Hampden library gears reading programs toward preschoolers

Advertising Supplement to the Bangor Daily News

Before the invention of television and computers, people lived a slower pace, allowing families to spend more time at home reading. Families would gather together before the fire, using candles and oil lamps to cast light on their few precious books.

Today, lots of little children would be lost if they couldn’t get their daily dose of “Sesame Street.” While most people wouldn’t trade their modern conveniences to return to the bygone days, some are making the effort to collect some pieces of the past.

Hampden residents have put their money where their families are. Since the year-round operation of the Edythe L. Dyer Community Library is made possible entirely through Hampden municipal taxes and a private endowment to buy books, all residents can borrow books and tapes and participate in programs free of charge. The two book types with the highest circulation are juvenile picture books and adult fiction. Videos offer an attractive alternative for non-reading patrons.

During school vacation weeks, special programs are presented to attract children to the library. Popular programs have been mask-making, puppet shows, pretzel-making, and a pizza-and-poetry party. At least 100 children participated in library fun and games during the recent February school vacation.

Children’s librarian Susan M. Hansen presents a book-related programs to young patrons. Four weekly story-times are offered for preschoolers as young as age 3. Because a child’s attention span is short, Hansen makes a visual presentation of the story by using characters attached to a flannel board.

Hansen said, “It’s a nice medium that helps to keep the children’s attention.”

Four times a year, the youngest library users (ages 20-months to 3-years-old) can enjoy a six-week story-time series. Keeping the youthful age of these youngsters in mind, Hansen selects stories that last only 20-30 minutes.

Upon their arrival, the children receive a name tag, then march down the hall to the common room while singing all the way. Rugs are arranged in semicircles so that parents and children can both participate.

Hansen explained, “The groups may act out rhymes and finger plays, or tell a puppet-flannel story. The kids sit with mom and dad while very short stories are told in rapid succession. It’s a lot of fun.

“It’s amazing that kids can remember so much. Going to the library can have a big impact on their lives. For 2-year-olds, the library is probably the first institution they identify with; it can become a big part of their lives,” she said.

Hansen said, “We can do so much when the children get into the habit of reading. They learn to associate the library with lots of fun and a variety of things to do. It’s a good opportunity to start them off right by getting the message across early that it’s good to take books home and share time reading them.”

By Melissa MacCrae