How to Work with Educators and Parents

Working effectively with educators and parents involves many elements including physical space, collection, communication, and programming; all are interconnected.

Physical space:

Parents and educators lead busy lives and are often pressed for time. Scan your children’s area from the viewpoint of someone just entering for the first time. Can you quickly and easily locate:

• Helpful staff
• Card/on-line catalog
• Reference materials
• Fiction
• nonfiction
• New materials
• Copy machine

If these pretty basic components are not easily identifiable, think about ways you could make changes for better and more expeditious service. Not only for adults but also for the children who are leading busy lives themselves.

Collection:

Related to physical space, but more specifically referring to what kinds of materials are readily available to parents and educators.

• Special collections (Spanish (other) language, local authors, etc.)
• Holiday materials (including holiday patterns and crafts)
• General reference (almanacs, atlases, encyclopedias, etc.)
• Specialized reference (Something About the Author, Index to Fairy Tales, etc.)
• Bibliotherapy books (books or other materials that assist adults in addressing and resolving an issue with their child(ren) such as bullying, parent with cancer, loss of a pet, moving, etc.)

Does your children’s area have a special section for adults. Many libraries do and they label it “Parent-Teacher”, “Parenting Collection”, or something similar. Having such an area and promoting it can be a very effective way to serve adults who live or work with children. This is a circulating collection and you will generally find in this area:

• Bibliotherapy materials (described above)
• Home-school materials (curriculums, theory/philosophy books, etc.)
• Education materials (phonics, What Your ___ Grader Should Know series, etc.)
• Preschool educator materials (circle-time activities, fingerplays, storytelling, etc.)
• Bibliographic materials (reference duplications/older editions- A to Zoo, Bookfinder, etc.)
• Parenting aids (Your Seven Year Old, Positive Discipline, etc.)
• Magazines for educators and parents (BookBag, Good Apple News, Practical Homeschooler, Sesame Street Parents, etc.)

Communication:

Between teachers and library-

We have already discussed the importance of assignment alert, the formalized system for communicating upcoming assignments so that the library (school and public) can prepare itself with appropriate and always available materials. Regular communication between teachers, school librarians, and public librarians proves to be mutually beneficial.

Offer assistance to teachers or home school parents in the area of materials gathering. Let them know about a service where should they call ahead (amount of time required should be determined by staffing and traffic levels) library staff can pull materials on a requested subject or off a list of specific titles and have them ready for fast pick-up. If you communicate your ability to make their lives and jobs easier  your relationship will bloom.

Between parents and library-

Just as they are encouraged to be active in school affairs, parents should be encouraged to take an active part in their child’s library use. Ten tips from the American Library Association which prove helpful to library staff are:

1. Allow your kids to explore the library and remember that children and teens are naturally attracted to materials intended for them
2. Provide clear guidelines for your children.
3. Have a special shelf at home for library materials and take time to familiarize yourself with them.
4. Talk with your children about what they are reading.
5. If you feel a book or other item is inappropriate, take the opportunity to discuss it (remember what is forbidden may become more attractive).
6. Remember that reading is not the same as doing.
7. Learn more about how to evaluate children’s books.
8. Get to know your public and school librarians.
9. Introduce your children to the librarian and encourage them to seek their guidance.
10. If you have questions or concerns about a book, feel free to discuss them with the librarian or teacher.

Library staff must take advantage of opportunities to pass along tips and suggestions to parents who come to the library seeking resources and assistance with their child’s school studies. Teaching opportunities present themselves daily. Make an effort to get to know those regular parents, pointing out new materials they might like, just-in pamphlets or booklists, or perhaps an upcoming program. Welcome new parents and take a moment to point out the “parent-teacher” area, reference, media, etc. Encourage parents to make suggestions, let you know about some new PBS show they’ve seen, etc. The communication should flow both ways.

Among libraries-

Get to know other youth service librarians in and around your area. This includes staff from school, public, and any special libraries. Communicating well with other libraries allows you to gain valuable ideas and support. If you are in a system or consortium where materials are easily shared among members, this becomes quite advantageous when that major assignment hits, allowing you to order ahead and have extra copies or a better variety of materials. If you are not in a system, having a good relationship with other libraries can provide you better support and resource awareness as well as lessen feelings of isolation.

Special services and programming for parents and educators include the following:

Services to groups-

Get word out to teachers and home schoolers that you are open for business:

• Schedule tours and book browsing visits as convenient.
• Accommodate class research trips. Collect and make available appropriate materials and/or allow group computer use to complete research goals.
• Arrange for class/group library cards based upon a pre-arranged procedure. For example, some libraries request from teachers a list of names, addresses, and birthdates, or fully filled out parental permission forms be returned to the library in advance (say, two weeks before the visit). Staff checks for existing cards and then creates cards, which will be presented to children (along with a speech about library card and book/material care) when they visit.

Programming for adults-

Planning and presenting more formal programs for adults who live and work with school-aged children is an important element in service to children. This kind of programming can take many forms and can take place in the library or at another location (school in-services, etc) and some ideas include:

• Present a “Family Internet” workshop. Invite parents and children to come and learn about safety and suggested sites together.
• Host an open-house for educators. Provide refreshments, tour them around, and feature new and special materials. Provide each participant with a bag of goodies (booklists, tip sheets, library information, etc.)
• Present a workshop for home-school educators. Let them know about resources and services available to them.
• Present a workshop for after-school care providers. Present resources, show/do some hands-on activities, and let them know (if) you are available for storytimes, either in the library or on location.
• Host an annual “Notable Books of 200_” event. Booktalk the best (picture, fiction, nonfiction) books of the year. Target your audience or invite all interested adults.

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