Stay and Play

About the Program

Category: Libraries (Best in Category)

Year: 2015

The Goodyear Branch Library established the Stay and Play program to promote early literacy skills through promotion of safe, unstructured free play at the library. The Stay and Play program was designed for families with children ages 0-5 in partnership with a local nonprofit organization. For an hour twice monthly families are invited to the library for a free unstructured play group. Children can play with a variety of developmentally appropriate toys in a safe, welcoming atmosphere. Through this program the library is able to partner with a local organization to further the mission of the both entities, model the successful use of unstructured play as an early literacy skill, and provide needed vocational work for students with special needs in the community. Library staff also recognized the need to educate families about the importance of unstructured play for their children as an essential skill for early literacy. With the creation of the Stay and Play program, the library was able to meet the need for more early literacy programming. This program identified a community, and working to address it, the library is helping to build a stronger community through early literacy skills education.