COURTNEY McCLURE, for The Standard
UXBRIDGE: Kick your weekend afternoon off with a story from the Uxbridge library!
Every Saturday afternoon at 12 p.m. a staff member from the Uxbridge Public Library will be reading a children’s book via the library’s Facebook page.
“The online content gives kids and parents a chance to re-connect with the Library, and have access to a little slice of what we used to be able to do!” explained Amanda Pearson, an Assistant Manager at the library.
This is a December only event hosted by the library staff members, Amanda Pearson and Maureen O’Shea Brown. They will be rotating every other Saturday to bring a story to Uxbridge residents and other viewers.
Since in-person visits aren’t allowed, Ms. Pearson came up with the idea of reading a story and completing a craft, to go along with each book. The idea was pitched by Mrs. Pearson as a ‘Saturday activity’ for families to enjoy during this month.
Once the story has been read, a craft is completed following the reading. Families can choose to finish the craft whenever they like. There isn’t a set time.
The goal is to connect families. The library wants to offer as much help and support as they can during December and the coming new year.
Since the books are meant for children, the story time videos are filmed inside the Children’s Department at the Uxbridge Public Library. The books were selected to match the holiday season. Some of the books are childhood classics.
After selecting the books, they were going to read, the library staff had to contact the publisher, Penguin Random House Canada, asking for permission to film themselves reading these books and post them on their public Facebook page. This was to avoid copyright issues with the publisher.
“We are thankful that publishers and authors at this time are allowing libraries… to record story time online to support online programming,” she said.
Since the story times started, the Uxbridge Public Library’s Facebook page has received multiple ‘likes’ and ‘shares’ via the social media platform. “We hope that, as we continue with this, we will have more people visiting our online program and sharing their feedback,” stated Ms. Pearson.
According to Ms. Pearson, if the library receives more feedback from viewers, they might continue this event in the new year.