This year, I’m viewing “traditional” New Year’s resolutions through a library lens. In February, we focused on creating movement-friendly library programs. This month, we’re focusing on the resolution to live life to the fullest. While it’s easy to think of this as doing more, more isn’t always what our libraries need. Instead, we’re looking at ways to be just a little bigger and just a little messier.
Why Messy Matters
Getting messy engages more of our senses simultaneously, enhancing neural connections and building contextual learning. However, caregivers are often afraid to experiment with messy activities at home. Mess is not only intimidating, but it’s also a source of additional stress and cleanup. When we embrace the idea of libraries as places to explore messily with less risk, we open doors for new learning opportunities.
Incorporating more mess into the library means taking additional risks, but it also means great rewards. Scaling up to include more participants may mean more work in preparation and delivery, but it also means more lives changed by libraries. If we’re going to live life to the fullest, then a little mess is an inevitable part of the process. Below are strategies you can adapt for ten families or hundreds.
Create an intentional, replicable framework.
Getting messy doesn’t mean operating without a plan. First, build a program framework you can reuse. Identify your target age group, specific learning objectives, and targeted activities. Then, consider adaptations for different sensitivities and needs. Not all families share the same enthusiasm for messy exploration. Accessibility is important, so consider common household supplies. This also helps keep program costs down, which may help you scale to larger audiences. Our Baby Picasso program, designed for children aged 0 to 18 months, encourages exploration of paint and colors. For those preferring less mess, we offer paint in zippered bags for color mixing. Then, large butcher paper and finger paints provide options for hands-on exploration. Spray bottles, paper towels, and baby smocks make cleanup easier. We purchase finger paint, but also offer recipes for families to create paint at home.
Have instructions and ingredients ready.
When our programs, messy or not, are successful, families often want to recreate the experience. From hands-on STEAM experiments to creating musical instruments, we’ve offered many patron engagement opportunities. However, limited staff and volunteers may mean we can’t answer every question. Having instructions readily available gives families a tangible takeaway. Add recipes, suggestions for sourcing materials, step-by-step instructions, and ideas for additional exploration. Also consider your allergens. While nontoxic and allergen-free options are best, they aren’t always available. Share what you use so families can make informed decisions. Having this information on hand shows families you care about their concerns. In our Petal Playtime program, we created scented dough with a gluten-free, allergen-friendly formula, and extensively researched the best extracts and their dilution. During the program, we share not only the ingredients we use but also the recipe so families can create the dough on their own.
Scale for your intended audience.
Whether you’re planning a project for 20 families or 200 families, success starts with options that match your intended audience and program size. If you typically host smaller audiences, focusing on one messy activity keeps prep manageable. For larger crowds, simpler activity options or repeated sessions reduce stress. Also consider your ideal cost per patron and select activities that align with the budget. For our summer learning kickoffs, we need activities that are accessible to hundreds of families, low-cost, and have minimal staff time or oversight. In 2025, we created maracas using spoons, eggs filled with rice, and colorful tape. Even if rice brings mess, the activity was engaging, and buying supplies in bulk made it easy to scale. We then took this concept and designed an early learning program focused on building instruments. Because that program expects lower attendance, we can create more involved instruments.
Offer take-home experiences.
If mess in the library isn’t feasible or a journey you’re ready to take, offering options for patrons to explore independently is one solution. Take-home activities help patrons experience programs independently. Consider pre-packaging supplies or resources, such as pre-measured playdough ingredients for mixing at home. Alternatively, consider including suggestions and options in signage or program handouts for at-home extensions. Circulating kits are also an option to send patrons home with the mess. These kits include resources and instructions for a variety of topics, reducing the participation cost for patrons. Our Tracks and Trails kit explores animals through scat, tracks, and other signs, including realistic scat replicas. Families explore something a little messy and gross on their own, then return the kit.
Build on past successes and partnerships.
Being big or messy doesn’t have to be a solo venture. Consider where partnerships or past experiences suggest next steps. Volunteers may include enthusiastic patrons, teen advisory groups, corporate groups, or even other city departments. When you leverage the enthusiasm and resources of others, you expand your original plan. Also consider the program outlines, tips, and tricks available from other libraries. The collaborative nature of our work means ideas, resources, and suggestions abound. Start here on the ASLC blog! As you find something that works well, build it systematically. During our Hatch Day program, we incubate and hatch chickens at the library. Little hands want to visit and touch, so the first year, we added scrap paper for children to submit questions. By the following year, these questions helped promote the program. A chicken puppet answered questions, and the video allowed social media and in-building promotion and information sharing.
Picture Book Tie-In: Off Limits
As you think about where mess might have a place in your library, a great title to explore is Off Limits by Helen Yoon. In this endearing story, a little girl sneaks into dad’s home office and creates havoc with office supplies and imagination. While out-of-bounds exploration probably isn’t your thing, this title is a great way to consider when mess and experimentation have value. This one works great as a read-aloud for storytime. It encourages adults to embrace messiness, too!
This post would not be possible without the fabulous collaboration of my colleagues, librarians Matt Willis and Laura Hargrove. They helped brainstorm and synthesize this content, and I also have the great honor of presenting with them at the Oklahoma Library Association Conference this year.
Stay tuned next month as we explore the resolution to eat healthier by feeding a child’s natural curiosity to build lifelong learners and library users. How will you get a little messier – and live a little fuller – in your library?
This post addresses ALSC Core Competency #1: Commitment to Client Group and ALSC Core Competency #3: Programming Skills. Featured image created by Jaime Eastman, ALSC member.
Jaime Eastman is a senior Public Services Librarian and Early Learning Coordinator at the Harrington Library, one of the Plano (Texas) Public Library locations. Jaime is also working on at least two ambitious cross-stitch projects, dreaming of future travel plans, and reading far too many books. As a child, she wanted to grow up to be an author. Writing for the blog and publishing with Children and Libraries feels like a good start, and she regrets nothing about her adult decision to be a librarian doing storytimes, who didn’t have to grow up too much.