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The Wisconsin Center for the Book's Wisconsin Authors and Illustrators
Speak program, offers towns and cities the opportunity to celebrate and
explore the literature of our state with writers and artists. The
Center for the Book will award up four grants of $300 each to
qualifying nonprofit organizations, including libraries, wishing to bring a Wisconsin author or
illustrator to their community to speak at a public event scheduled between September 1,
2010 and April 30, 2011. A Wisconsin author or illustrator is defined
as one who has lived in Wisconsin for a significant period of time,
including someone who may no longer be living in the state.
Any Wisconsin nonprofit organization interested in books and reading is eligible to apply for one of the grants. Collaboration among groups is encouraged. Applications will be judged on the basis of community outreach and collaboration, thoroughness of planning, and rationale for the choice of speaker. Application information can be found at http://wisconsincenterforthebook.wordpress.com/wais/ or by contacting Sarah McGowan, Wisconsin Authors and Illustrators program chair, at windsong@centurytel.net. Completed applications are due July 1, 2010.
Any Wisconsin nonprofit organization interested in books and reading is eligible to apply for one of the grants. Collaboration among groups is encouraged. Applications will be judged on the basis of community outreach and collaboration, thoroughness of planning, and rationale for the choice of speaker. Application information can be found at http://wisconsincenterforthebook.wordpress.com/wais/ or by contacting Sarah McGowan, Wisconsin Authors and Illustrators program chair, at windsong@centurytel.net. Completed applications are due July 1, 2010.
This morning I attended the Virtual PLA 2010 session “If You Didn’t Work Here Would You Come Here?” A panel of librarians from around the country and from big cities to small towns discussed library programming for quarter-life adults and young professionals. Many of the ideas they shared could be useful for OWLS libraries. You can review the presentation and find information about the panelists here: http://sites.google.com/site/plaportland2010/
Identifying the Opportunity
Demographic trends indicate that Americans are marrying and having children later in life. At the same time, attendance at religious services and membership in community groups are declining. Libraries have an opportunity to step up and help adults in their 20’s and 30’s find community.
Libraries regularly have programs for children, teenagers, and seniors. Before dismissing the need for adult programming, consider the 3Vs:
Program Ideas
Panelists and session participants suggested dozens of programs that have attracted young adults to their libraries. Here are a few. Review the presentation for more.
The “Girls Night Out at the Library” series at the Chicago Public Library was hands-on, interactive and low-tech with activities such as candle making at a program titled “Waxy Mavens”
“A World of Beauforts” in Beaufort, South Carolina was a food tasting festival that featured food from other towns and cities named Beaufort around the world.
In Kansas City “The New Cult Canon” invited young adults to the library roof for a film festival. They also held a Garage Band contest in the Library’s garage.
One library (sorry, I missed which one) held a literary speed dating event called “Hardbound to Heartbound.”
The Omaha Public Library offered “Board Silly” which combined board games and cocktails at the library.
Other programs included knitting/crocheting clubs at the library, World of Warcraft LAN parties, book clubs or discussions at bars or restaurants and at lunch hour, seed starting with heirloom seeds, art gallery crawls, Scrabble™ tournaments, trivia night, cake decorating, concert series, poetry events, stand-up comedy, financial planning, and employability workshops. This list is not exhaustive and more ideas will be added to the session site (http://sites.google.com/site/plaportland2010/) in the next few weeks.
Tips for Successful Young Adult Programming
The panelists shared several strategies that have made their libraries’ adult programming more successful:
I would love to know more about the programs OWLS libraries are offering for adults. Please share your successes and lessons learned with us!
Many thanks to the Appleton Public Library for inviting OWLS staff to attend their Virtual PLA sessions!
Identifying the Opportunity
Demographic trends indicate that Americans are marrying and having children later in life. At the same time, attendance at religious services and membership in community groups are declining. Libraries have an opportunity to step up and help adults in their 20’s and 30’s find community.
Libraries regularly have programs for children, teenagers, and seniors. Before dismissing the need for adult programming, consider the 3Vs:
- They Vote!
- They’re Viral – meaning active on social media
- They’re Vital members of the community.
Program Ideas
Panelists and session participants suggested dozens of programs that have attracted young adults to their libraries. Here are a few. Review the presentation for more.
The “Girls Night Out at the Library” series at the Chicago Public Library was hands-on, interactive and low-tech with activities such as candle making at a program titled “Waxy Mavens”
“A World of Beauforts” in Beaufort, South Carolina was a food tasting festival that featured food from other towns and cities named Beaufort around the world.
In Kansas City “The New Cult Canon” invited young adults to the library roof for a film festival. They also held a Garage Band contest in the Library’s garage.
One library (sorry, I missed which one) held a literary speed dating event called “Hardbound to Heartbound.”
The Omaha Public Library offered “Board Silly” which combined board games and cocktails at the library.
Other programs included knitting/crocheting clubs at the library, World of Warcraft LAN parties, book clubs or discussions at bars or restaurants and at lunch hour, seed starting with heirloom seeds, art gallery crawls, Scrabble™ tournaments, trivia night, cake decorating, concert series, poetry events, stand-up comedy, financial planning, and employability workshops. This list is not exhaustive and more ideas will be added to the session site (http://sites.google.com/site/plaportland2010/) in the next few weeks.
Tips for Successful Young Adult Programming
The panelists shared several strategies that have made their libraries’ adult programming more successful:
- Partner with local community groups and businesses that cater to young adults.
- Have a social media presence (Facebook, Twitter, Meetup.com, etc.).
- Create branding for adult programming that is age appropriate and differentiates it from children’s or teen programming.
- Consider after-hours programs and look into short term liquor licenses in your area.
- If library hours are limiting, consider holding programs after hours and/or off-site.
- Consider charging a small fee at the door or for drinks to support adult program budgets.
- Build an email list through event registration or sign-in; ask partnering groups to promote events on their email lists. Use email blast services like Constant Contact.
- Post flyers in local coffee shops and other places where younger adults congregate.
- Bring your giant library card (we have those!) and a camera everywhere you go. People love to be photographed with the giant card.
- Work with local media outlets: TV, radio, newspapers and local blogs.
- Build on the expertise and connections of library staff in this age category.
- Be persistent and consistent. If a program doesn’t work, don’t give up.
- Offer high-quality programming and word will spread.
I would love to know more about the programs OWLS libraries are offering for adults. Please share your successes and lessons learned with us!
Many thanks to the Appleton Public Library for inviting OWLS staff to attend their Virtual PLA sessions!
National Library Week and summer library programs offer great opportunities for using the 'casting equipment available at OWLS! Create a booktalk video feature for your website to highlight great books during National Library Week. Here's one great example from the Chappaqua Library, called Approved by Experts. Or how about setting up a video camera and asking people to share why they love their library. The South Carolina State Library did just that! Take a look at the result:
Check out loads of other exciting examples from libraries across the country in the CastingKit @ Delicious links, then request the equipment you'd like to borrow from OWLS for your project. Need a little help? Never fear - I'm happy to lend a hand!
> contributed by Beth
Check out loads of other exciting examples from libraries across the country in the CastingKit @ Delicious links, then request the equipment you'd like to borrow from OWLS for your project. Need a little help? Never fear - I'm happy to lend a hand!
> contributed by Beth
Celebrate YALSA's third annual Teen Tech Week, March 8-14! This year's theme is "Press Play @ Your Library."Why celebrate?
Teens, in order to gain the skills necessary to compete in today's job market, need access to digital and online information and trained professionals who can help them use these resources effectively, efficiently and ethically. Librarians and educators know this and work with teens on a regular basis to ensure they develop these skills. Teen Tech Week is a chance for libraries to throw open their physical & virtual doors and show their communities all the great things they're doing for teens with technology.
Here's more about the idea behind this year's theme:
Teen Tech Week 2009, which will be celebrated March 8-14, is about connecting teens with different technologies, especially those available through the library. Teens can literally press play on digital devices such as mp3 players, DVD players, gaming controllers and more. Press Play @ the library can be interpreted broadly to make it work for you in your own library. One way to interpret the theme is to emphasize the word "play." Play can be about teens creating and sharing their own content for the fun of it, like videos, music, and digital artwork. Play through games can be encouraged with tournaments, tech trivia contests, and video games. The theme can also take a more educational direction. Teens can "press play" on various digital devices to learn more about the world around them. They can press play to watch film documentaries, listen to an audiobook, get online homework help, learn a new language and more. YALSA encourages librarians and educators to be creative and take the theme in a direction that works for them and their teens!
For more information, visit the Teen Tech Week page on YALSA's web site. And remember that OWLS has lots of tech tools for you to borrow to use with your teens! Check out 'Casting @ OWLS for more info. Plenty of help using the 'casting kit is available if you need it, so please don't hesitate to ask.
> contributed by Beth
Check out a new site from the ALA Public Programs Office, ProgrammingLibrarian.org. Here's more on the project:
It looks to me like the site is just getting going, but it will be interesting to see how it develops. It's nice to see ALA starting to build resources like this where participation from the membership is made possible and encouraged.
What kind of programming are you planning at your library?
> contributed by Beth
The goal of ProgrammingLibrarian.org is to assist librarians in finding authoritative resources for cultural programming, train librarians in cultural programming techniques and involve library schools in examining the need for courses in cultural programming. In addition to finding ideas and resources, site users are welcome to contribute information and ideas from their own experiences in developing cultural programs for their communities. Live webinars will be held regularly to create not just a resource center, but a community of librarians committed to bringing increased access to literature, music, contemporary issues, art, history, poetry, scholars, writers and musicians to their communities.
It looks to me like the site is just getting going, but it will be interesting to see how it develops. It's nice to see ALA starting to build resources like this where participation from the membership is made possible and encouraged.
What kind of programming are you planning at your library?
> contributed by Beth
