Changes in children's program schedules and the resignation of a popular librarian at the Port Townsend Public Library have some parents concerned enough to stage a protest of sorts.

On Thursday, April 30, during the scheduled midmorning toddler story time, parents staged a "Library on the Lawn" gathering outside the library.

About 30 parents or caregivers, and as many babies and toddlers, assembled on and around blankets spread on the grass between the Carnegie Library and the Charles Pink House (Library Learning Center). Kathryn Norris, parent of a 16-month-old son, led the group in songs that included "Shake My Sillies Out," "The More We Get Together" and "I Like the Flowers." Most of the parents and kids sang along, moving their bodies in time; a few kept time with egg shakers.

While the parents and kids sang outdoors, the regularly scheduled toddler story time took place indoors, though it was sparsely attended.

At the library’s story time programs, which take place on a rug in the children's section, a librarian engages youngsters and their parents and caregivers with songs, movement and reading.

Kit Ward-Crixell, director of children's services since July 2014, explained that the events help parents learn songs that they can sing to their kids, and provide some much-needed interaction with other parents.

Story times/lap-sits are to be reduced from four times to three times a week on weekdays, with the addition of a Saturday-morning story time. The programs are suspended from mid-May to mid-June. The new schedule, starting in mid-June, also reduces the length of lap-sit and story times.

The new schedule also dramatically reduces the amount of time that the children's library is available for parents immediately after baby lap-sit on Thursdays, because the new format has toddler story time beginning half an hour after baby lap-sit ends.

Darcy Reeder, one of the organizers of the April 30 "Library on the Lawn," wrote in an email to the Leader: "We always hang out for a long time after [baby lap-sit], sometimes over an hour, the kids playing with the toys or nursing, the parents talking and talking. I cannot stress how important this after-program time is for our mental health, our breastfeeding success, our confidence, our community-making."

"Sometimes [story times or baby lap-sits] could run up to three hours," said Melody Sky Eisler, library director since February 2015. She estimated that library staff was spending 30 hours a week on story times and lap-sits, including preparation, setup and teardown. The librarian was not required to stay after the program, but "usually the staff person did stay with [patrons] longer," Eisler said.

Scheduling story time just a half-hour after lap-sit on Thursdays is "absolutely" intended to reduce the amount of staff time spent on the programs, Eisler said.

Eisler said the programs' schedule changes reflect an effort to expand programs to reach more people in the community. Staff time is to be redirected to outreach and programs for older kids.

"The library is engaged in a cost-recovery program," Eisler said, "making sure we have a sustainable budget."

Eisler said she hopes less staff time will be spent on children's story times and their planning.

"When we started looking at the story times ... it made sense ... to slightly slim down the story times so we could reallocate our resources," Eisler said.

In an April 29 memorandum to the Port Townsend City Council, Eisler wrote, "The programs we offered for early literacy served a small segment of our community very well. By modifying our programs, we hope to continue this important service while also serving a greater number of children and families in our community."

Eisler continued, "Our story time pause from mid-May to mid-June is designed to give youth services staff time to do outreach to schools, Head Start and other places where parents can be reached."

Eisler said the librarian who had done story times and baby lap-sits resigned shortly after the schedule changes were announced.

Many parents expressed concern about the resignation of Mirandy Cook, who declined to comment for this news story.

Lea Lawlor wrote in an email to the Leader, "I am skeptical of any new direction which could manage to lose someone like Mirandy Cook.... Could someone else do what she did? Sure, maybe we could find someone else to sing and dance, even manage to hold the attention of twelve toddlers at one time (have you ever tried that?). But would they be able to offer all of what Mirandy gave?"

Reeder wrote, "[Cook] has such a gift of unabashed enthusiasm that the children love and that puts us at ease, makes us unafraid to sing silly songs and really play. These are not things that just come naturally to adults. I believe we are all better parents for it, for this experience of being silly in a safe space."

Cook's title was library services assistant, Eisler said, a position that is to remain unfilled, though the library is soon to announce a new position for a full-time youth services associate, a position requiring slightly higher qualifications.

"I want to make sure we have good internal equity in the library," Eisler said.

The new position will represent a 10-hour-per-week increase in the library's total youth services staff time, she said.

Kit Ward-Crixell, the library's children's services director since July 2014, confirmed that schedule changes are intended to expand programming to provide more events aimed at kids older than age 5.

Ward-Crixell explained that the suspension of story times from mid-May to mid-June allows librarians to do outreach to parents in the community, with the aim of encouraging school-age kids to read or be read to over the summer. Kids who read or are read to over the summer retain what they've learned over the school year more easily, she said.

She said the new schedule reduces setup and teardown time associated with story times, and said the long story times made it harder for people who weren't attending the program to access the books in the children's area.

Saturday-morning story times begin June 20 (10:15-10:30 a.m.); and a Wednesday-afternoon "Heroes and Sidekicks" program for ages 3 and older (and parents and caregivers) begins June 17.