McBride Memorial Library

At the end of 2025 the library completed a weeding project on toys in the children’s library. Damaged and unused toys were removed to make way for new. The library purchased items such as magna tiles, puppets, puzzles, dramatic play kitchen items such as a toaster and soup kit, and Fat Brain Toys manipulatives. Additional efforts to improve the space took place earlier in the year. Staff color coded the board book collection for ease of returning items to the shelf as well as to reflect the summer reading theme of “Color our World”. Many parents have complimented this new system. It is both eye-catching and easy for children to re-shelve their own books; and it creates an easy way for them to request help from desk staff (Ex: I am looking for a pink book today please). 

This year was Ms. Raven’s first season as the facilitator of the Parent Child Workshops. She had been promoted to Children’s Services Coordinator in 2024 and began hosting storytime for the library. It was rewarding to see a library staff member bloom into a professional librarian role, learning and applying the fundamental values of Family Place Libraries. 

Raven has worked in the children’s department for a few years and has developed a close relationship with a local family of three, two young parents and their 2 year old daughter. They have attended each seasonal parent child workshop since her birth. In previous workshops the parents had mentioned concerns about the amount of information available to new parents and how it often overwhelmed them. Through attending the parent child workshops, connecting with other parents and resources has seemed to help them become more confident in their parenting skills and decisions. At first, the parents wanted help with how to differentiate between good and poor parenting advice. In recent interactions, the focus has shifted to the social and emotional development of their toddler.