By Aimee Sullivan, Communications Intern
University of Florida students are used to being greeted by a variety of events and activities at the campus Libraries, from small wind ensembles and piano performances in the Architecture and Fine Arts Library to a cross-campus 5K that takes runners past each branch.
But, starting this past spring semester, UF students in the right library at the right time would see a gaggle of almost 20 voluntary pre-kindergarten (VPK) students from the UF Early Childhood Collaboratory (ECC), known as the baby gators, strung together holding the loops on a rainbow rope or clutching their buddy’s tiny hands. Maneuvering from story time to a tour of the stacks and ending with time to color with chalk outside–who said university libraries aren’t for all ages?
The field trips started as a brainchild of Alex Avelino, the Director of Marketing and Communications for the UF Libraries, who spent five years teaching at Baby Gator (now ECC). The goal was simple: provide an organized, half-day field trip for each VPK class that could become yearly excursions to each library. Though the Libraries are available year-round for teachers to plan field trips, Avelino wanted to support the ECC staff by providing a planned trip where the commute for the children was minimal, and the librarians could take the instructional lead.
The ECC has three facilities across the college’s campus, providing VPK education to children ages six weeks to five years. This program is available for children whose parents are UF faculty, staff, or full-time students, and any open spots are available for application to the Gainesville community.
“I hope the [ECC] staff gained some connections with librarians and know that we are always a resource for them,” Avelino explained.
Correlating with the academic year, Avelino planned a visit to each of the UF Libraries over the spring semester, with plans to continue into the fall. This spring, they explored Library West, Marston, and the Education Library. The VPK classroom names include the Blue Jays, Sunflowers, and Manta Rays, who were each paired with a librarian for the day. For story time, the librarians would select a handful of books from the Education Library’s 15,000 title collection, a deceivingly challenging task, Avelino says, as finding a book that’s entertaining to a gaggle of 4-5 year olds is hit or miss. With stories ready, it comes time to wrangle the baby gators into a small group on the floor.
Women’s and Gender Studies Librarian, Hannah Whitaker, was one of the Library West volunteer readers. “I thoroughly enjoyed participating in the Littles and Librarians event with Baby Gators and plan to be a reader again next year. As a former literacy educator, I initially became a librarian to work as a children’s librarian in a school or public library, so I am always happy to lead story times.”
While many librarians have children of their own, whom they read to each night, they quickly learned the skills are not 100% translatable.
“It’s not the same reading to a child in bed versus 20 squirming kiddos on the floor,” Avelino said. “It’s a totally different experience, and I think the librarians found it invigorating and energizing.”
All librarians who volunteered to work with the ECC underwent a “storytime bootcamp” with Education Librarian Samantha Noll. Before she transitioned to the UF Libraries, she worked as a children’s librarian at the public library in Alachua County for almost 17 years, where storytime was an almost daily task. The training Noll provided included tips for keeping students engaged through entertainment and book recommendations from the Education and public libraries.
“The training that I put together for the UF Libraries staff was called Storytime 101: Best Practices for Reading to Children,” Noll said. “I covered things like choosing the right books based on the age of the kids, vibrancy of the artwork, and number of words on the page.”
Some of the fan-favorite book selections included “Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!,” “Rainbow Fish,” and “Betty Goes Bananas.” Along with stories, some librarians sang with the children or provided a craft, like gluing colorful paper dots onto printed animal images, that let the kids get their wiggles out before going back to school.
In front of Library West, at the center of the Plaza of the Americas, these groups of young children drew with sidewalk chalk, with views of Century Tower and the University Auditorium across the street.
“I like to tell the kids intense make-believe stories that they’ll remember for years after this,” Avelino said. “I told them that a giant lives in Century Tower, that the Giving Day tie belonged to the giant, and we told them the Norman alligator statue was a living animal turned to stone.”
Though far removed from their potential college careers, the stories and memories collected from these VPK field trips will stick with them for years; some of these baby gators may walk these library halls as future Gator alumni, or perhaps choose a career in librarianship. These trips also impact the current students, giving them a light-hearted study break, reminding them there is a preschool campus, and exposing them to the future of Gator Nation.
“I think the UF students got a kick out of seeing the kids,” Avelino said. “They were smiling and waving as the littles walked by.”
