Library Collections that Impact Communities

I’m inspired by the limitless potential of library collections. Working as an Early Childhood Educator has developed my interest in resources for this critically important and sometimes overlooked subject. The excited aspect of ECE is that it’s still emerging with positive goals that are easily obtainable through time and funding. Minnesota is home to an organization called, “Think Small”. The focus of this agency is to promote child development services, resources, and advocacy for early education. Those most interested in these resources are often educators and parents. Small business owners who often operate child care services from their homes have a single place where they may find resources for all sorts of topics related to the health, education, and development of children. Curriculum materials for young children ranging between infancy through preschool can be found in the collection. Librarians are available to put together materials for a  patron’s specific interest to support their lesson plan for their early learners. Think Small is visionary enough to design an entire library collection that is centered around child development and education. The Debra S. Fish Library is a library that is exclusively dedicated to early education. Think Small is home to the Debra S. Fish Early Childhood Library. You will find over 5,500 exceptional early childhood materials on a variety of topics: child development and learning, the business of child care, parenting, SIDS, and much more. What’s even more impressive about this collection is the use of the space. This library is new, and streamlined to project the essence of the subject-matter within. Anyone with a library card can check materials out from the collection, and this collection alone has improved child care and early education directly throughout its community. I would like to see more models of libraries that are community-based and dedicated to a specific mission.

If you’re interested in exploring the Debra S. Fish Library, please visit:

http://www.thinksmall.org/for_early_childhood_professionals/debra_s_fish_library