Library programming as Staycation activities

A mother came into the Teen Department looking for some high interest books for her 14-year-old daughter. During our conversation, I mentioned some of the programming we have for teens at the library--Lunch Bunch Book Club, Manga and Anime Club & Summer Reading activities to be specific. 

The mother got a little emotional and said she is so thankful for all of the programs we offer for children and teens during the summer.  She said, "I was just talking to my 9-year-old son about what we're going to do this summer. We can't afford to go on vacation like we have in the past, and I was at a loss as to what to do. I'm so relieved that now we have so many fun activities to choose from. We won't even miss the vacation, I bet."

"Surprise Me!" Storytime Theme

We launched a new theme for Storytime recently. "Surprise Me!" turned out to be a big success!  Instead of picking one theme, for example Gardening, we selected 10-12 fun/popular stories, song and fingerplays and then had the children who came to storytime draw out of a bag to see what story, song or finger play we would read, sing or say next.  During the Fun for 4s and 5s session we received several nice comments.  One patron said her grandson loved being part of Storytime.  Another commented on how well the children participated.  And, one lady asked if we planned on doing the theme again, because her daughter really enjoyed it. All in attendance joined in and had fun!

Author visits have big impact on teen

After the tornado that hit Joplin in May 2011, one of my teens who lost her home came in to report that all of her autographed books were saved.  She stuffed them into her purse as she was heading for their shelter.

Almost all of these books, her prized possessions, were autographed because the Library brought the authors into town.