Smart Work 2027: Lammi Library’s bedtime story bookshelf for daycares
The Smart Work page presents everyday innovations and success stories developed by the City of Hämeenlinna employees.
We want to play our part in implementing the City of Hämeenlinna’s literacy programme by encouraging reading among families with children. We launched the bedtime story bookshelf initiative in a few daycare groups to bring library materials closer to families. The ease of use—families being able to choose a bedtime story and borrow it directly from the daycare hallway—serves as a positive incentive for shared reading at home.
Every month, we bring a diverse selection of picture books from Lammi Library to daycare groups for the bedtime story bookshelves. We ask the groups for theme requests, and children can choose books for the shelf themselves during library visits. We have also acquired foreign-language books from the Multilingual Library, taking the groups’ language needs into account. Families can take a book home for one night. Once the book has been read at home, it is returned to the shelf, and the child gets to place a sticker on the group’s shared sticker board.
Through the bedtime story bookshelves, we reach families who might not otherwise use the library. Daycare groups have been very satisfied with the service. The books are visible to the children throughout their daily routine. Reading becomes easy when you can grab a book to take home even when in a hurry. The children have welcomed the books (about 40 at a time) with joy, and many come to browse them as soon as they are placed on the shelf.
We are continuing this successful initiative with these groups. We want to keep providing joy and experiences through high-quality and diverse children’s literature by making books an easy part of children’s and families’ daily lives. Our goal is also to lower the threshold for families to visit the library. We are also considering whether it is possible to provide bedtime story bookshelves for other daycare groups in our local libraries.
Developers
Merja Munukka, Library Assistant, Lammi Library
Enna Paitsola-Nordlund, Library Assistant, Lammi Library
Päivi Ruuskanen, Librarian, Lammi Library