Early childhood library services are nearly equally divided between the children themselves and their parents, caregivers and other adults. These services encourage parents to enrich their child’s environment and incorporate music and language into daily interactions. Experiences like hearing words, rhymes and music, seeing pictures, touching and smelling books help develop brain cells (neurons) and connections (synapses) between them.
The library should provide quality materials that are developmentally appropriate and provide a variety of sensory experiences to assist in making important brain connections. The library should guide and support parents, adult care givers and educators and social service agencies to resources and advise them in the use of quality materials, thus reducing cycles of illiteracy, strengthening bonds between parents and children and making educators more effective while easing their daily preparation and activity burden. The library should implement programming which models appropriate experiences and instructs parents and other adults in making similar experiences an important part of daily interaction. The library should design and implement programming to meet the unique developmental needs of all infants, toddlers and preschoolers regardless of ethnic, cultural or socioeconomic background.
Preschoolers’ door to learning, a major role offered in ALA’s Planning and Role Setting for Public Libraries: a manual of options and procedures (1987), describes the role and lists benefits:
"The library encourages young children to develop an interest in reading and learning through services for children and for parents and children together. Parents and other adult caregivers can locate materials on reading readiness, parenting, childcare and child development. Cooperation with other child care agencies in the community is ongoing…Services may include programs for infants, for parents and toddlers, and for parents – for example read aloud, day care story hour, traditional storytelling, parenting skills development workshops, and booktalks. The library may provide outreach to day-care facilities or reading readiness programs. Programming introduces children and adults concerned with children to a wide range of materials and formats.
"Preschoolers have a place designed for their needs with trained adults to help them satisfy their curiosity, stimulate new interests and find information…Parents can obtain resources and services to support their efforts to develop their children’s interests, experience, knowledge and development. For the community, the library promotes early reading and acceptance of reading, factors contributing to successful performance in formal schooling…lifelong use of the library. This role generates visibility, popularity, and support for the library in the community by reaching children unserved by any other community agency. In addition, services for children are popular with voters."
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