A B S T R A C TAcross the nation, librarians work with caregivers and children to encourage engagement in their early literacy programs. However, these early literacy programs that libraries provide have been left mostly undocumented by research, especially through quantitative methods. Valuable Initiatives in Early Learning that Work Successfully (VIEWS2) was designed to test new ways to measure the effectiveness of these early literacy programs for young children (birth to kindergarten), leveraging a mixed methods, quasi-experimental design. Using two innovative tools, researchers collected data at 120 public library storytimes in the first year of research, observing approximately 1,440 children ranging from birth to 60 months of age. Analysis of year-one data showed a correlation between the early literacy content of the storytime program and children's outcomes in terms of early literacy behaviors. These findings demonstrate that young children who attend public library storytimes are responding to the early literacy content in the storytime programs. S torytimes have long been an iconic part of children's services at the public library. The historical version of storytime, story hours, was created in the 1940s to expose children to books and to support a love of reading in young children. In the mid-1950s, librarians began to place an active emphasis on using storytimes to support literacy in young children (Albright, Delecki, and Hinkle 2009). More than 60 years later, storytimes continue to focus on supporting children's early literacy skills and serve as the pillar for a large array of learningfocused library programming designed to reach children from the ages of birth to kindergarten.In fact, 61.5 % of 3.57 million programs provided by public libraries were designed for children
With new technologies, the youth services landscape is changing. In 2012, two children’s librarians in Colorado designed and implemented a research study in which they used iPads to create digital storytimes for preschoolers. They carefully chose apps and designed hybrid experiences that included both traditional and digital pieces. They then asked participants to fill out a survey describing their reactions to the storytimes and were surprised and pleased to discover the parents and children preferred the digital storytimes.
Librarianship has not traditionally been considered a design practice. However, children's librarians plan, deliver, and reflect on storytimes in implicit ways that seem to align with design principles. Drawing on empirical data from the VIEWS2 study, this poster explores the premise that design principles implicitly inform the creation of these library programs for young children. Comparing models of storytime production and models of design reveals that key design principles-especially iteration and reflection-are present throughout storytime production. The reciprocal and influential nature of these design concepts combined with the model of storytime production lead to a new model of storytime design, with implications for library research, practice, and pedagogy as well as models of design.
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