Storytime Can Be Social Justice Time

Authors

  • Natasha F Campbell Multnomah County Library

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7710/1093-7374.1897

Keywords:

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Abstract

Library storytimes are resources through which children can learn literacy skills, but they also have the potential for even greater impact. Families also use storytimes to gain valuable social interactions.

Libraries currently offer storytimes in response to community needs and values, and looking at storytime through a social justice lens gives library staff an opportunity to share and model valuable lessons in acceptance, inclusion, kindness, and empathy.

Resources exist to help storytime providers re-evaluate their storytimes and make incremental changes that can reap big benefits for attendees.

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Author Biography

Natasha F Campbell, Multnomah County Library

Natasha Forrester Campbell is a Youth Librarian at the Multnomah County Library’s Hollywood location and serves as the Chair of OLA’s Children’s Services Division. In her professional life, she does programming and reader’s advisory for kids ages birth–18 and the adults who raise and teach them. This includes storytimes for babies through preschoolers and moderating two family graphic novel book groups: one for grades 2–3 and one for grades 4–5, plus their favorite adults. She’s a member of the Amelia Bloomer Project committee for ALA’s Feminist Task Force, and when not actively librarianing she plays board games, walks her dogs, searches for the perfect taco, and hoards comic books like a dragon hoards gold.

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Published

2017-10-06

How to Cite

Campbell, N. F. (2017). Storytime Can Be Social Justice Time. OLA Quarterly, 23(2), 24–27. https://doi.org/10.7710/1093-7374.1897

Issue

Vol. 23 No. 2 (2017): Critical Librarianship

Section

Articles