Research > Environmental Scan > Programs > Family Place Libraries

Family Place Libraries:
Building Foundations for Early Learning

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Building Foundations for Early Learning
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About
http://www.familyplacelibraries.org
Location: National
Contact: Kathleen Deerr, National Coordinator
deerrkathleen@mcpl.lib.ny.us
400 Family Place Libraries in 27 States

From Family Place Libraries Brochure
A Family Place Library is a center for early childhood information, parent education, emergent literacy,
socialization and family support. Expanding the traditional role of children’s services, Family Place builds
on the knowledge that good health, early learning, parental involvement and supportive communities play a critical role in young children’s growth and development.

Family Place Libraries redesign the library environment to be welcoming and appropriate for children beginning at birth; connect parents with the resources, programs and services offered at the library and other family service agencies; and reach out to non-traditional library users. This creates the network families need to nurture their children's development during the critical first years of life and helps ensure all children enter school ready and able to learn.
Family Place Libraries is Funded by the IMLS
In 2012, Family Place Libraries secured a $450,000 National Leadership grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) to support 28 libraries in 7 states.
From IMLS Grant Announcement
The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) has awarded the Middle Country Public Library a National Leadership Grant of $450,000 to support their Family Place Libraries™ initiative.

he grant money will be distributed over the next three years, beginning December of this year, to fund staff training, site visits and project implementation. During this time, Middle Country Library staff will work with 28 libraries across eight states to implement and evaluate Family Place Libraries, a library-based early childhood and family support service model.

This multi-phase program will focus on parents and caregivers as first teachers, will be organized around the developmental needs of the child, and will link library services with other regional and local family support agencies. The program emphasizes libraries as key institutions within the early childhood and family support community and partners in the promotion of healthy child and family development. Partner libraries have been selected in Colorado, Kansas, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma and Texas to include communities in a variety of socioeconomic and diverse urban, suburban and rural settings.
In 2009, the California State Library received an IMLS Grant to State Library Administrative Agencies
From IMLS Project Profile
With the help of an IMLS grant, Stacey Aldrich (State Librarian for the California State Library) and her team sponsored the development of a Family Place training center at the Los Angeles County Public Library.

During trainings at the center, librarians are able to experience an actual Family Place space at the library and observe how families use it. "Librarians then decide how they can replicate or adapt aspects of the Family Place model in their own branches," says Aldrich.

Library representatives also can apply for sub-grants to fund Family Place projects in their own libraries. "We have Family Place spaces all over the state now," says Aldrich. "Some 25 libraries have participated."

Goleta Library is one such institution. Situated just west of Santa Barbara, Goleta is home to approximately 85,000 people of diverse social, economic, and educational backgrounds. "Many of these populations are unfamiliar with what the public library can offer their families," explains Allison Gray, Goleta Library’s branch manager. "We wanted to create an inviting place where families can congregate, learn, play, read, and enhance their lives."

Family Place training helped the branch create an Infant and Toddler Town—full of attractive, age-appropriate toys, puzzles, games, and puppets—within the library’s children's area.

"The number of ‘thank yous’ we have received from the public regarding the new children's space has, frankly, been astonishing," says Gray. "Parents—especially fathers—are engaging with their children in the library like never before. Rather than spending their time checking e-mails, they play with their children."

How It Works
From Core Components of a Family Place Library
  • Collections of books, toys, music and multimedia materials for babies, toddlers, parents and service providers
  • A specially designed, welcoming space within the children's area for families with young children
  • The Parent/Child Workshop: A five week program that involves toddlers and their parents and caregivers; features local professionals who serve as resources for parents; emphasizes the role of parents as the first teachers of their children; facilitates early intervention; and teaches strategies for healthy child development and early literacy
  • Coalition-building with community agencies that serve families and young children to connect parents to community resources and develop programs and services tailored to meet local needs
  • Outreach to new and non-traditional library users, especially parents and very young children (beginning at birth)
  • Developmentally appropriate programming for very young children and their parents
  • Library staff trained in family support, child development, parent education and best practices
Project Impact on Families
From Family Place's 2012 Overview and Impact Summary
  • Parents (including non and low English speaking families) report feeling less isolated and a sense of community belonging.
  • Parents are increasingly communicating with one another as a result of the Workshops.
  • Parents report being better informed of library and community resources.
  • Children with delays and special needs are being identified early and connected with early intervention services.
  • Parents and caregivers spend more time reading, playing, talking and singing with their children both in and out of the library.
  • Parents feel more confident in their roles as first teacher. 95% of Parent Child Workshop parents said the library helped them be better parents. (CA Evaluation)
  • Parents prize the informality and the relaxed atmosphere of the Parent-Child Workshop format and reported it encouraged curiosity and discovery learning.
  • Parents value the development of their child’s social, verbal and early literacy skills.
Project Impact on Libraries
From Family Place's 2012 Overview and Impact Summary
  • 100% of library administrators credit Family Place with having a positive impact on library staff, parents/caregivers, young children and the library as an institution. (Long Island Interim Report)
  • 100% of libraries redesigned space and collections for very young children, parents, caregivers and family serving professionals. (National Survey)
  • 97% indicate the library has become a community destination for families with very young children. (LI Interim Report)
  • 95% of Family Place Libraries report partnering with community agencies serving families with young children. (National Survey)
  • 83% of CA libraries reported adapting new family policies and practices and 75% reported integrating services for families into their overall mission and service plans. (CA Evaluation)
  • 82% of libraries indicated previous non library users now participate in programs and/or take advantage of library services for young children and parents. (LI Interim Report)
  • 74% see an increase in number of parents/caregivers using a wide array of library resources in addition to Family Place. (LI Interim Report)
  • Over 72% offer the Parent Child Workshop series two or more times per year; with 50% offering it 3 or more times per year. 12% of the respondents were new sites currently developing the workshop. (National Survey)
  • 62% have renovated or expanded their Children’s space and another 8% have plans to do so. (National Survey)
  • The California State Library can feel assured that there has been an excellent return on investment in its commitment to Family Place. Dr. Virginia Walter, Ph.D. UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies & Evaluator of CSL Family Place Grants
Sustained effort over time
From Core Components of a Family Place Library
The Parent/Child Workshop: A five week program that involves toddlers and their parents and caregivers; features local professionals who serve as resources for parents; emphasizes the role of parents as the first teachers of their children; facilitates early intervention; and teaches strategies for healthy child development and early literacy
Partnerships with other organizations
From Core Components of a Family Place Library
One of the core elements of Family Place Libraries is coalition-building with community agencies that serve families and young children to refer and connect parents to community resources and develop programs and services tailored to meet local needs. The five-week Parent/Child Workshop also features local professionals who serve as resources for parents. 

From Family Place Long Island Evaluation Final Report (August 2012)
  • "As one director said, 'One of the great aspects is that Family Place connects families with providers in the community. And by making those connections the library is building a relationship with that provider. We are helping them; they are helping us. And, together, we are helping families. We start to see the value of each other.” (page 6)
  • "Ability to Meet Needs of Clients: All interviewees reported that working with the library helped them serve their clients. Interviewees noted that, by referring families to the library for resources and classes, they were able to better fulfill their purpose in serving families. As one community partner said, “The library is a great partner. I can’t find or get to all these families. My ability to do my job is directly proportionate to how much time I spend in the library.” (page 10)
  • "Referrals: All community partners reported receiving referrals from libraries and making referrals to libraries. This was made possible because the community partner has a better sense of what the library offers and has communicated to library staff what it can do for families. As one community partner said, “We have good communications with the library staff. We have educated them about screening kids on language issues and they have sent families to us. They have let us know about what the library is doing and we have sent families to them. It works both ways.” (page 10)
Assessments
From Family Place Long Island Evaluation Final Report (August 2012)
Family Place Libraries brings in families to the library
"Entry Point for Library Services: Many librarians reported that parents hear about Family Place and come to the library rather than hear about the program while already using the library. For some of these parents, Family Place is their first time in the public library and then they come back to use other services. In these instances, Family Place can be considered a gateway program for the library." (page 7)

From Family Place Long Island Evaluation Final Report (August 2012)
Family Place Libraries resulting in parental behavioral change
"Many families reported that participating in the Family Place programs at the library changed how they interact with their children at home. When families reported this change they indicated an increase in reading to their children and singing songs to and with their children. A few noted that they learned new activities to do with their children at home. As one parent said, “I am more aware of the things that I can do with my kids at home. All kinds of things I never thought of. I’ve been really inspired to do more and be more creative.” (page 15)

From Family Place Long Island Evaluation Final Report (August 2012)
Family Place Libraries resulting in caregiver behavioral change
A few in-home child care providers also noted that their caregiving has changed as a result of connecting to the library. For example, these care providers indicated that they read stories to their children differently after seeing a librarian do it. As one caregiver said, “I really liked the way she (the librarian) made voices for different characters and stopped at certain points and asked the children what was happening and what would happen next. It made it more exciting for everyone. So, now I do that.” (page 16)

Fun or gaming element
From Family Place Long Island Evaluation Final Report (August 2012)
"Bringing these observations together, one parent said, “The library is always where I tell new families to go because it is so easy. And, if you are on a budget, it’s free and they’re quality things—talk about children development and support for parents and appropriate activities. And they are fun. A lot of fun.” One hundred percent of survey respondents reported that they would recommend the PCW to another parent." (page 15)