Andrew Brown (left) asks for some dessert from librarian Abby Kingsbury and volunteers Elizabeth Durham and Charlotte Durham at the last year’s end-of-summer reading program picnic. (File photo by Lisa Aciukewicz)
For the past seven years, Abby Kingsbury, head children’s librarian at the Harvard Public Library, has been organizing an array of activities to meet the needs of Harvard’s youth. Although the programming runs the gamut from magicians and puppeteers to musicians, literacy is always the theme. There are weekly storyhours for infants, storytimes for 2- and 3-year-olds, art and stories for 4- and 5-year-olds. And in October, Saturday morning storyhour for ages 4 and up returns with themes like babies, the alphabet, cookies and treats, and small creatures.
Kingsbury and children’s librarians Jennifer MacMillan and Jill Hayes also lead book clubs for older school-aged children. The ever-popular Book Gobblers for first to fifth graders, Bagels ‘n’ Books group for third- through sixth-graders, and the teen book group for high school students are nearly full to capacity.
Kingsbury attributes the popularity of the children’s programming to the community climate.
“It’s a library-loving town,” she said.
And the numbers don’t lie. Harvard Public Library statistics indicate that last year over 2,500 children attended one of the weekly story times or belonged to a book group. These numbers are no surprise to Harvard Public Library Director Mary Wilson.
“Although communities, including Harvard, are seeing a rise in e-reading, we are continuing to see an increase in the circulation of the physical book, especially in our younger population,” Wilson said.
Last year, Wilson said, out of the 128,000 books checked out at the Harvard Public Library, over 45,000 were young adult and children’s books. The library checked out over 2,000 children’s audiobooks, as well.
“For a town of our size, those numbers are pretty incredible,” she said. “The library is an important part of what makes Harvard what it is. For the most part, people come here for the educational system, which goes hand and hand with the library. We keep that in mind in terms of programming. In the summer, we encourage the reading program so kids avoid the summer slip. We try to do it in a fun way. Also, this is one of the few round-the-clock places for our youth to go to around the year. The library is generational and intergenerational. It crosses all age and socioeconomic levels.”
Wilson, who is also a long-time Harvard resident with grandchildren living in town, is elated the children’s section is flourishing. She credits Kingsbury and her staff for the success of the children’s programming. But she also knows that Kingsbury would be unable to run all the programs Harvard children (and parents) have come to count on without her secret weapon—volunteers. Kingsbury agrees.
“I couldn’t do all this without the help of my teen volunteers,” she said.
In the past, there has been no shortage of recruits. However, this year, Kingsbury said, she is having difficulty filling in gaps for some well-loved happenings.
“Some of our programs, including drop-in game hour and Saturday morning storytime, are primarily led by teen volunteers,” she said. “Last year, we had 443 kids attend these events. Without the volunteers I don’t know if that would have been possible.”
One such volunteer was Stow Road’s Elizabeth Durham. Durham, a 2012 Bromfield graduate, entered Wellesley as a freshman this fall. She volunteered in the children’s room for five years.
“I started out volunteering at Saturday storytime. Then I added family movie night and some seasonal programs,” Durham said. “After a hard week at school, the movie night would be a wonderful stress reliever.”
Volunteering helped her infinitely with high school, Durham said.
“I have been able to communicate more effectively with adults after years of interaction with families at the movie nights and storytimes,” she said. “I have been able to understand how to give presentations better after reading out loud in front of many people at a time. Volunteering has helped me grow as a person. I am more confident, happy, and comfortable in group settings.”
Now that the new school year has commenced, Kingsbury is optimistic students will step forward. In the past, volunteers have included National Honor Society students, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, and seniors working on their community service projects.
“Many of my current volunteers were program participants in their earlier years. Now that they have outgrown the children’s events, they have transitioned into volunteering,” Kingsbury said. “Many of them have told me how important the library has been in their lives, and they still want to take an active part in what goes on here. I love to see them make this transition.”
Kingsbury welcomes any inquiries about volunteer opportunities for students in sixth grade and up. She can be reached at 978-456-2381 or at akingsbu@cwmars.org.
