About a year ago, I noticed a shift in my storytimes. Something was off. I felt less excited to walk out, welcome, and lead participants with energy and joy. I drifted into thinking about other parts of my day while singing my favorite songs. I was more frustrated by grown-ups having side conversations and more overstimulated by upset children. It was burnout.
At that time, I was nearly six years into my role as a children’s librarian and storytime presenter. I had regulars and new folks joining weekly. But lately, fewer grown- ups were singing along, some even had their phones out. Maybe like me, my audience was falling into a pattern of passivity too. But that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, that meant that storytime was their routine. They were showing up on their good days and their hard days, every week. The success of storytime is dependent on participation, especially from grown-ups. I needed, and my community needed, a storytime reset—a redesign.
The solution would need to address my burnout without reducing the number of storytimes per week at our branch. I made a three-part plan:
Part 1: Solid Introduction
Leading off with a recognizable, intentional welcome cues your audience to settlein. Although entering the space, sitting down in your chair, and saying “hello” to yourparticipants is a cue to begin, starting with a boisterous, “Welcome to…” is a reliable trigger for our brains to pay attention. Standing for your welcome is a great way tocapture the attention of a larger audience.
My introduction is something I’ve memorized like a song or rhyme in the storytime plan itself. I always introduce myself first. This practice shows children how to introduce themselves—greeting, name, pronouns, and who you are. My introduction also sets the tone for the grown-ups which mitigates having to address behaviors after they’ve happened. These behavior reminders are a part of the introduction and are always the same so it’s not weird or targeted, it’s part of our storytime routine.
- Welcome
“Good morning, welcome to your Wednesday Music & Movement Storytime. My name is Olivia, or Ms. Olivia, I use she/they pronouns, and I am one of the children’s librarians at this library.” - Reminders
“Storytime is a program for you and the children you brought today. Use this time to interact, model, and learn with them. They are watching me, but they are also watching you to show them what to do. Please save your grown-up conversations and phone use for after storytime as much as possible. Let’s get started!”
Part 2: Staff Support
My library system has bi-yearly, two-week long storytime breaks across all library branches. This time is available for us to use for outreach and planning, but we are not pressured to use this time for anything but rest. Many library systems are adopting a programming break schedule to help staff with balance.
I turned to my branch staff for additional support during storytime. We have a fully staffed information desk every storytime morning, a designated attendance counter who also enters the stats, and someone who keeps an eye out for interruptions. Storytime should be a team effort. Be honest with your supervisor and coworkers about what
support you need for success.
Part 3: Simplify
My storytimes relied heavily on my ability to sing, play an instrument, and read two books aloud. On lower energy days or with a post-illness scratchy voice, this was a challenge. It also relied on a certain amount of focus from kids and grown-ups. I wanted this redesign to be more inclusive for storytimers having trouble sitting still and for my audience that is trending younger each year. My Music & Movement storytime design was born! Now, I use a speaker and sing along with the song. I can drop out of singing to focus on movement or catch my breath. I made rotating playlists with shakers and scarves. Below is the before and after of the program plan.
After a year of Music & Movement storytime, my energy is replenished and not depleted from this weekly program. Attendance has increased and I am seeing more ability diversity in the group. And best of all, the feedback from my community has been overwhelmingly positive. So, if you’re feeling burnt out or sensing a need for some change, try a storytime redesign! It could be what reignites your passion as it was for me.
Today’s guest blogger is Olivia Rae Heerman (she/they). Olivia is a children’s librarian, yoga teacher, and author
from Saint Paul, Minnesota. Olivia is best known for her storytime content featuring original music and intentional movement. They are one half of The Childish Librarians—a duo focused on early literacy content, advocacy, and reader’s advisory through social media (thechildishlibrarians.com & @the.childish.librarians on Instagram). Her first book, Hi Worry. Bye Worry! released last summer with Free Spirit Publishing under “Olivia Rae.”
Please note that as a guest post, the views expressed here do not represent the official position of ALA or ALSC.
If you are interested in submitting a guest post, please read and fill out our Guest Blogging Interest Form. We would love to hear from you!
The post Storytime Redesign to Recover from Burnout appeared first on ALSC Blog.
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