Storytime is now available online!
Join our wonderful storytime hosts each week for baby, toddler and preschool storytime sessions, available to watch via our Facebook Page.
YPRL is proud to share the library storytime experience by promoting Australian Books and Reading through the ALIA and Australia Reads Online Storytime Agreement. The pilot agreement enables YPRL to include children and families who cannot come to storytime sessions at our branches — for example, where both parents are working and cannot attend their local library — as well as socially disadvantaged areas where transport options are limited, and to support rural and remote areas.
The benefit of online storytime is in engaging children and their families in building early literacy skills and encouraging a love of reading.
Parents and carers are a child’s first teacher, and reading at home is key to early childhood literacy. Children read to six or seven times a week have a literacy level nearly a year ahead of children who are not read to at home.
Here is some feedback we have received recently:
- "Working full time we love watching Digital Storytime, we have even borrowed books from those sessions" - Sarah, Doreen
- "I have been coming to storytime in branch for years and we love it, during lockdown our morning tea would be sitting and watching Storytime at YPRL, we loved watching other people reading and now we have visited other branches to see them. Thank you YPRL for this great service and my family have really benefited from this" - Robert, Mill Park
- "No one tells you about how important reading is? Thank goodness for the local library giving me tips and information on how important reading is for my new born. During lockdown I had my son and I never knew how important rhyme and reading was." - Helen, Donnybrook
Online storytime schedule
- Mondays – Baby Storytime
- Wednesdays – Toddler Storytime
- Fridays – Preschool Storytime
All sessions will air on our Facebook Page at 10:00AM
Auslan storytime
City of Sydney has published a range of videos for Auslan and English storytimes. These videos feature Deaf presenters and support English literacy for deaf and hard of hearing children, while also providing exposure to Deaf culture for hearing children.
You can view all these videos on the City of Sydney YouTube channel.