Port Washington Public Library Children’s Room Keeps Kids Engaged

Under the leadership of Children's Services Director Rachel Fox, the librarians and staff in the Port Washington Public Library Children’s Room have worked together to bring virtual educational programming and entertainment to local children during the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown and beyond. From the first week of the government lockdown (March 11) to present day, the PWPL Children’s Room has used innovative tactics and agile techniques to produce over 120 videos equaling 77 hours of programming and resulting in over 3,000 views total.

“Before the pandemic, our weekly Story Times were limited to 25 families at a time, and we often had to turn people away,” says Lesley Siegel, Children's Librarian, “during this summer the number of virtual families was regularly between 40-50, which was amazing!”

There are many advantages to virtual Story Times, according to Fox, “you don't have to worry about getting a parking spot, your child can eat without worrying about others’ food allergies, plus there’s no dress code.”

While the transition from physical programming to virtual events was mostly seamless, Children’s Librarians Lesley Siegel, Susie Orenstein, and Jessica Jansen had to initially utilize their own personal collection of books for the twice weekly Story Times. Once it became clear that the Library would be closed for an extended period of time, the trio ordered some new titles from Amazon to hold them over until the Library opened once again.

With viewers as young as six months old tuning in for the twice weekly Story Times, the importance of promoting early literacy and engaging with community is not lost on the librarians. “We've had some very successful themed Story Times where participants dressed in costume, brought their favorite stuffed animal, wore their favorite color, wore a silly hat, etc,” says Siegel. “In one "Hello” themed Story Time we sang a song where we said hello in different languages and asked parents to add languages in the chat; that was fabulous!”

Families wishing to join in on the fun may register online for the live Zoom Story Times taking place every Tuesday and Friday at 10am or visit the Library’s YouTube page to re-watch recordings of past events. www.pwpl.org/children

MONSTER EXHIBIT COMES TO PWPL CHILDREN’S ROOM

Media librarian Jonathan Guildroy is a lifelong collector of monster memorabilia. For more than 50 years, he has amassed a collection of monster-themed toys, models, movie stills, cards and magnets. This October, in anticipation of Halloween, Guildroy will present a small portion of his collection in two display cases in the Port Washington Public Library Children's Room. Look for pictures of iconic actors Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Lon Chaney Sr., Lon Chaney Jr., Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing, as well as such beloved characters as Frankenstein's Monster, Dracula, the Mummy and the Wolf Man. The collection will include several original Sculpey polymer clay monsters as well as reproductions of classic “Hallowe'en” greeting cards from the early 20th century.

‘SNACK, CHAT, AND MORE’ UNITES TEENS AND YOUNGER CHILDREN IN EDUCATIONAL VIRTUAL MEETUP

In addition to virtual Story Times and Family Bingo, a new online staple of the Children’s Library programming roster is the inventive and popular monthly series, “Snack, Chat, And More.” Participants in grades 4 through 6 are invited to “B.Y.O.S” (aka bring your own snack) for a weekly TED Talk-esque session where hosts cover different topics and activities. The group is led by both staff members and volunteers. Lately, Schreiber High School students Erika Saur and Alexa Saur have been leading the group in themes such as thaumatropes and succulent plants. Virtual Snack, Chat, and More takes place monthly via Zoom and students may register online at www.pwpl.org/children