Scrapbook Sunday was an informal weekly event where participants were invited to tell their family story through paper-based craft. The Library offered supplies and support. Patrons were asked to bring in their own keepsakes.
We hosted this program during our World on the Move host period to provide a creative community space for story sharing and documenting personal histories. World on the Move is a traveling exhibit from ALA and AAA (American Anthropological Association) that explores 200,000 years of human migration. The Piscataway Public Library was one of 15 libraries selected to host the exhibit. Scrapbook Sunday was one of the over 30 related programs we offered.
Advanced Planning
The Library wanted to offer a variety of programming related to the World on the Move exhibit and its theme of human migration. Scrapbook Sunday came out of our desire to offer something passive and patron-directed. In addition to providing a place for people to document their personal histories, one of our primary goals was to provide an opportunity for low-stakes creative expression and self-expression.
Hosting the programs on Sunday afternoons allowed staff members who are normally not available to staff programs to facilitate the sessions. The planning of this particular program, about six months ahead of our host period, coincided with a large patron donation of various scrapbook paper and accouterments.
Marketing
Promotion for this program, as with all our World on the Move programs, was done through several outlets. One main flyer with all program and exhibit information was shared with the township schools in both print and digital copy. Details were shared in the Township Quarterly Newsletter and via a teaser on the local access television station. Print copies of program flyers were available throughout the library, notably at checkout desks and with thematic book displays. The Library also posted about specific programs on our social media channels.
Budgeting
The Library received many consumable supplies like paper and decorations through a donation, which cut down on our cost! This program could be scaled for any budget. We provided paper, ribbon and decorative accoutrements as well as glue and adhesives. Our patrons found fine-tip clear glue and glue dots especially useful!
We also wanted to provide patrons a way to print their photos and other memorabilia if needed. Staff members were able to print photos on-demand to be included in scrapbook pages. Printing was complementary for program participants. This was another low-cost way for us to support this program.
Day-of-event Activity
All the supplies for Scrapbook Sunday were kept on a single rolling cart in a staff area. Each week, a different staff member ran the program, so everyone had access to and knowledge of the supplies. The program was held in a central area of the Library that already had ample tables and chairs, so supplies could be easily unloaded.
Program Execution
Across five sessions, about 50 adult and teen participants attended Scrapbook Sunday. The last session of this series stands out. It coincided with our World on the Move closing reception, which tied up our host period nicely. We saw strong teen engagement at this session. This is in line with general programming feedback we see about teens desiring low-stakes creative spaces.
Scrapbook Sunday was a fantastic addition to our programming lineup and achieved our goal of offering something passive and self-guided to document personal histories and build community through a creative space.
Advice
While we intended this program to be for teens and adults, we mostly saw an adult audience. At the final session, teens who were already in attendance for the Closing Reception were really drawn to the scrapbooking and made some beautiful pages! I wish we had marketed harder to the teen audience, or held additional sessions during the week when we have high teen traffic in the building. I also wish we had been more intentional about asking participants if we could take pictures of their work for our own keepsakes. Overall, this program required little legwork for us and a big community impact!
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