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State Library consultant lays out practical checklist for youth storytime outreach
Summary
Janae Jackson Doring of the State Library of Iowa walked librarians through partner outreach, program design, on-site logistics and suggested an outreach-services policy during a PopYS Live webinar focused on making storytimes memorable and accessible.
Janae Jackson Doring, youth services consultant with the State Library of Iowa, used a PopYS Live webinar to give librarians a step‑by‑step guide to planning storytime outreach — from identifying community partners to adapting programs for nontraditional spaces and setting clear onsite expectations.
Doring said outreach storytimes should be “interactive,” “memorable” and explicitly designed to create teachable moments for children and caregivers. She urged library staff to meet people “where they are” by partnering with preschools, Head Start, daycares, after‑school programs, summer programs, homeschool groups and city departments such as parks, police and fire to broaden reach and awareness of library services.
Why this matters: outreach visits are a common way libraries connect early learners and caregivers to free literacy resources and services. Doring framed outreach as both community engagement and a way to build language and early literacy skills for children who may not visit a…
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