Observations of babies and toddlers in library settings.

ABSTRACT

Participant observation, unlike the more traditional approach of querying adults about children's experiences, is identified as an appropriate and effective method for studying babies and toddlers in public library settings in order to explore these experiences from the children's own perspectives. In an observation study of eleven, thirty-minute baby storytimes conducted at two branches of a large public library system, the naturally occurring behavior of the children captured through observation field notes and audio-recording and transcription of the program successfully revealed numerous incidents of emergent literacy activities and social interaction. This article discusses the practicalities of implementing participant observation in storytime programs for very young children. Special requirements related to informed consent, the need to protect baby and toddler participants, and the challenge of gaining and maintaining access are addressed. Included is an appendix of recommended observation, child development, and research methods texts.

INTRODUCTION

Library programs for very young children (birth through two years) and their adult caregivers are common public library initiatives designed both to introduce caregivers to library resources for young children and to provide two conditions thought to enhance children's emergent literacy: a print-filled environment and "a caring adult to introduce the child to literary pleasure" (Greene, 1991, p. 7). Although much literature exists for practitioners justifying such programs and providing instructions on how to conduct them (for example, ALA, Association of Library Service to Children, 1990, 1997; Dixon & Dowd, 1993; Dowd & Dixon, 1996; Feinberg & Deere, 1995; Feinberg, Kuchner & Feldman, 1998; Flatow, 1997; Maddigan & Drennan, 2003; Nespeca, 1994), little empirical research has been conducted to delineate what actually goes on in such programs and the benefits of the programs for the children and their caregivers. It is likely that this is at least partially due to the difficulties inherent in collecting empirical data about very young children in library settings.

Infancy and toddlerhood are seen as important periods in the human lifespan. In addition to library and information science (LIS), the disciplines of developmental psychology, early childhood education, sociology, anthropology, and the health sciences have had a deep and continuing interest in very young children. While most of these disciplines recognize that babies and toddlers "take an active role in exploring the physical world and shaping their interaction with others" (Caulfield, 2001, p. 3), Greig and Taylor note that "the younger the child, the less likely the child is to be heard in research" (1999, p. 46). "Traditionally, childhood and children's lives have solely been explored through the views and understandings of their adult caretakers" (Christensen & James, 2000, p. 2). However, participant observation in naturalistic settings is emerging as a technique that is particularly well suited to studying young children in a variety of contexts. It has been identified as "particularly helpful for doing research with young children who may be unable to communicate any other way" (Greig & Taylor, 1999, p. 85). As Cohen, Stern, and Balaban note, "[c]hildren communicate with us through their eyes, the quality of their voices, their body postures, their gestures, their mannerisms, their smiles, their jumping up and down, their listlessness. They show us, by the way they do things as well as what they do, what is going on inside them" (1997, p. 6). The participant observation study described below demonstrates that this is an effective method for studying young children in library and other information settings. (1)

THE STUDY

In order to discover what happens at library baby storytime programs and if and how these programs benefit the children who take part, we (2) conducted an exploratory participant observation study. Two sessions of baby storytime, consisting of a total of eleven, thirty-minute programs at two branches of a large public library system, were observed and audio-recorded. Interviews, both individual and focus group, were also conducted with adult participants. Data collected included observation field notes, transcripts of audio-recorded storytime sessions and interviews, and relevant documents such as program flyers and thematic booklists. Following the practices of Strauss and Corbin (1998), the data were scanned for emergent themes. Trustworthiness was ensured through strategies such as prolonged engagement, triangulation of data collection sites, triangulation of researchers, member checking, and peer debriefing. Results of the study indicate that library storytimes provide a context in which young children are engaged in early literacy activities and social interaction and where adult participants seek, give, and exchange information (McKechnie & McKenzie, 2004). While the adult interview data was particularly useful for…