Instructional Asides in Public Library Storytimes: Mixed-Methods Analyses with Implications for Librarian Leadership

Joining a research-based trend in education, public library children’s librarians have begun to adapt and create programs designed to increase children’s early literacy and school readiness skills. Many libraries have invested in training which places an emphasis on using instructional asides in storytime programs to explain and demonstrate how caregivers can teach these important skills to children. Researchers conducted analyses of 68 storytime sessions and 34 librarian interviews to determine librarian’s uses of and attitudes toward asides. The analyses reveal a continuum of practices and perspectives with implications for the concept of leadership within the profession.