE NOISE: Stand up and holler at libraries’ new story hours

Hey kids, want to make some noise? Head to your local library’s story hour. That’s right, the library.

Public librarians are enlisting a lively supporting cast — everyone from dump truck drivers to professional musicians to Spanish speakers— to help them entertain during weekly story hours. They also sing songs, dance and make crafts to keep kids coming back to the free programs.

“It’s no longer a quiet place where people are saying ’shush’ all the time,” said Susan B. Neuman, a professor of education at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Mich.

Libraries needed to change because of growing competition from gymnastics classes, art lessons, music appreciation and many other classes geared to toddlers and preschoolers, said Neuman, who studies children’s programming at public libraries.

“They know that they need to have these other sources to get the kids in,” she said. “The wonderful librarian sitting and reading a story is not where most of the kids in this country are. They need the bells and whistles.”

At the Hennepin County Library in suburban Minneapolis, for example, it’s more like sirens and horns.

City workers drive fire trucks, dump trucks and other equipment to the library for story hour. After hearing stories about the machinery, children are able to sit in the driver’s seat and meet the workers who use the equipment.

The series of story hours, which attract hundreds of children, reminds families that they can come to the library to learn about subjects that interest children, said librarian Mary Steinbicker.

The library is always searching for ways “to make the collection pertinent to them,” she said. “We’ll use any gimmick we have to, to do that.”

The trick worked on 4-year-old Logan Lunden of New Hope, Minn. He’s a story hour regular who attended all the truck programs.

He liked the fire truck. “It was red and that’s my favorite color,” he said. His one gripe: “The police car was too small.”

Attending story hour has helped Logan develop his imagination and love of books, said his mother, Amy Lunden. “He sits and listens,” she said. “He gets so involved in the stories.”

Many libraries teach Spanish vocabulary or sign language during story hour. The Spanish programs attract families wishing to expose their children to the language and native speakers, said Judy Rohr of the Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library in Topeka, Kan.

She advertises to both groups. “Whether you’re learning Spanish or English, you’re going to love coming to the library,” she tells them.

Recognizing that children might want more than vocabulary lessons, she incorporates music and props to make the experience more animated. “I wouldn’t want to go listen to somebody boring,” she said. “Why would a kid?”

Circulation of children’s materials in U.S. public libraries increased 44 percent between 1994 and 2004, and attendance in children’s programs increased 42 percent, according to an American Library Association report released in April.

Actually reading during story hour is still imporant, said Jane B. Marino, president of the Association for Library Service to Children based in Chicago. Reading to children builds language and listening skills, increases their attention span and creates an interest in learning.

“We’ll pretty much try anything to see what works,” Marino added.

Programs can be elaborate.

The Multnomah County Library in Portland, Ore., uses music to hook young patrons. Members of Oregon Symphony help library staff take reading to a new level by setting the stories to music, said Ellen Fader, youth services coordinator for the library.

Afterward, the musicians talk about their instruments, let the children play them and help kids make an instrument to take home. “They really do think about connecting to children,” said stay-at-home dad Ernest Jones of Portland. “You don’t see kids walking out or talking among themselves. They’re engaged.”

Jones, who started attending programs about four years ago, said he’s always impressed with the quality. “It’s not a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants offering,” said Jones, who still takes 7-year-old Roland to events at the library.

Fader said the business of helping kids have fun is a serious one.

“We know that parents expect us to be a partner in helping their kids be ready (for school),” she said. “We don’t just randomly pick five books off the shelf.”

Impressing the parents can be as important as winning over the children, Marino added. Sometimes the children “are not as critical of an audience as the grown-ups.”

When Kristine A. Goldsmith started teaching sign language to preschoolers at the Rossford Public Library in suburban Toledo, Ohio, the children and their parents were pleased.

“The kids loved it. They were excited to do the signs,” recalled the children’s programmer, who plans on teaching more sign language this fall. “They did it so fluidly, so easily. The parents were really like ’wow.”’