#library programs

[librarianproblems]

When you promote a huge event through the newsletter, website, social media, and the local paper, and day of someone says, “Well, I didn’t know this was happening!”

[feralfaelife]

We're at an outdoor library event, and the maple leaves are absolutely gorgeous today.

[yuribaiterr]

things you can find at your library!

not exhaustive and not applicable to all libraries but i wanted to share my handy little list. libraries are such great community spaces and there's so much more to them than meets the eye. as always, i would love to hear what your library has going on!

BOOKS! this is the obvious one. most libraries have fiction, non-fiction and plenty for kids from their first books through to ya. many libraries have a large print section as well.

audiobooks! libraries can have cds but also plenty of audiobooks that you can access digitally.

ebooks! with a library membership, you can use apps such as libby and overdrive to read books that may not otherwise be accessible.

free sanitary products! they usually carry tampons and pads of various sizes from nonprofit organisations.

computers! if you're seeing this, you probably have internet access but if for any reason you are unable to use your devices, library memberships usually include access to their pcs.

activities for kids! a lot of libraries have arts and crafts or weekly sessions where kids of all ages can enjoy reading challenges, stories and singing.

activities for adults! local groups for anything from sports to music use library spaces. your library may also have a board where events and clubs are advertised.

support for locals! libraries are lovely spaces that welcome everyone. chances are, your local library can help you get the support you need. i've seen libraries provide help for everything from mental health to immigration documentation.

libraries are such a great resource that i really encourage you to make the most of. show some love to your librarians!!! they really do so much for their communities

[lesterpubliclibrary]

Yarned & Dangerous by Lester Public Library Via Flickr: Knitters and crocheters: Convene weekly for convivial crafting! Adults (and teens) can bring their own projects and spend a pleasant evening together at the fireplace. And happy news for those who’ve always wanted to learn: basic instruction is offered along with friendly encouragement. A drop-in, laid back sort of gathering; come and go as you can. Lester Public Library, Two Rivers, Wisconsin

[bcreed73]

[syntheticaesthetic]

We did our monthly Arts and Crafts program today and I had a handful of kids and teens and got to do two paintings with dried flowers myself!

[lookingforabook]

Library Art Program: Watercolor Blob Creatures

(program notes for librarians under the cut)

Art programs for adults can be tricky- you have a wide range of skill levels, and finding something that is both easy enough for beginners and interesting for grown ups can be hard!

I love to share when I find one that works, though, and our patrons really liked this one. We started with blob birds based on the work of artist Diane Antone, who has a lovely tutorial on youtube, and then branched out into other animals (Sachiko Umoto's book Illustration School: Let's Draw Cute Animals was an excellent resource).

Starting with something so simple helped the beginners gain confidence, and because we made so many blobs (since it's best to let them dry before you add details or add pen lines), they didn't feel any pressure to make them perfect. Some people started making them into cards, others started figuring out new animals on their own (my favorite was an armadillo, though the hippo and flamingo were close seconds), or giving them little speech bubbles, and everyone had a good time.

The pictures above are examples that I did during the workshop (we have a camera mount and projector set-up that lets everyone see a top-down view of my paper when I'm not up and walking around). Anyway, thought I'd share with my fellow librarians on the site in case you're looking for program ideas. I still have my presentation notes for this and am happy to share.

[impossibleobservationkryptonite]

Library Rules:

To quote Davy Jones "well they're more guidelines than rules".

What I've learned in time (thus far) working as a librarian and what you can do as a patron.

If you want the TLDR: you can just read the bolded stuff if you want! :)

I swear to god you're allowed to do everything in a library normally if you don't have a library card. The only thing you're not allowed to do is take items home with you. So what can you do instead? Read it here. Watch the movie here (most of the time the people who work here will let you have a guest pass for the computer, and then don't ask you what you're doing with your time on the computer.) (unless you're watching porn. Don't watch porn on a public computer because we will kick you out for the day minimally.)

Come to a Program! Again you do not need a library card to come to our programs. They're chill, they're Gucci. We have so much fun stuff for you to do here. And it's FREE. (To the one person who might see this and be like "BUT MY TAXES!" yeah, your taxes paid for this, why aren't you utilizing the library? Why don't you have your library card? Why aren't you coming to my sick sick writing programs, or my awesome D&D programs?)

Children say odd shit. I had one kid tell me as he was sprinting to a computer, while holding a guest pass to be able to log onto the computer, "I'm gonna shove this up your bootyhole!". He said that verbatim, and honestly respect kid. but also like, hey, I'm just helping you get on the computer, relax. Also if you're going to be working consistently with kids/teens (like me), they're hilarious and are usually much more understanding than the adults.

Every library is different when it comes to creating a program. We have to normally plan months in advance to be able to do something. At the library I'm at we're planning for programs three months ahead while currently running our November Programs.

You can ask questions that you think are stupid. They're not. I promise they're not. I have had people ask me if they can have a sticker while looking at the sign that says "free stickers!!!! HERE!!" Most of the time we'll probably want to research your question and get stoked (or at least I will) by being able to research about whatever you're interested in. (Please ask us what we like to learn about in our free time.)

Sometimes, the book is checked out, because someone got to it before you. Them's the breaks man, we can't go to the person who check it out, and ask them to check it back in so we can check it out to you. However, we can put you on the list to be able to read it next. WITH YOUR LIBRARY CARD. Please get a library card. Can you tell how super chill I am about getting a library card?

Fun Fact! A lot of libraries will let you have temporary library cards. For example you can get a New York Public Library digital card (a temporary one) for 2-3 weeksish before having to go in and getting a physical card. So use it for the couple of weeks! Listen to an audio book!

Another one! I have so many. I'm sorry. You do not need an Audible subscription to be able to read eBooks or listen to Audiobooks on your phone. Use Libby! Just input your library card on the app, and use it like a regular library card. You have to wait until it's your turn (like physical copies of library materials), and then you have the 2-3 weeks to be able to listen to your stuff or read your eBook! And if your library does Hoopla, it's basically the exact same as Libby, however it's only 8 items rather than however many you can check out at once on a library card. Hoopla is a bit more convoluted than that, but if you want to know more just ask!

That's all I got right now. Sorry for the long post. :')