Upper Moreland Library: A Growing Place for Families

To the untrained eye, Tuesday mornings at the (UMFPL) might appear to be chaos.

Every Tuesday, starting from March 6 to April 10, the Upper Moreland Free Public Library’s Community Room is taken over by toddlers, as they splash wet oatmeal around in a sandbox, play with building blocks and animal hand-puppets, as well as take rides in a rocking boat.

“We’re not just books anymore,” Margie Peters, UMFPL director said with a smile.

The chaotic scene on Tuesday mornings is actually part of a forward-thinking initiative to make libraries hubs for healthy child and family development – also known as a Family Place Library.

“Libraries need to be a community resource and a common place for people to come and know their neighbors,” Peters said.

According to Peters, the library recently received a $17,000 Library Place state grant.

The grant requires a library to evolve its traditional role as a public library by becoming more of a community center. This center would not only provide resources for early childhood development, but also for parental education, family support, socialization and, of course, for promoting literacy in the family.

Peters, who has a background in early childhood development, said that pursuing the grant was only natural, as UMFPL has a history of focusing on its patrons’ younger families.

As an example, Peters cites last summer’s major , which now features such amenities as a writing station. Prior to these renovations, Peters also took measures to bring in the parenting book section into the children’s library area, so that parents could be closer to their children.

According to Peters, UMFPL is the only library in the region to have a separate children’s library on the same floor as the main library. Further renovations will include a teen and young adult section.

Of the $17,000 grant, $12,000 was dedicated to an intensive weeklong-training at the first designated Family Places Library, the Middle Country Public Library in Centereach, N.Y. The remaining $5,000 went toward developing the core components of a Family Place Library.

“I wanted it for the toys,” Peters half-jokingly said of the grant.

With the $5,000, UMFPL was able to purchase several educational based toys (some of which were listed above), of which all are used in the keystone component of the grant: the Parent/Child Workshop.

Peters said that UMFPL calls its workshop “Play and Learn Together.” She describes the workshop as a networking opportunity for parents, learning specialists and youth.

As part of the Family Places grant, the workshops are free to participants, but do require a commitment by the parents or guardians to attend each weekly event.

During the workshops, parents and caregivers can receive important parenting information by local learning professionals.

Learning professionals included in the current Play and Learn Together series are:

• March 6 – “Literacy” with Jim Moran, UMFPL children’s librarian and Cheri Crow District Youth Services Coordinator
• March 13 – "Speech and Language" with Michele Halfpenny of Halpenny Pediatric Speech Services and Abington Speech Pathology Services
• March 20 – "Stages of Child Development" with Debra MacDonald, certified parenting educator at the Parenting Center of Abington
  
• March 27 - "Art, Music and Creativity" with Miss Allyson,  manager of Romp n’ Roll of Willow Grove
• April 3 – "Child Therapy/Play Therapy" with Samantha Gorrell and Michele Monos of Theraplay
• April 10 – "Nutrition/Fitness" with Dr. Jennifer Coren of Hatboro Pediatrics

While the Play and Learn Together workshops are now closed to registration, the library is expected to host the next 6-week series in the late summer or fall.

According to the March 13 learning professional, Michele Halfpenny, the interaction between professional and participant is very informal.

“No, there are no lectures,” Halfpenny said. “As a professional, I walk around and I make sure to go and talk to all the parents.”

As a speech-language pathologist, Halfpenny addressed the many questions of parents and guardians concerning developmental capabilities of their children.

In addition to intermingling with Play and Learn Together participants, Halfpenny provided literature on normal speech and cognitive progression of children at the Parents’ Resources station of the workshop.

Also at this station, the library provided a list of related language and speech development books available for check out by parents and guardians, as well as general parenting literature.

As there was no set agenda for the one-hour and forty-five-minute workshop, various stations were set up throughout the library’s community room.

Stations included: Craft Table, Music Table, Toys and Games, and a Kids Reading Area.

Toddlers varying in ages from 18-36 months were encouraged to play together and roam from station to station, under the supervision of library staff, and the workshop’s 16 parents and guardians.

“With a roomful of toddlers, you never know what’s going to happen,” Kris Irwin of Glenside said. “But it’s nice to have.”

Irwin was happily watching her 19-month-old son Hilyer, as he picked up and dropped grains of oatmeal in the sandbox table. She said that she was grateful to the library for hosting the free event, and felt that the information from the professionals would be helpful to first-time parents.

“I wish this was available years ago for my first child,” Irwin said.

Other parents and guardians also valued a free, structured play option for their children.

“They enjoy it and get to play more,” Beca Dunst, a nanny from Doylestown, said. “We don’t get to out that much, so I’m thrilled for this one day a week we can come out.”

For longtime UMFPL patrons, the Play and Learn workshops is yet another opportunity in making the library more of a community resource.

“I really appreciate and take advantage of what the library offers,” Beth Wood, a six-year member of the library, said. “I thought this was a wonderful way to use resources and connect with other parents.”

Wood, who was with her 35-month-old son Nolan, said that events like the Play and Learn help children learn to love going to their local library from an early age.

Annmaire Mangin of Willow Grove is a 3-year member of the library, and said she was especially grateful for the workshops.

“I walked away from this and knew what a great resource it was, and I want to continue to support the library,” Mangin said.

Varada Khairatkar who brought her 2-year-old daughter Shreemagi said she is excited to see what’s in store for the coming weeks of the Play and Learn Together workshops.

“We enjoyed this as much as last week, and we’re looking forward to coming back,” Khairatkar said.

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For more information about the Upper Moreland Free Public Library, visit www.uppermorelandlibrary.org

For more information about Halfpenny Pediatric Speech Services, visit www.halfpennyspeech.com or call 610-733-4586.

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