As an unprecedented time of uncertainty and social separation continues, two institutions come together to connect families around stories, reading, and learning
The New York Public Library and Time Out New York Kids are teaming up to present daily virtual storytimes to young children and families beginning on Monday, August 10.
Each day at 10 AM, a 20 to 30 minute storytime hosted by a children’s librarian from The New York Public Library system will be available for free at timeout.com/newyorkkids. Each session will include children’s book readings, songs and many other engaging activities.
The virtual storytimes are inspired by the popular storytime programs for kids 0-5 usually held in New York Public Library branches. Those programs have been temporarily suspended since mid-March to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19. While NYPL branches have started to reopen for limited, grab-and-go service, live programs cannot be held at this time, and currently, there is no set timetable for their return.
Time Out New York Kids, part of the global media and leisure brand Time Out, partnered to broadcast the virtual storytimes to aid in reaching as many New York City families as possible. Since 1968, Time Out has helped people explore and experience the best of their cities, and has been part of urban cultural life around the world.
“It is so important for children and their families to engage around books and reading,” said the Library’s Merryl and James Tisch Director of Education and chief librarian Brian Bannon. “Countless studies show the many benefits of children hearing stories read to them, and we know how much New Yorkers want and need our programs: storytimes are our most popular programs, and we normally have over 700,000 people a year attend. So it is critical that even in these challenging times we make high-quality programs available for free to families. This partnership with Time Out New York Kids, an incredible resource that reaches so many families on a regular basis, will make our virtual programs increasingly accessible to New Yorkers, and that’s a wonderful thing.”
“We are thrilled to work with the New York Public Library on such a wonderful project, especially as a part of our Love Local campaign” said Danielle Valente, editor of Time Out New York Kids. “At a time when so much is uncertain, it’s great to know that families can rely on this terrific resource. After all, there’s no better way to start the day than with a good book.”
Since the Library system (which covers the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island) has been temporarily closed since March 14, it has offered a wide range of robust virtual resources, including virtual storytimes on its website at nypl.org/storytime and on WNET’s New York City, Long Island, and New Jersey stations as part of children’s television program Camp TV.
Other virtual services offered for kids and teens include:
- Digital library cards and over 300,000 e-books (including kids books) to browse, borrow, and read via the e-reader app SimplyE
- Suggested reading lists, including Black Liberation Reading Lists for Kids and Young Adults, and our 125 Books We Love for Kids.
- On-demand, 1-on-1 virtual K-12 tutoring in a variety of subjects via Brainfuse
- Educational tools and tips to support families engaged in remote learning (such as on-demand read alouds via BookFlix)
The Summer Reading program Quest for Adventure, which offers families activities and book recommendations to keep kids engaged around reading and learning outside of the “classroom.”
About The New York Public Library
For 125 years, The New York Public Library has been a free provider of education and information for the people of New York and beyond. With 92 locations—including research and branch libraries—throughout the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island, the Library offers free materials, computer access, classes, exhibitions, programming and more to everyone from toddlers to scholars, and has seen record numbers of attendance and circulation in recent years. The New York Public Library receives approximately 16 million visits through its doors annually and millions more around the globe who use its resources at www.nypl.org. To offer this wide array of free programming, The New York Public Library relies on both public and private funding. Learn more about how to support the Library at nypl.org/support.
About Time Out Group plc
Time Out Group is a global media and leisure business that helps people explore and experience the best of the city through its two divisions – Time Out Media and Time Out Market. Time Out launched in London in 1968 with a magazine to help people discover the exciting new urban cultures that had started up all over the city. Today, the Group’s digital and physical presence comprises websites, magazines, live events and Time Out Market. Across these platforms Time Out distributes its curated content – written by professional journalists – around the best food, drink, culture, entertainment and travel across 328 cities in 58 countries. The first Time Out Market opened in Lisbon in 2014 and is now Portugal’s most popular attraction with 4.1 million visitors in 2019. Following this success, five new Time Out Markets opened in North America in 2019 in Miami, New York, Boston, Montréal and Chicago. A further pipeline of other global locations includes Dubai, London, Porto and Prague. Time Out Group, listed on AIM, is headquartered in the United Kingdom.