The Public Library As a Context for Prevention

Introduction

Although parents play an essential role in supporting their children’s optimal early development, many parents do not have the information, resources, and skills they need. Group-based parent education programs are effective in promoting desired outcomes for both parents and children by building parent’s social networks and scaffolding positive parent-child interactions (Barlow & Stewart-Brown, 2000; Morris et al., 2017). Given the challenges in reaching parents to provide education, it is important to identify convenient and accessible spaces to engage parents. The public library provides one potential avenue for parent education which has enormous untapped potential. Libraries are well-trusted, accessible, safe spaces, making them ideal for family engagement (IMLS, 2013). Innovations in public library programming include classes for parents and children; however, little is known about parent education in these unique contexts. To examine the library as a context for prevention, the present study asks: a) why parents use the library, and b) how participation in a parent-child education program changed their perceptions of the role of the library in supporting families.

Methods

This mixed-methods study used caregiver-reported data from a pre-post evaluation of an interactive, parent-child education program in a large public library system. Participants included 219 families (82% mothers, 8% fathers, 10% grandmothers or other caregivers; 60% Caucasian) who attended programming across 6 locations. Caregivers responded to survey questions about their public library participation and perceptions both quantitative (i.e., Likert Scale) and qualitative formats (i.e., open-ended questions). Data-driven themes were created for qualitative coding. Quantitative results were analyzed using a repeated measures general linear model in Mplus8 (Muthen & Muthen, 2016) controlling for program attendance and child/caregiver characteristics.

Results & Discussion

Qualitative results of parents’ open-ended responses before the program suggest that parents view the library as a place to provide children with educational and socialization experiences (e.g., “My daughter can explore and learn new things as well as play with other children”). Most parents (74%) reported being drawn to the library for child-centered activities such as storytime and the children’s play area. Quantitative results show that after participating in the program, parents reported a significant increase in regular opportunities to interact with other parents and in their perceptions of the library as a place to learn about parenting. These results provide evidence in support of the utility of the library as a space for prevention programming.