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Somali bilingual family story time highlighted as tool for early literacy and cultural connection
Summary
A community specialist described an intergenerational Somali bilingual story time that mixes language instruction, parenting tips and referrals; staff said similar culturally specific programs are being piloted across the system.
Rukiya Abdi, a community specialist with Saint Paul Public Library, told the board that her Somali bilingual family story time combines early-literacy activities, basic Somali-language instruction and brief parenting guidance to reach immigrant families and support language preservation.
Abdi recounted discovering a public library after arriving in the U.S. and said that early contact with librarians led her to use library resources and later to become a community educator. "I went there, and the person said, 'you can check it out' ' and that made me come back," Abdi said, describing how that first welcome influenced her work.
Abdi said the program is intentionally intergenerational: grandparents, parents and children attend together, and she teaches basic Somali vocabulary alongside story time activities so children retain heritage language while building emergent literacy. She said she often follows story time with parenting tips or referrals when families raise other needs.
When asked where families can find her, Abdi said her business card is kept at service desks and cited regular activity at Marion Park, Rondo and other branch locations; she said she also offers on-demand sessions where community need is greatest.
A staff member responding to a question about other language programming said the library's community specialist team also supports Hmong programming being piloted at Hayden Heights, Spanish-language work led by staff member Adriana, a Black/African American community specialist (Janae), and a new Karen/Kenya specialist. The staff member said not all languages currently run regular story times; programming follows community-identified needs.
Board members praised Abdi's presentation and several noted the role of family reading in school readiness. One board member said they hope to continue funding culturally specific programs during annual budget discussions.
Abdi asked board members to share information about the program; she said parents and caregivers who want details can contact her via the library's normal staff channels.
