For many library workers, 2020 has been a crash course in learning to reach patrons in new ways. But if your pandemic response has included more online programs, you may inadvertently be leaving some people out. One in four Americans has some type of disability.
You've heard of Elf on the Shelf. I've found that the elf is the best low-cost passive program to engage patrons through pandemic times and advocate for our library. My library elf, Tinsel, promotes programming, library services and reading.
The inspiration came from how teachers utilize their elf for classroom management around the hyperactive holiday season. Libraries can use an elf to promote library events and excite patrons with the silly hijinks that the elves get into.
Crafternoon is a program for older adults that meets every other week to encourage community and make creative projects in a low-stress setting. Since COVID-19, the program has been conducted over Zoom with curbside pickup of supply kits.
This particular program was painting a canvas bag with fabric paint and shaving cream.
If you do children’s programming, scientists can be a terrific tool in your toolkit. Space scientists, biologists, engineers — they can all introduce kids to an eye-popping world of discovery. 
Toot, toot! Do you hear that? That’s the sound of me tooting my own horn. Not something I love to do, but I’m doing it anyway because … I wrote a book! It was not easy, and toward the end I never wanted to look at the manuscript again. But now that it’s here, I’m pretty excited about it and wanted to share it with you.
Virtual Minecraft Club is an online adaptation of our original Minecraft Club program, a program for ages 6 and up to collaborate, compete and build with other local fans on all supported Minecraft platforms.
Virtual Minecraft Club, like its in-person predecessor, happens for one hour once per week.
BookFix is a book subscription service we are providing to our community during St. Ignatius College Prep's campus closure. We hope to continue a modified version once our library doors open.
Students, faculty, administration and staff take our style quiz on the BookFix site and get books sent directly to their home mailbox.
Duchesne County Library Roosevelt Branch Library's fantasy role-playing game is a new twist on the traditional escape room. Participants assume a role with specific strengths and weaknesses that dictate who can complete which task.
The guild must complete a series of puzzles and find an artifact before time runs out, making sure not to lose all their lives along the way.
The Virtual Comic Mini-Con was a family-friendly celebration of comic books, movies, graphic novels, anime, comic art and more. Our virtual event featured a variety of activities for all ages.
The event was a collaboration between Bridgeville Public Library and South Fayette Township Library. Videos are accessible through the libraries’ YouTube channels.Â
We began having weekly virtual story times using the Facebook Live platform on March 20, shortly after closing for the COVID-19 virus. We wanted to give people a chance to be together synchronously, even if it was virtual.
We included books, interactive songs, fingerplays, dances, puppets and craft ideas. We also used a guitar and a ukulele and encouraged interaction by having participants pick which instruments we would use for certain songs.
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.Â
When we were planning our large-scale, grant-funded health and wellness series for older adults, we knew we wanted to reach beyond our usual program attendees, and that meant trying a new location. Our tai chi program seemed like a good place to start.
When I started as library director in March 2015, I made a list of programs, fundraisers and events that I wanted to plan at some point. The list was pages long and included things like an outdoor potluck, a dinosaur park and an '80s-themed prom. About halfway down the list I wrote “Elizabeth Berg book signing – LOL.”
That's "LOL" as in "That's hilarious. Why would a bestselling author visit our little library?!” Little did I know that only a few years later, I would be welcoming Elizabeth Berg herself into our tiny town.
Every year in late January or early February, children all over the country celebrate the 100th day of school with all sorts of clever projects — bringing 100 items to school, wearing “100th-day” glasses, listing 100 things they love to do. Why not add a reading activity to this list? Ask a group of younger students to read 100 books on the 100th day of school in one hour!
If you’ve ever heard about a fantastic library idea from a super-big library and thought, “There’s no way I can make that idea work in my understaffed, underfunded small library,” think again! This presentation celebrates all things small and shares big ideas that work in small libraries.
Participants of this session will:
See What I’m Saying was a children’s program that promoted reading, writing and public speaking skills in students in kindergarten through grade 5.
The program took place on Saturday mornings over a nine-week period at our county’s Civic Center (since the library doesn’t allow food). At each session, kids were invited select a book, read the book, write a brief report about it, and share their report out loud to a group.
Our last blog post — in which we assessed our community's needs and set out to create a health and wellness program series for older adults — ended with a good idea, lots of enthusiasm ... and approximately zero dollars. How were we going to fund this fantastic smorgasbord of health, wealth and self-care program opportunities for the 55-and-older crowd on the Peninsula?
This class, the first of its kind at our library, began in early 2016 at the suggestion of a patron. We meet twice a week in our library's community room from 8:15 to 9 a.m.
Our instructor is a patron who volunteers to conduct the classes. We follow a set regime of exercises that are good for joints and building strength. Both men and women typically attend this class.
Princeton Public Library was fortunate to have Dara-Lyn Shrager as our first poet-in-residence in fall 2018. One of our programs during this period was a "Poet-tree" art installation created by community members of all ages.
ALA, in partnership with the FINRA Investor Education Foundation, invites public libraries to apply to be part of a national tour of the traveling exhibition Thinking Money for Kids.
