I started doing Baby Storytime at my library last year and I will admit that this was a cute, but challenging journey. I have been so used to toddlers and preschoolers being so engaged that I had forgotten that babies work differently and therefore need a much different storytime. The key to a baby storytime is lots of songs, from bouncing songs to prop songs. Here are some bounce and tickle songs that my baby storytime families love!
Tag: Programming Skills
Recovering from Program Failure
Almost everyone has a program completely fail at least once in their career. In library school, I learned how to build a good program, how to market a program, and how to incorporate elements of diversity into programs, but I didn’t learn how to recover when a program does an absolute belly-flop. Let’s look at three common ways a program might crash and burn (they’ve all happened to me!) and some ways you can salvage your time, supplies, or spirit in the face of program disaster.
Creating a Successful Tween Book Club
Book Clubs are always an excellent tween and even teen program, but it is often difficult to get one started. There can be many barriers to making it work. One of which is competing against school activities and precious time with family. Tweens and teens are busier than ever, and libraries are having to go the extra mile to attract families to library programming. In the past, I have only been able to have success with book clubs through outreach. My former library was lucky enough to team up with the local school librarians to offer a book club over the lunch hour for students. Recently, I moved out of state to pursue another job. One of the things I missed most was doing a book club. Looking back, I realized it was my library’s version of a tween advisory board. I felt lost with it. I decided that I…