How to Set Up and Host a Story Hour

A step by step guide

Setting up a story hour is a surprisingly easy and quick process.  We did a lot more than what is necessary.  If you are overwhelmed easily, just keep it simple.  The story is the most important part of story hour, and that's really all you need.  This is what entertains and engages the kids who attend.

Also, before we begin with the process, it's a good idea to pray with your family and ask God to guide you.

Step 1: Find a Partner.

These kinds of things are always more fun when you do them with a friend.  You can bounce ideas off each other, and when brainstorming ideas, two heads are always better than one.  

Finding a partner is also important just in case something happens to you.  You could get sick, a kid could get sick, or a million things could happen, and you want a friend to be able to open the room and host the story hour if something happens to you.  

Pray about who you want to ask.  Make sure your friend is reliable, and you can count on her.  

If you don’t find a partner, and you will be hosting in Montgomery County, we will partner with you. 

Step 2: Choose a Couple of Good Books.

You can choose any book you enjoy with your family.  Ask your kids what they think, kids tend to give good advice for book choices.  If you do not have Brave Books and you choose another family favorite, we recommend you pair it with a Brave Book that teaches a similar lesson.  You can contact us or Brave Books for recommendations.  As of the writing of this Substack, Brave Books is offering one free book for story hour hosts.  Contact them at storyhour@brave.us for more details.

Step 3: Choose your Library.

You may want to use the library closest to you or another library that is more central in your town.   (This might be easiest on google maps.) Make a note for yourself of the name and address.  We recommend using a notebook to keep your story hour notes while you are planning.  

Step 4: Set Your Date and Time.

This is subject to change as you negotiate with your library.  Check the library’s schedule first, and make sure you don’t choose a time that already conflicts with a public event.  You can do this just by calling your library, but you can also check on the website.  The following graphics show how to check in Montgomery County.  Go to countylibrary.org and follow the directions below. 

We will use the Malcolm Purvis Library as an example.

Now only events at the Malcolm Purvis Library are shown.  Scroll through and decide on a date that does not conflict.  It is still possible that the library could be using the room at the time you chose, but they will work with you to find a time when the room will not be in use.  

When we were scheduling our story hour, we were working with a different library at first, but we couldn’t seem to find a date that worked. The library’s schedule was busier than other libraries, so we moved our story hour to a different library. 

Step 5: Book Your Reservation

These instructions will also be specific to The Montgomery County Memorial Library System in Texas, but wherever you are, the process will be similar.  Remember you can always call your library if you have any trouble. 

A. Become a library card holder

You will need a library card to reserve a room without cost.  If you are not yet a library card holder, you will need to travel to your library first to get one.  You will need your driver's license with your current address.  If your address is not current, bring a bill with your name and address.  You already pay for this in taxes, and you will not be charged money.  You must be a county resident.

B. Review Policies

On your web browser go to countylibrary.org and follow the graphics below.You will see the General Information tab and the Policy and Agreement tab.  

Read through these and keep them in mind while applying.  Make sure when you fill out the application that you are clear that you are just a parent/grandparent wanting to host a story hour.  You have nothing to gain from this and are not selling anything.  Everyone is welcome at your story hour.  Also, keep in mind, you cannot have a sign in sheet that requests any kind of contact information, and you cannot give out flyers with your contact information.  You also cannot have signs with your information on it.  This is why we created the social media pages, so that people could find us for future events.

Also, on all your events and flyers you will need to add, “This event is not sponsored or endorsed by the Montgomery County Memorial Library System,” to your event.

C. Fill Out a Meeting Room Application

Once you are familiar with the policies, it’s time to apply.  You need to click on the library you want to meet at, we are using Malcolm Purvis Library as an example.  Then you will need to submit a meeting room application.  Each host will need to fill out an application.  Once this application is filled out, it will be on file for each time you reserve a room.  If you reserve a room at a different library, you will need to fill out the application again for that library.

Follow the directions while filling out the application.  For Organization name, just come up with something creative, or you can put, “Two Moms and Some Books,” or “Brave Books Story Hour.”  Make sure you make it clear that you are NOT for profit and you have nothing to gain.  You should not be charged for the use of the space.  Under “Purpose of the Meeting,” say to hold a story hour and mention which books you plan to read.  Don’t overthink it, keep it simple.

D. Book Your Room Reservation

After you fill out this application, you need to book your room reservation.  You can find this link on the button below the application called, “Reserve Room.”

Follow the instructions and submit.  When indicating time, make sure you include time to set up and time to clean up.  Note that they will allow you to borrow a vacuum if there is a snack mess left behind.  You don’t want any cleaning bills.  We left a good hour of cushion at the end of our event to clean up.  

You should receive an email from a librarian confirming the date of your meeting.  This is a good time to ask any questions if you need any clarification about the policies.  

Also, I have been declined before due to scheduling conflicts, and the librarian followed up with a phone call the same day asking if we can schedule my event at a different time.  

Make sure to reserve the largest room available.  We guessed that we might have 35 people attend, and put that number as our estimated attendance; boy were we wrong!  A few days before our event, we were able to reserve a wireless microphone using the “Book Equipment” link to the right of the “Reserve Room” link.  If you have trouble finding it, just reply to the email the librarian sent you, and ask.  She can send you the direct link.  We paid $10 to check out the microphone.  

Step 6: Advertise Your Event!!

If your event is in Montgomery County, we would be happy to make an event connected to our facebook page for you.  Also, we can help you make paper flyers to hand out and social media graphics.  

You can find the graphics we used at 

https://bravebooks.us/pages/bb-story-hour

We used Adobe Express to add our details to the graphics from Brave Books.

Let Brave Books know about your event so they can add you to the map on their website. 

Email: storyhour@brave.us

Step 7: Practice

We recommend you write out what you want to say and practice in front of your kids.  They will probably be tackling each other and cutting up in the most ridiculous ways.  If you can do this with them, then you will be ready!   

Practice reading the books, have fun with it!

Once you feel confident in what you are going to say, write keywords in an outline on a few notecards to remind yourself.  

Step 8: Print Coloring Sheets

Brave Books provides coloring sheets in their story hour resources.  We also made bookmarks using their coloring sheets that we printed on cardstock.  If you would like the files we made to print the bookmarks, just email us, and we will get them to you.  

Gather crayons to bring for the kids to color with.

Optional Ideas (and a few things we learned along the way):

A gift basket:  

We were a little nervous when we first reserved the room for the story hour.  We wondered what the librarians would think of us.  Would they be upset?  

At some point we realized they may feel the same apprehension about us, so we made them a gift basket filled with fun snacks and a thank you card.  It cost about $25 total.  

The librarians were courteous and professional throughout the process, you have nothing to worry about, but the gift basket can be a nice touch.

A give away: 

Maybe you already have Brave Books at home.  If so, you could still request a free Brave Book and give it away.  People LOVE giveaways.  You can use raffle tickets or have people drop their names in a fishbowl.  We asked our attendees to only take one ticket per family.  

A picnic after: 

At the last minute, we advertised a picnic at the park after the story hour.  The moms who attend this event are often like minded, and this would provide the opportunity for moms to connect with each other and discuss other ways to help the community with good books.  We recommend one of you goes to the picnic immediately after story hour because people don’t want to wait around while you clean up.  

Host two, identical, back-to-back events:  

We had a lot of people come.  A LOT!!  If you think this could happen to you, plan to host two events.  Maybe have one story hour at 9am and a second story hour at 10am.  This will help you not need an overflow option and prevent the possibility of having to turn people away.   

Set up a table to display Brave Books:  I love flipping through my friend’s home libraries.  I often end up with a few new books in my amazon order.  This is how we find out about books like Brave Books, The Tuttle Twins, and Voice of the Martyrs.  If this overwhelms you, don’t do it, but it can be a nice touch.

Social Media:  

We are happy to share your story hour on the “Two Moms and Some Books” Facebook and Instagram pages if you live in Montgomery County or any adjacent counties.  If you live further away, you should probably consider starting a page of your own.  You are welcome to call yourself, “Two Moms and Some Books - Austin County” after whatever county you are in, or perhaps you came up with something else creative you want to use.  Social media will help people keep in touch with you and find your future events.  You could share other story hours in your county as well.  

Scope:  

If you engage social media, you might want to discuss your scope, and stay in your lane.  There are a lot of rabbit trails you could get lost down along the way.  One thing we decided was that we are not book reviewers.  This would be extremely time consuming, and there are already people who are doing this very well, so we are referring people to them.  Our scope is: quality story hours with quality Christian and conservative books, getting children's books into the library, and searching out what books of our genre are in the library.  

In addition we are encouraging and helping others to host story hours. 

Need additional help? We plan to host a zoom to discuss the process. If you would be interested in attending, please contact us. twomomsandsomebooks@gmail.com