When I was in graduate school, I interned at a small public library system. I did reference work at the main branch, and then traveled to the smaller branches to observe storytimes and other youth activities.
One morning I was signed up to observe a toddler storytime. As the librarian began the opening song, I noticed a mother of two, sitting off to the side, completely asleep. While her toddler sat front row center, laughing and participating, this exhausted woman gently swayed in her own private dreamland for the whole storytime, her baby nestled against her chest in a sling. As the librarian did the closing song, the children's clapping jolted her awake, and she looked around to see if anyone had noticed.
Whenever I'm planning a storytime, or thinking about children's services, this mother, and other parents like her, pop into my head. This blog is inspired by the parents who drive to the library on little sleep, who coordinate their work schedules around family storytime, and to those who bring their textbooks and study in the back. To those parents, and the fantastic youth librarians who serve them, this is me, giving a little back.
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