University libraries can't be all work, all the time. In fact, when I entered the University of Tennessee's Hodges Library, one of the first things I saw was a poster advertising a monthly game night in the library. This program, which started in spring 2019, has become hugely popular, with some nights attracting more than 100 students.
Our National Impact of Library Public Programs Assessment (NILPPA) team is back from ALA Annual in New Orleans, where we presented some of our findings, conducted more research, and learned more about some of the awesome things happening in programs that occur across all types of libraries.
Here are a few of the sessions we attended relevant to program design, development, and facilitation in libraries.
Planning public programs is a skill that’s more and more important to library work, and we wanted to know: is that reflected in the curriculum? As part of our comprehensive review of the library programming landscape, we explored requirements in library degree programs across the US.
"What skills or abilities do you think are necessary to successfully run public programs at libraries?”
More than 1,200 library professionals from all around the country and from all types of libraries weighed in on this question last fall as part of ALA's National Impact of Library Public Programs Assessment (NILPPA) research. As we read their responses, we found nine categories of skills that came up time and again.
We have been hosting Fridays before Finals since October 2014. This program is held twice a semester: the Friday before midterms and the Friday before finals.
Normally our library closes at 5 p.m. on Fridays. On these occasions, we stay open until midnight and the library hosts quiet study upstairs and pizza and games downstairs.
