DATE: Thursday, August 7, 1997              TAG: 9708040401
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS         PAGE: 10   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY JOAN C. STANUS, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:  104 lines

FAMILY CENTERS OFFER PARENTING HELP NORFOLK LIBRARIES PROVIDE A ONE-STOP, KID-FRIENDLY ATMOSPHERE.

AS SHE WATCHED her 4-year-old romp across the brightly carpeted Lafayette Branch Library floor toward a mountain of blocks, Selena Waltman sighed with contentment.

``This place allows a kid to be a kid,'' said the mother of three - ages 4, 3 and 6 months - one recent morning. ``I'm always so nervous when we come to the library, because I'm afraid of what they'll do. I have to keep telling them, `Don't touch.' But it's not like that here. They can play . . . and I don't have to worry so much if I want to go look around for something for me.''

Especially if she's hankering for some tips on getting her baby to sleep through the night or talking her toddler into eating her peas. Nestled in a colorfully decorated corner next to the children's collection, the library's newly opened Family Resource Center is a godsend for mothers like Waltman, eager to find parenting information in a kid-friendly atmosphere.

Shelves of books, video tapes, audio cassettes and brochures - on subjects ranging from children's nutrition and toilet training to planning your teen's college education - are within easy grasp of stuffed animals, pint-sized reader rockers and wooden puzzles. Next to the blocks and books sits an oversized ladybug cushion, a bead maze and stacks of easy-to-read stories.

``We wanted this to be a relaxing place so that mothers could look while the children play,'' noted Olivia Osei-Sarfo, Lafayette branch manager. ``It's very carefree . . . if the kids want to lie on the floor and play with the toys, that's great.''

The center, which opened in June, is one of 11 such facilities created at library sites throughout the city during the last two years to provide mothers, fathers, grandparents and other guardians with ``one-stop shopping'' when they have parenting concerns or want advice and information.

Initially, the idea was to establish a place within the library that would address such issues as child abuse and teen suicide in a ``non-threatening atmosphere'' for at-risk families, noted Yvonne Hillard-Bradley, coordinator of the libraries' branches.

``We know people want to be good parents but maybe don't know what to do, are maybe too embarrassed to ask or don't know what to ask to get some information and help,'' she said.

``That's why we wanted to make these centers very appealing, very attractive . . . and very easy to use.''

With about $35,000 from the Norfolk Foundation and the Celia Stern Foundation, four model centers were established at Kirn Memorial, Pretlow, Blyden and Park Place branch libraries in September 1995. Newly published materials, toys and furnishings were purchased with the money, and designated areas of the library were remodeled to accommodate the new collection.

``We saw very quickly that this was something we definitely wanted in the rest of our locations,'' said Hillard-Bradley. ``And we learned a lot about what worked and what didn't from those first four locations.''

Since then, library staff have secured an additional $52,000 to establish seven more centers.

They got the money through a federal Family Preservation and Services Act grant, awarded to the city's Human Services Department.

Last March, the additional centers began opening to the public at the various branches. With the opening of Lafayette's center in June, all are now operational.

At each one, some 400 additional materials have been purchased to address a range of family and parenting needs, and grouped into a special family designated area of the libraries.

``We've tried to include anything that will help parents raise their children better - whether raising children in a blended family or as single parents raising children on their own,'' noted Terri Raymond, children's services coordinator. ``We've tried to select something to cover every age range and lifestyle, from neonatal care and nutrition to beyond.''

A spin-off to the new centers has been the creation of a series of parenting classes held at the branches on such topics as stress management, discipline and dealing with adolescence.

Those classes are expected to continue this fall.

Now that all the centers are up and running, library officials have already begun to plan the ``next step'' for their centers. By this fall, they hope to acquire a computerized data base that will provide family resource information at each site. As more funds become available through the federal grant, they also expect to add to the collection each year to keep information as up-to-date as possible.

``There's been an explosion of information in this (subject) area,'' noted Raymond. ``And we know that these materials are very popular. They're very well circulated. I see parents wanting more and more in-depth information as time goes on and we discover increasing research about child development.''

What that information will eventually be depends in large measure on what patrons want and need, the librarians emphasized.

``We're really open to hearing from parents about what they need,'' said Raymond. ``If it's something we don't have, we're willing to go out and get it. We want this to be a place the whole family will use.''

Added Hillard-Bradley: ``We're winging it a lot right now. This is a program still very much in the works. As more parents realize they need to be dealing with their newborn as a baby, that reading to them early is critical to their development, they will turn to the library even more for their informational needs. We want to fill that need for them.''

For now, Waltman and her children couldn't be happier that they have a comfortable, fun place close to home to find reading material, advice and interesting toys.

``I had sort of forgotten about this library,'' the Estabrook mother admitted. ``Now that they've got this center, I'm certain we'll be coming back again and again.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by BETH BERGMAN

Jerry Stanley, 7, reads to his friend, Lindsey Weathers, 3, at the

Lafayette Branch of the Norfolk Public Library. The children are

utilizing the new Family Resource center.

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