We’ve visited schools, contacted neighborhood organizations, spread flyers throughout our branch and the community\u2014 all in the hope of spreading the word about the library Summer Reading Club.\u00a0 And somehow, I think we don’t need to worry about poor turn-out this summer.<\/p>\n
Although there are many valuable reasons we offer Summer Reading Club \u2014 to introduce children to the joys of reading for pleasure, to expose children to free cultural programs and events, to encourage children to read enough to keep their skills honed and ready for school in the fall \u2014 one of the most important reasons, at least in my neck of the woods, is to entice children and their families who perhaps have never visited the library before.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Somehow, I suspect this will be a banner year for those first-time patrons.\u00a0 We\u2019ve all heard how library use goes up as the economy tanks, something we\u2019ve seen with our own eyes as our branches have seen record library card registration, circulation statistics, and computer usage.\u00a0 Folks are using our libraries to look for jobs as well as to borrow books, magazines, and DVDs for free and take advantage of our free wireless networks.\u00a0 We\u2019re the best bargain in town.<\/p>\n
We may also be one of the only games in town this summer.\u00a0 The massive school district that serves most of our kids has cancelled all summer school for elementary and middle school students, and our parks, pools, and recreation centers are cutting back on hours.\u00a0 Fewer families can afford expensive camps, private lessons, or even entertainment like the movies or the zoo.\u00a0 What\u2019s left?\u00a0 The library!<\/p>\n
We\u2019re free, we\u2019re air-conditioned, we\u2019re full of wonderful resources \u2014 and boy, are we going to be busy this summer.\u00a0 Even though many of us will offer reduced hours this summer, the hours that we\u2019re open will be packed with families seeking our books, movies, programs, not to mention our cool and comfortable children\u2019s areas.<\/p>\n
This might be an alarming prospect to branches that are already packed every summer.\u00a0 Will we have to keep an eye out for the fire marshal, who would not appreciate our overcrowded community rooms?\u00a0 Will the seating in our children\u2019s area be filled to capacity?\u00a0 Will fights break out at the computer terminals?<\/p>\n
It will be helpful to figure out strategies now that will not only help us deal with the crowds but turn them into wonderful opportunities for sharing books and information with kids \u2014 and simply getting to know them.\u00a0 For instance, it may well be that Big Programs (like a magician or live animals) just aren\u2019t feasible this summer unless there is a huge room or auditorium to contain the crowds that are sure to turn up.\u00a0 If a Big Program has already been scheduled, maximize your space by removing all chairs except those against the back wall and seating your kids on the floor.\u00a0 Be sure to use masking tape to delineate aisles that must be kept clear for safety.\u00a0 And when the room has been filled to capacity, it may be necessary to turn people away.\u00a0 Give them a bookmark or stickers as a consolation prize and make sure to remind them to join the reading club.<\/p>\n
And what about those kids who crowd into your children\u2019s area every day and get squirrelly while waiting their turn for the computers?\u00a0 This is your captive audience, the kids to whom you can demonstrate the boredom-busting power of books.\u00a0 Become master of the impromptu program by stocking your information desk with books and art supplies.\u00a0 When the kids start getting antsy, bring over some drawing books, paper, and pencils – instant art program!\u00a0 Or bring over some scary stories or some joke books and start reading them aloud \u2014 instant story time (and one that is guaranteed to become an interactive book club as kids start sharing their own favorite jokes and scary stories)!\u00a0 Bring over some origami books and paper and encourage them to see who can make a paper frog that jumps the farthest \u2014 instant craft program!\u00a0 Sure, this takes a bit of your time away from the information desk and might create a little noise \u2014 but it\u2019s much more constructive than having to shush bored, misbehaving kids or toss them out of the library on a regular basis.\u00a0 Getting to know these kids and encouraging\u00a0their appreciation\u00a0of books – whether it’s Newbery winners, graphic novels, or books about boogers – will make it more likely that these kids, many of whom are new to your library, will come back during the school year and for the rest of their lives.<\/p>\n
We will feel stressed out and overcrowded this summer, no question.\u00a0 But we will also have a renewed certainty that the library is a vibrant and essential institution, one that not only survives but actually flourishes in hard times.\u00a0 Take a deep breath, put on your best smile, and get to know a LOT of kids this summer!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
We’ve visited schools, contacted neighborhood organizations, spread flyers throughout our branch and the community\u2014 all in the hope of spreading the word about the library Summer Reading Club.\u00a0 And somehow, I think we don’t need to worry about poor turn-out this summer. Although there are many valuable reasons we offer Summer Reading Club \u2014 to introduce children to the joys of reading for pleasure, to expose children to free cultural programs and events, to encourage children to read enough to keep their skills honed and ready for school in the fall \u2014 one of the most important reasons, at least in my neck of the woods, is to entice children and their families who perhaps have never visited the library before.\u00a0 Somehow, I suspect this will be a banner year for those first-time patrons.\u00a0 We\u2019ve all heard how library use goes up as the economy tanks, something we\u2019ve seen with…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":93,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[87],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-799","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blogger-eva-mitnick"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/799","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/93"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=799"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/799\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=799"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=799"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=799"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}