Dial-a-story is a service offered by libraries where customers can call a phone number and listen to stories read over the phone. It is mainly aimed at younger customers and can be a great form of customer outreach for libraries. The service varies from place to place and can include children’s books, short chapters, poems, and longer books. Dial-a-story can stimulate the imagination and promote independence in children, and it can be especially valuable for those who aren’t enriched at home. Libraries can pay a small fee to set up the service or do it themselves, and customers can request it if it’s not already offered.
Dial-a-story is a service that allows people to dial a phone number, select a story from a given list, and have the story read over the phone. A number of libraries offer this service to foster good relationships with their customers, with a rotating list of stories so that dial-a-story doesn’t get boring. Libraries can pay a small fee to set up the service, or they can do it themselves, and it often proves to be a big hit with customers.
The stories offered by a dial-a-story service vary from place to place. The service typically offers a large assortment of children’s books, along with some books with short chapters, which may be offered with one chapter a week to encourage people to call back. Some dial-a-story services also include poems and longer books. In all cases, they are mainly aimed at younger customers, although people of all ages are obviously welcome.
For libraries, the service represents a great form of customer outreach, creating positive emotions about the library and encouraging people to visit the library. Having an on-demand storyteller can also be useful for parents, who may want their children to be stimulated and encouraged to read, but who also appreciate a little peace of mind. Children often enjoy the service, especially when they are old enough to use dial-a-story on their own, as it stimulates the imagination and promotes independence.
Storytelling is, after all, a very ancient practice in most human cultures, and many people remember having stories read by parents, teachers, and library staff as children. Dial-a-story can be a way to satisfy a child with a seemingly insatiable hunger for new stories without leaving the house, and if children have been reading books about service at home, they can follow along. Dial-a-story can be especially valuable to children who aren’t enriching at home, due to a variety of circumstances.
Your local library might offer a dial-a-story service; you can call and ask, or check their website. If the library does not offer the service, the staff may consider it if you request it. To offset the cost of setting up your service, you might offer to help organize a fundraiser or ask for donations to encourage people to join the library. You may want to point out that setting up dial-a-story service may generate goodwill in the community and interest in the library among patrons that has not currently been reached.
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