Welties Librarian makes story times digital
Gwyneth Perry is the Senior Librarian at the Weltevreden Park Library who hopes to encourage fellow booklovers to come and enjoy the books available at her library.
Once upon a time in a world rattled by a pandemic, with libraries closed and social-distancing enforced, a friendly librarian thought to herself, “I miss the story times we had with all the little children. I wonder if they miss them too.”
Gwyneth Perry, the senior librarian at Weltevreden Park Public Library embarked on this new adventure in April 2020. She picked up some books, found a comfortable spot to sit, and recorded herself reading them. She shared her storytelling with the digital world. “I approached our e-learning manager and he said I should go for it. We posted the first one on April 28, 2020,” explained Perry. So every Thursday morning at 09:00 they get uploaded to the Joburg Library Facebook page.
“I thought this could be a fun way to continue delivering a service to the community during that time when the libraries weren’t allowed to have any in-person programmes,” said Perry. Though the picture books usually cater for the three to ten-year-olds, Perry thinks viewers of any ages will enjoy the digital story times with her.
One thing that really amazed Perry was the fact that people from across the globe tuned in on Thursday mornings to listen to her stories.. “My goal in all things I do is to let the community know that this library is a welcoming and safe space for everyone who wants to learn or read,” explained Perry. This month she’s reading Winter Wonderland books and can’t wait to share all these wonderful stories with her online community.
