Online Storytime Videos for Families

Monday-Friday at 10:30 AM

CMBCL Social Media Accounts

Portland, OR — Storytelling has been a key feature of American libraries for over a century, and for good reason. As children listen to stories, they acquire essential tools for learning and communication including vocabulary expansion and development of literacy and active listening skills. Storytelling programs can include sing-a-longs, dancing and puppets. By offering live, group storytimes, libraries create community and promote inclusivity. As children attend the events on a regular basis, librarians become some of the most beloved people in their lives.

Cedar Mill and Bethany Community Libraries regularly offer over 500 live storytimes each year that are regularly attended by up to 75 children at a time. When library staff learned that the libraries would temporarily close due to Covid-19, they immediately set to creating an online storytime program. As emails poured in from parents telling of kids missing “their” librarians, staff were studying video editing and filming storytelling videos in their homes. The result has been a great success, with videos reaching thousands of followers and receiving enthusiastic feedback.

Through online storytimes, CMBCL librarians seek to provide children with a sense of normalcy and an uninterrupted connection to the libraries they love, all while teaching them skills they will use for a lifetime.

Cedar Mill and Bethany Community Libraries currently publish pre-recorded and live Storytime at Home videos on Facebook, Instagram and Youtube. Find links to libraries’ social media accounts at Library.CedarMill.org.