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Dawnna Ybarra recently took on the position of Children’s Librarian at the Winslow Public Library. In her new roll she has developed some programs over the last three months to develop and foster a love for reading in Winslow’s youth.
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Most recently, she hosted a Book Tasting, where young readers were encouraged to come to the library to sample books they may be interested in. “The goal is to help people get interested in the authors and the types of books that we have around here. You know, give them a taste of what we have and promote reading.”
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The Book Tasting asked readers to sit at place settings in the Roxanne Whipple Children’s Room of the library where according to Ybarra, “You sit just as you would at a restaurant. There are books at your table waiting for you. A menu is chosen according to reading level. From there, they will evaluate books based on their covers, the summary, and then read a few random paragraphs.” They then leave with a list of books that may fit their interests based on the evaluations they did.
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The Book Tasting is just an example of the many things Ybarra plans to implement this year. “I would like to make the room a bit more visually enticing for the kids. We are also adding more audio books and other genres that we are missing.”
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Already underway is Ybarra’s Discovery U group. “It is for elementary school aged kids. Each month, I read a classic novel to the kids and then we do an activity related to the book. For example, this month we are reading ‘The Phantom Tollbooth.’ Each week we read a couple of chapters and yesterday we were on the chapter of discovering the child Alex Bings. He is born in the air and grows down. So, we did an activity about perception. The kids were given a paper to trace and color their hands on while I was reading to them. By the end, they all had created three dimensional looking hands from their own perception of what that should be.”
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So far, about seven kids per week have attended the Discovery U program. “I feel like more kids will come once we get the word out, but what I really do like is that the parents are getting involved and interacting with their kids.” As an added bonus Emma, Ybarra’s therapy dog, also attends Discovery U and the children are encouraged to read to her. “The dog doesn’t judge how the kids pronounce words or how they trip over sounds. They all line up and wait their turn with her.”
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Ybarra has also continued the tradition of Pre-School Story Time that has been part of the library for some years. “Story Time is wonderful and not just for pre-school age children. We have a couple of kids who are a bit older who come every week. Everyone is welcome. Finn, another of my dogs, comes for Story Time and the kids just love it.”
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Ybarra has a background as a reading specialist and is a certified teacher in Arizona. “Being a reading specialist I am able to help the readers if they want help and show them little things that can get them on the right track to being readers. My focus is, and will continue to be, encouraging reading and letting people know how important it is.”
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The big goal for 2019 said Ybarra is to have “the library out in to the community. I am trying to work with Head Start and (children living in) low-income housing to where we can bring Story Time and we can bring books to them. Not all of them are able to come in here during our hours because their parents work or whatever. So we want to do our best to accommodate those kids and bring the library to them. We just want to promote reading to everyone.”
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She continued, “It may take some time to get people to remember that the library has a lot to offer year-round, but I am dedicated to making that happen. We have our summer program which is very popular, but we have a lot going on here all the time.”
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Discovery U takes place at 3 p.m. on Wednesday afternoons and Story Time is held at 10:30 a.m. on Fridays. Ybarra plans to have a calendar available at the front desk of the library to alert parents and young readers of upcoming books and activities to be featured. For more information, visit the Winslow Public Library at 420 W. Gilmore St.
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