There is no doubt that here at Macaroni Kid we LOVE our local libraries! They provide a free place for families to connect, learn and play right within our community. They are warm, inviting, and full of life thanks largely to our fabulous children's librarians. So, we thought it would be fun to learn a little more about the people who keep the children's departments at our local libraries striving with a new column introducing you to some of the wonderful employees you might just bump into while there. I had the pleasure of meeting with a couple of lovely ladies that work at the Cary Area Library right on Three Oaks Rd. We had a nice chat and I was able to feel their passion for what they do daily and I am excited to share a summary of their answers from the Q & A with you below.
Get to know Amy Barr and Rose Shusis of the Cary Library
Q: What is your position at the Cary Library?
Amy: Family/Preschool Storytime Leaders. She also orders all the board and picture books for the youth area.
Rose: Librarian Assistants
Q: How long have you worked at the Cary Library?
Amy: 4 years
Rose: 6 years
Q: What is your favorite children's book?
Amy: The Day the Crayons Quit Series is a favorite at the moment
Rose: Anything by Valeri Gorbachev. She loves the illustrations in the book. It really takes the stories to another level.
Q: If someone came up to you asking for book recommendations what would you suggest?
Amy: She said rather than recommending one book or series of books she would first encourage everyone to take books off the shelf, browse shelves and titles and see what is appealing to you. She wants to make all library patrons feel welcome to ask for help. She also said she takes her own children's likes and needs into consideration when helping library goers pick a perfect book.
Q: What is your favorite program offered at the Cary Library?
Amy & Rose: Both agreed that Family Story time is their favorite program at the library. They are the two that work together daily to plan and run Family Story time. They love to watch the kids that attend story time grow and come out of their shell. Amy said she loves seeing a child's participation increase as they attend more story times and become more comfortable. They also spoke about the new program offered immediately after Family Story time which is called Stay, Play and Learn. The program includes activities that coincide with the building blocks of early literacy. The activities are very interactive and Amy talked about how it is a good chance for parents and children to work together to build literacy skills. Amy said they typically have 50-70 people attend story times on a weekly basis.
Q: What is your favorite part about working at the library?
Amy: She had many reasons she loves working at the library and that was no surprise with the joy you could see in her face as she them to me! First off she said you have to have "No Shame". You are working with kids and have to be completely open and silly and not worry about what others might think; storytimes are for the kids not the moms. She's passionate about developing literacy in children and has always promoted reading at home so that transfers over to her love of working at the library
Rose: Her favorite part is working with the children. She loves interacting with the kids during storytime and watching them learn, create and grow.
Q: What are some things about the library that you would like to share that people might not know?
One thing that you might not know if you haven't attended any story times is during the last 5 minutes or so Amy and Rose perform a short puppet show! The library has an amazing collection of puppets. Amy and Rose collaborate and write all the content for the briefs productions and they base them around the puppets. They also wanted to let the community know that the library might be small but they host a variety of programs for all ages and believe they go above and beyond with what they have to offer families in the community.
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Macaroni Kid CaryGrove-Barrington-Palatine is a free weekly e-newsletter, online calendar and website focused on kids' activities, family fun events, parenting resources and information relevant to families in Palatine, Barrington, Fox River Grove, and Cary, IL. We compile all local family events and activities each week, and add useful information about family-centered businesses, product and business reviews, recipes, crafts, resource guides and more.
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