Allen Public Library

The first 5-week Parent-Child Workshop series was offered in February 2019, followed by the second five-week series in September 2019. During 2019, 39 families registered to participate. The Family Place Libraries implementation was the Library Department's featured project for FY2019 and the City of Allen made a video to highlight the benefits. You can view the video at the City of Allen's YouTube page.

While 2021 was a challenge for most libraries, 2022 was a time of slow transition back to 'normal' programming. The Allen Public Library made the decision to be cautious with scheduling the Parent Child Playtime, ultimately only scheduling one session in 2022. The session was a success, and the professionals in the community were excited to volunteer for such a great program.

While our in-person programming and story times had resumed in September 2021, we were limiting in-person programming and supplementing with Take & Make Kits, which were available in limited quantities with a free registration. By May 2022 we stopped all Take & Make Kit creation and went back to in-person programming only.

In addition to our story times and programming, the Allen Public Library has STEM Kits for check out, including kits appropriate for ages 2-5. We have 4 AWE computer stations available and have been used very enthusiastically by parents and preschoolers. We have year-round sign ups for our 1000 Books Before Kindergarten program and have enjoyed seeing an uptick in involvement.

Our families have been grateful for all the events and materials offered by the Allen Public Library. While the pandemic challenged us and how we approached programming and services, we were very happy that 2022 allowed us to return to our normal programming and story time offerings.