Ready to Read Activities Expanded

Youth and Family Services has moved some Ready to Read Room activities out into the general area to accommodate families who arrive to use the space during scheduled events in that room. Brilliant!
Here's a full explanation from Heather:

We are giving something a try here in the Southwest Children's Room: making the Ready to Read Room activities available outside of the Ready to Read Room during all hours that we're open! 

The situation is this: When the room is closed because we are set up for storytimes or other programs, young patrons and their caregivers inevitably come to use the activities in the room and cannot. This leads to a lot of disappointment--trembling lower lips, tears, tantrums, we've seen it all. So, why not move the activities outside of the room?

This move lets patrons enjoy the activities during all hours that we're open, regardless of storytimes and programs. It allows our storytime staff more time to prepare for storytime instead of setting up and tearing down the room several times per week. Additionally, the current location is adjacent to our "KPL2" space for school-aged children, allowing caregivers to keep an eye on their children who span both younger and older age ranges. 

Below is a picture of our current iteration of the space. We are hoping to keep this space as-is for the duration of the summer, with the potential for a more permanent upgrade in the future if it is well-liked by patrons and staff. We will continue to gather patron feedback on this--so if you hear anything, positive or negative, please let us know. Similarly, if you have feedback, please let me know.