Providing Outreach to the Community

One of the wonderful privileges that I have as a Youth Services librarian is providing outreach to our community. Outreach can come in many forms, including preschool story times, library card drives, book talks at the middle school, providing information literacy to high schoolers, and all ages opportunities like tabling at a local farmer’s market or fair. I personally believe that library outreach is one of the most important services that we provide. By going out into the community, we aim to establish and nurture relationships with our patrons, encourage literacy, and spread the word about all of the other services one can get with their library card!

This morning, I had the privilege of performing a preschool story time at the West Windsor Learning Experience. I got to meet forty bright-eyed children, and taught them songs and rhymes as I played my ukulele. Then, I read two books, one about going to school and one about friends having different interests. I asked them at the end, “It’s okay for friends to like different things as long as they are still friends and have fun together, right?” I received a resounding, “Yeah!” Both the children and the staff were pleased by our outreach and asked me to come back.

Being able to attend community events, talk about our programs and resources, and catching up with our grateful regular patrons is such a joy. Due to the importance of outreach and the enthusiasm of a handful of my fellow librarians, MCLS now has an Outreach Committee! Some of the upcoming events we will be attending include the Mercer County Teen Arts Festival at the Mercer County Community College on May 10^th from 8:30 AM to 2:30 PM, and the Mercer County Cultural Festival on June 8^th from 11 A.M. to 7 P.M. If you are a teacher, media specialist, school administrator, or community organization staff member interested in a potential outreach opportunity with the library, I encourage you to reach out to your nearest branch. We would be more than happy to assist you!

- by Brielle, West Windsor Branch