Tag: promotion

Blogger Early Childhood Programs and Services committee

“I didn’t know the library did that!” Building Better School Partnerships

| Early Childhood Programs and Services committee|Leave a comment

“I didn’t know the library did that!” How many times have you heard that…this week? Press releases, emails, posters and skywriting do nothing to break through the advertising noise in our communities. Libraries are essential third spaces in our communities so the question is, how can libraries promote our services so people instead say, “Did you know the library did that?” This is especially true when it comes to collaborations with the schools in our service areas. Schools are busy Teachers are busy and they don’t always have time to meet. Administrators wear a lot of different hats and can’t always pass along the emails we send. Add to that a global pandemic, and libraries struggle to show teachers and schools our relevance. What is your goal? Our department’s end goal was to reach more kids through partnerships with teachers. We visit 60 classes a month and reach 1100 students. Most…

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Blogger Meg Smith

Join the Celebration

| Megan Smith|1 Comment

Celebration is central to the human experience.  Whether it’s career planning or family planning, the library provides resources for customers to celebrate the milestones in their lives.  Our branch recently experienced an impressive occasion of its own.  The Hope Mills Branch of the Cumberland County Public Library & Information Center in N.C., celebrated our 20th anniversary last month!  We brought in the crowds with our story time starring Spot the Dog. Participants enjoyed activities and books based on Eric Hill’s stories. Children and their parents clamored to capture their picture with the golden puppy.  Our afternoon K-9 Crime Fighters program brought in a representative of the K-9 unit from the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Department and his service dog.  A packed audience of kids of all ages and their parents asked a bunch of questions (“Can your dog sniff through walls?”) and enjoyed the dog’s energetic game of hide-and-seek as she…

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Blogger Children and Technology Committee

The Social Media Word of Mouth

| ALSC Children and Technology committee|2 Comments

*chirp* *chirp* Silence in the library…it is rare but it does happen. The worst is when you put weeks into planning a great program, but no one comes. The reason…they didn’t know about it. We are great when it comes to spreading the word to people in our library, but how do you reach those who don’t already use your services? Social Media is the new “word of mouth”! These sites are not just for the Teen or Reference Librarian, but are a valuable resource for the Children’s Librarian as well. The website eMarketer.compredicts that more than 17 million women with children under the age of 18 will read blogs or other Internet sources monthly. Five year olds are even learning how to use mommy or daddy’s iPod to access videos on the Internet. People are talking and you want to join the conversation. So where are people hanging out…

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Blogger Meg Smith

In the Spirit of Giving

| Megan Smith|1 Comment

  On this Christmas Eve, our libraries may be filled with a variety of holiday decorations, but the spirit of the season extends beyond the trim and tinsel.  It’s fitting to focus on how this giving spirit relates to our youth services work every single day.  Many of our public libraries demonstrate a vested interest in working together with community partnerships and collaborate with nonprofit organizations or volunteer agencies.  Like many of your library systems, our Cumberland County Public Library & Information Center in Fayetteville, NC promotes the benefits of these agencies to the customers walking through our doors.  An example of this promotion is our commitment to sharing the Dolly Parton Imagination Library with our families with young children. The reaction has been tremendous. Though there are variations in this program across our country, its purpose is the same.   Residents of Cumberland County may register their child to receive…

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