There are very few programs that guarantee great attendance, but animal programs are a safe bet for all age groups. Who wouldn’t want to snuggle with kittens, meet rescue dogs or learn about exotic animals? Here are a few of my tried-and-true ideas to incorporate some furry (or slimy, feathery or slithery) friends into your programs.
There are lots of reasons why a public library might avoid holiday-specific programming, and there are many people who explain those reasons better than I ever could.
An escape room was one of those things that I figured was out the question for a library as small as ours. For one thing, we don’t have any separate rooms to lock people into; our entire library is just one large room. Where would attendees escape from? Plus, escape rooms are complex, high-tech and expensive; it would be impossible to pull it off in a tiny library, right? Wrong!
Librarians are well aware of the importance of advertising for programs — after all, our program attendance depends on it, and there's no motivator like the fear of an empty room.
A partnership between a public library and a school district seems like a no-brainer, right? After all, we both have the same basic goals when it comes to students: to create and nurture in them a love of learning. However, many libraries – particularly small, rural libraries – don’t actually have much of a relationship with their school district.
Have you read my recent post on job burnout yet? After I wrote it, a lot of you reached out to me to learn more about the resources I use to relight the fire of my passion for programming.
There are so many amazing blogs, websites and webinars out there that it can be hard to know where to start. Without further ado, here are a few of my favorites (aside from Programming Librarian, of course!).
Adult patrons can be a tough crowd. At my library, parents will come along to kids’ events, and a few might show up to our Coloring & Coffee program, but in general, it has been difficult to find a program that is truly a hit with adults. Until trivia night, that is!
We all know how it feels to be burned out: you have no inspiration or passion for what you’re doing, you lack energy, and working behind that circ desk only leaves you mentally and emotionally exhausted.
When I started as library director in the tiny town of Meservey, I never thought we would be able to pull off large-scale programs like libraries in big cities did. Those types of programs aren’t in our budget, and it’s hard enough getting good attendance at our smaller events. The payoff, I figured, probably wouldn’t be worth all of the money and time spent.
I am thrilled to admit that I was wrong, and that tiny libraries like mine can, in fact, have big events that are just as successful as a library 10 times their size.
In our tiny library, we are forced to think hard about every financial decision we make. Can we afford to book that pricey performer for our summer reading program? Should we be subscribing to magazines if only a couple of people are reading them? Do we need to have snacks at every event? Every dollar counts, and we must stretch that dollar as far as we possibly can, particularly when it comes to programming.
