Children’s Librarians’ and Library Associates’ Use of Music and Perceptions on Music in Library Programming: An Initial Exploration

Literacy is a common goal of early childhood programs in libraries. Through the “Every Child Ready to Read” initiative of the American Library Association, librarians emphasize educating caregivers and parents to work with their children on early literacy skills (Every Child Ready to Read, n.d.).This program identifies singing as one of five core practices in early childhood library literacy programming. Based on this priority on singing in early childhood library programming, there seems to be a valuing of music by library organizers. However, little is known about the musical background and preparation of librarians and library associates who lead storytimes. This instrumental case study of children’s librarians and library associates’ documented the use of music by participants in library storytime programming (n = 13) as well as their perceptions about music. The researchers employed qualitative data analysis procedures to arrive at four themes, which encompassed the participants’ positive perceptions of the role of music in children’s lives; participants’ passion for early literacy; their emphasis on family mentoring; and the diverse music backgrounds that led to diverse approaches of incorporating music into library programming. In our discussion we note the similarities between our population and early childhood generalist teachers who use music in their classrooms, suggesting potential application of prior research. We conclude with implications for librarians and library associates, early childhood teachers, and the early childhood music community.