3.3: What We Learned

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Songs and Movement

Our analysis found that the average number of words in a sung utterance (7.82) was higher than the average number of words (5.64) in a spoken utterance . An analysis of parts of speech used in utterances revealed that sung utterances used higher proportions of conjunctions and prepositions, indicating a higher utterance complexity because conjunctions and prepositions are used to add phrases and supplementary clauses. Singing gave children more opportunities to vocalize because 40.5% of the sung utterances were expressed by both the librarian and at least one child. Singing also provided more opportunities for movement. Children and librarians used movements, such as hand motions or dancing, along with 80% of the sung utterances but only 23.7% of the spoken utterances. Finally, the content and topics of sung versus spoken utterances were distinct from one another with sung utterances more likely to include repetitive words and action words (shake, jump, etc.).

Digital Technology

Detailed results from our analysis of the types of technology used during the storytimes we observed are not yet available, so we can only give general findings here. The most common digital technology used was a device to play songs or music. A few librarians used a projector attached to a computer to display song lyrics, behavior expectations, and/or announcements. One librarian used a CD player to play the audio version of a book while she held and turned the pages of the print version. None of the librarians used a handheld device to share an ebook. None of the librarians talked about the library’s digital collection or educational digital resources for children.