Imagination Station - Vet Clinic

In an effort to increase early childhood program attendance, I decided to try adding a couple of new monthly programs in addition to the regular weekly family storytime. I have found that while regular storytime attendance has been extremely low, people will come to our branch for programs that (1) are on days that most branches don't offer anything, and/or (2) are unique programs that other locations don't have. 

The first of these would be a once-monthly "Imagination Station" program inspired by the dramatic play areas I had set up at previous libraries (but sadly didn't have room for at my current library), geared for ages 3-6 (but open to ages 2-8 to accommodate older/younger siblings and homeschoolers). This would be a play-based program, but more structured than a "play & stay" program, with activities around a central dramatic play theme designed to encourage and develop imagination, creativity, expressive language, motor skills, socio-emotional skills, and early literacy. No one else seemed to be doing a recurring program quite like this, and I scheduled it on Friday, a day that most of the other branches in this system do not have children's programs.

I decided to design the inaugural "Imagination Station" program with a 'Veterinary Clinic' theme because (1) that had been the most popular theme for the dramatic play area at a previous library, and (2) my current library system already had "health professional" and "pet" themed programming kits with materials and activities to supplement supplies I or my branch already had.

Program: Imagination Station - Vet Clinic

Ages: 3-6 (open to 2-8, actual participants ranged from age 2 to 5)

Number: Could accommodate up to 25, (actual attendance was 6 kids and 5 adults)

Budget: Negligible, as used mostly non-consumable items, and all items we already had or had access to.

Stations:

1. Reception
   
   
   
   
   I set up a small waiting room area with our market stand as the front desk, complete with signage, a laminated sign-in sheet on the patient side, clipboards with laminated patient charts on the staff side, and dry erase markers. The shelves on the staff side were also stocked with bandages, medicine, food, and food/water bowls. [Dramatic play, imagination, functional print, writing]
   
   
2. Exam Area
   
   
   
   
   The table directly behind reception was the exam area, and had all the medical instruments with easy access to the charts, bandages, medications, and syringes. [dramatic play, imagination, fine motor skills]
   
   
3. Grooming Area
   
   

   

   
   I set up another table with a dishpan for a bathtub, a play grooming kit with wooden hair dryer, brush, scissors, clippers, and shampoo (though I would've preferred the set from Melissa & Doug), along with a few empty travel sized spray and shampoo bottles. [imagination, fine motor, dramatic play]
   
   
4. Laboratory
   
   
   
   
   I brought in an old toy microscope that was my daughter's and set out a couple of graduated cylinders, pipettes, small clear dixie cups (a stand-in for test tubes) with water, vinegar, and baking soda (only put out a small amount at a time to minimize waste and mess!).  [exploration, curiosity, wonder, cause & effect, fine motor skills]
   
   
5. Radiology
   
   
   
   
   I cut two of the flaps off a medium-sized cardboard box, then painted the bottom (which would become the front) white and the rest silver to serve as a pretend x-ray machine/light box, and printed out and laminated several different animal x-rays. I hot-glued clothespins to the 'lightbox' to hold the x-rays, but one popped off right away, so I would recommend using a stronger, more permanent adhesive. I also had several smaller pictures of animal x-rays on pieces of folded cardstock taped to the table with photos of the animal underneath, with instructions to try to identify the animal from its x-ray, and lift the flap to see if they were right. [exploration, curiosity, dramatic play, background knowledge]
   
   
6. Sutures
   
   
   
   
   One of the programming kits I borrowed happened to have these animal lacing cards, which are a great fine motor activity that not only practices a life-skill, but also develops fine motor skills that will help with writing later. Relating lacing to sewing and thus to sutures was the perfect way to incorporate it into the veterinary clinic theme. [fine motor skills, eye-hand coordination, life skills]
   
   
7. Book Display
   
   
   
   
   I pulled a variety of reading levels and both fiction and non-fiction, on veterinarians and pets for reading and/or checking out. [print awareness, print motivation, vocabulary, background knowledge]
   
   
8. Costumes, Patients, and Signage
   One of the kits I borrowed had two lab/dr coats, plain scrubs, and scrubs with an animal print, which I put out for anyone who wanted to put them on [only one child did, so don't feel like you really need to have these]. I had quite a few different stuffed/plastic animal patients; some I owned (Kohl's Cares or Goodwill), some my branch had, some came with the kits. We had several dogs/puppies, several cats/kittens, a couple of rabbits, a guinea pig, a rat, a chameleon, a turtle,f frog, two fish, a pigeon, a parrot, and a unicorn (for whimsy). I put a couple at each station, a few in kennels (carriers I brought from home), and the rest in a large basket. [Imagination, dramatic play, life skills (getting dressed)]
   
   I included a lot of labels and signage with both text and pictographs (1) so the adults and kids would know what each station was supposed to be, and (2) to provide lots of functional print in the environment.

How It Went

I have mixed feelings about how this program turned out. I was really excited about it and had high hopes that it didn't quite live up to, but I think a lot of it is me just needing to manage my expectations and re-define success. My supervisor thought it was a success, and those they came were engaged and seemed to enjoy it, and that's what really matters. I really was hoping for maybe 10-15 kids, but ended up with 6. However, I'm told that is a good turnout for that age group at this location (I was used to having anywhere from 15-30 kids for programs at my last library, and sometimes more). 

I was a little disappointed that they didn't really use all of the activities or use them in the way I had imagined to get the most out of them. The adults didn't really facilitate exploration and play like I'd hoped, even when I tried to model, and I didn't see as much imaginative and dramatic play as I'd envisioned. I know in my head the fact that they came, were engaged in any way, had fun, and left happy is enough, but my heart still wants bigger, busier programs with people not only fully engaged, but doing things the 'right' way. I totally realize this is my issue, though, and I'm working on it.

Those that attended did really seem to enjoy it overall. I'd expected the exam station, with all the medical instruments and treatments, to be the biggest draw, but surprisingly the grooming area was by far the most used, with the laboratory a close second. All the kids wanted to bathe, brush, and trim the animals, and as we already know, kids can't get enough of baking soda and vinegar experiments! One kid did get into putting bandages on several animals, but I really didn't see much "doctoring" going on. The x-rays and lacing cards were pretty much ignored, only one child filled out a chart, and I don't think anyone, child or adult, really paid any attention to any of the signs or labels, and no one checked out, or even looked at, any of the books. 

What I Would Do Differently

Going forward, I will know not to put quite as much time and work into the planning and set-up, nor plan as many stations. I will still include some functional print, but I won't go as overboard with so many signs and labels, I won't pull as many books, and I just need to not expect quite so much. Overall, just make it more simple and not quite so elaborate, especially for a one-hour, one-time program that I'm only allotted 30 minutes of set-up time for. 

I am still adjusting to being at a much smaller library in a neighborhood that primarily uses the library for technology access and assistance, rather than books and programs, and having much lower attendance than I'm used to at previous libraries.  At some point in the future I may consider trying it on a Saturday instead of Friday, to see if I can get more people, or more people from our immediate area.

The "Laboratory" station was such a hit I've decided that I will have to make that a whole theme sometime later this year. Next month will have a "Bakery" theme, with play food, sales counter, kitchen, dough-making station [making salt dough], and dough kneading, rolling, shaping, and cutting station. [I will also have play-doh for anyone with wheat/gluten allergies.]

Annual Reflection & Goal-Setting - 2026

 

I've had this blog for ten years now, and every new year I've written a post reflecting on the past year and setting goals for the year ahead. I was hesitant to do that this year as it's been a very tumultuous, difficult year for me (worse than 2020) that began with an ending and I really wasn't sure I wanted to reflect on it. But, I decided maybe that would be the best way to close that chapter once and for all and move on to better things! Fair warning, this is probably going to be a lot to read, but this past year was definitely A LOT!

Around the middle of 2024 I had begun to realize that no matter what or how much I did my work was never going to be valued or appreciated by management, and nothing I did was ever going to be good enough. I struggled with deciding whether to go or stay, because I was proud of all I had accomplished and had grown attached to all my regular patrons, but what started as a generally dysfunctional environment then became overtly hostile, abusive, and deeply toxic. Over the years many of you have thanked me for my honesty in addressing the many challenges and issues we face on this blog, but unfortunately that honesty came with a price and I became the target of retaliation. At the end of January 2025, after weeks of workplace bullying and harassment, things came to a head and I finally left what had begun as my dream job but had become a nightmare. It was truly a bizarre, horrible, and demoralizing experience.

I was so burned out and traumatized I didn't even consider looking for another job for a couple of months. I am very fortunate to have a spouse with a significantly higher income so that I could afford to take some badly needed time off to rest, travel, focus on physical and mental health, and figure out what I was going to do next. One great outcome of this was that after three years of always feeling like I couldn't take time off, I finally got to take several trips I'd been dreaming of and visit my kids. During this time I also got back to a healthy lifestyle, got my blood sugar under control (I'm a type 2 diabetic), lost weight, and I'm in better shape now than I've been in years. It's amazing the damage a toxic environment does, and how much your health improves once you get out of it and away from the constant stress, belittling, and gas-lighting.

Now that I've been away from it and regained perspective, I can see just how toxic my previous workplace really was from the beginning, and I now know I should have left long before I did. I had a hard time letting go of what I thought was going to be my dream job; I kept convincing myself I could make it work, that I just had to work a little harder, do a little more. But now I know there is no way to succeed in a toxic environment, no way to make it work, and nothing you do will ever be good enough. There is no pleasing a toxic, insecure manager; in fact, the better you are at your job the more they will resent you. As much as I hated leaving all the kids and families I had built relationships with, I should have done it much earlier. I now recognize the red flags I should have seen early on and regret passing up other opportunities. As another librarian friend tried to tell me, that library had likely been toxic for so long that they didn't know any other way to be. I didn't want to believe it at the time, but they were so right. 

During my time off I re-evaluated my career and even considered leaving librarianship. I was burned-out, disillusioned, and very disheartened by the continually growing anti-library and anti-librarian movement and the realization that the great managers I'd had earlier in my career were probably the exception rather than the rule. But after I had time to rest and recover, I realized I wasn't ready to give it up just yet. I still loved being a children's librarian; I just needed to find a workplace where I would be valued and treated with respect, and a position where I had a more manageable workload and could maintain healthier boundaries and work/life balance. 

After three months I began job-hunting, focusing on children's librarian positions in branches of larger library systems that would have centralized collection development and centralized summer reading planning and support. While I believe these are both very important and am proud of all the work I did developing a vibrant and diverse collection and a robust, evidence-based summer reading program, I realized that one person can't do it all, and I am content to have others perform those functions. I would prefer to focus on branch programming, day-to-day customer service, outreach, and building relationships with patrons. Also, being in a branch of a system puts some distance between you and upper admin, which I've learned is generally a good thing, making it much easier to keep your head down, focus on your job, maintain a more positive attitude, and ignore the BS.

Luckily, I found a position relatively quickly, and started my new job in early June. I am now the children's librarian at a smaller neighborhood branch in a larger system. I primarily assistant patrons, plan and conduct children's programs, and do outreach. I do some weeding, but I am not responsible for collection development; I do branch programming during the summer, but am not responsible for planning and designing the whole summer reading program. I also do not have any supervisory duties, which is something else I was happy to give up. I did take a small pay cut, but also a significant cut in responsibility and workload. The best part of my new position is that I am part of a great youth services team. My supervisor is a former youth librarian and really understands my job and all that it entails, and is very supportive. The teen librarian started at the same time I did and we have a great working relationship, providing support, advice, assistance, or just a sounding board for each other; there is none of the territorial behavior, competition, undermining, bulldozing, gas-lighting, or duplicity that I experienced at my last job. My stress and anxiety levels are so much less now!

The position is not without its challenges; no situation is perfect. I had to learn a whole new organizational structure and culture. We are understaffed and have a much smaller programming budget than I'm used to. There is not enough work or storage space, and our program/meeting room is way too small. It is challenging to get families to attend storytime, though I do get decent attendance at family and elementary programs most. While our library is used by the community fairly heavily for internet and other technology access and assistance, our circulation is very low (though it has gone up in the last few months!). The library is in a lower income community that is very diverse, with many that do not speak English fluently, so we frequently have to find ways around language barriers to help people, which can be very challenging, but also rewarding. But overall, the lower stress level far outweighs any of the challenges. Plus I got to meet Mychal Threets!

I have found that while I still want to be a children's librarian, I do not quite have the same level of passion for it as I used to, which honestly is probably more healthy. I give it my best for 40 hours a week, but no longer do I give it my all. I have accepted that sometimes "good enough" is good enough. A wise librarian once told me "don't let perfect be the enemy of good", and I now really understand what that means, and how important it is to be able to let go of frustrations and perfectionist ideals. I am going to focus on doing my job, but now I see it more as just that, a job. I have finally shrugged off the sense of vocational awe many of us have, and after five years as a professional librarian I no longer have the naïve idealism of someone new to the profession. I now have a more balanced approach; I am committed to doing a good job without making it my whole identity, re-defining success, and trying to resist the desire for external validation (though that's a tough one for me).

My goals for the upcoming year are pretty basic:

• continue prioritizing my health above everything else
• continue to maintain healthy boundaries and work/life balance
• continue getting to know the community and try to better understand their needs
• develop relationships within the community and the library system
• work on organization and time management
• increase storytime attendance
• increase outreach
• develop two new programs for 5&U
• Imagination Station - themed activities and dramatic play to encourage imagination, exploration, expressive language, and socio-emotional skills
• STEM Storytime- storytime that focuses on developing problem-solving and critical-thinking skills, inspiring wonder and curiosity, and modeling a growth-mindset with pre-math and science activities.
• maintain and possibly expand family & elementary programming
• take vacation time!
• go hiking at least once a month (this is my therapy!)
• read at least 1 book a month
• walk at least 3 days a week
• go to the gym at least once a week

Unfortunately, maintaining healthy boundaries and a healthy work/life balance means I probably won't be blogging that much, but I also don't want to give it up entirely, either. 

Wishing us all good health and peace in the coming year!

Happy New Year! 🎊🎆