Category Archives: Programs

Programs

Spotlight Program: How to Have a Haunted Halloween

At CMLE, we so enjoy all our different types of libraries, archives, and other members! Seeing all the work you are doing is so inspiring; and we want to return the favor by helping you to find some of the great programming going on around the profession.

Each week we will share an interesting program we find. It may inspire you to do exactly the same thing; or to try something related; or just to try out some different programming ideas. (On November 9, 2017, we will drop a podcast episode on Library Programming; you can tune in here to check it out! Or, of course, subscribe or stream to enjoy any of the episodes!)

Halloween is approaching, and we are going to look at some holiday programs you may want to try in your library.

How to Have a Haunted Halloween

By Kimberli Buckley, Library Manager, Concord Library, Contra Costa County (Calif.) Library

About five years ago, I created a program called Haunted Library. Our Teen Advisory Group (TAG) really looked forward to this program every year. They absolutely loved planning this event, making up different themes each year and going all out from the beginning of the school year until Halloween. It was so awesome because they were fully invested.

TAG’s main goal was to create a haunted house for the younger children in the community. The parks and recreation department in San Pablo used to put on a great haunted house, but after they discontinued their program, my TAG felt that it was up to them to put on a great program for the kids. We did the Haunted Halloween program every year for four years, and the teens outdid themselves and did an amazing job.

This year, I am at a different library, but I am carrying on the tradition of the Haunted Library program. My staff and I are planning a Halloween event for tweens and teens and are very excited to share our ideas. We now have an even bigger room to create a haunted house, and we have recruited a brand new TAG to help plan and coordinate. After meeting and discussing ideas for our Halloween event, we came up with a long list of fun things to do. Here are some of our ideas:

Hauntingly Terrific Crafts

Spooky Candy Hands: These candy hands are creepy looking, but they’re a super yummy treat for teens.

Faux Horror Chains: These faux chains are inexpensive to make and great for indoor or outdoor decorating.

Creepy Spell Book: Put those weeded books to good use. These creepy spell books look complicated, but they’re actually easy to make.

Witch’s Potion Bottles: It’s amazing that these started as plain plastic pill bottles.

Spooktacularly Tasty Morsels

Candy Corn Punch: Sweet, colorful and fun. Drink up, my pretties!

Halloween Spaghetti: Here’s a horrible-looking twist on your grandma’s spaghetti recipe.

Poison Apples: This poison apple recipe was inspired by Evie from Disney’s “Descendants.”

Pumpkin Patch Dirt Cups: These would be fun to serve at a Halloween-themed party.

(Read the rest of this great blog here!)

Programs

Spotlight Program: Trivia Masters

At CMLE, we so enjoy all our different types of libraries, archives, and other members! Seeing all the work you are doing is so inspiring; and we want to return the favor by helping you to find some of the great programming going on around the profession.

Each week we will share an interesting program we find. It may inspire you to do exactly the same thing; or to try something related; or just to try out some different programming ideas. (On November 9, 2017, we will drop a podcast episode on Library Programming; you can tune in here to check it out! Or, of course, subscribe or stream to enjoy any of the episodes!)

Trivia 1

Making Trivia Masters: Using Trivia to Turn Students into Explorers

By Kate Lewallen, Middle and Upper School Librarian, Webb School of Knoxville, Knoxville, Tenn.

“A few months ago on Programming Librarian, I talked about asking a trivia question as part of your passive programming. Now, I’ve taken it a step further to create a Trivia Master Challenge that encourages students to search the library’s catalog, explore our nonfiction section, and learn how to search successfully within a book.

Trivia challenge is a clever way to get library users to explore resources they may be unfamiliar with.

The problem: Wait, there’s more?

A few years ago, my school library underwent a renovation that resulted in the majority of our physical collection being hidden around a corner. As a result, I often got surprised reactions out of students who didn’t know that there was an entire other section of the library that they couldn’t immediately see. I needed a way to get students behind the wall and into the nonfiction section more regularly than they were being brought in for classes.

The solution: The Trivia Master Challenge

When I watched this webinar about using trivia to increase ebook use, I knew this could help me solve the problem with my physical collection, so I adapted it to my needs.

Each week, I publicize a new question. Students have to come to the library, search the catalog for a book about that subject, then find the answer in a book. They submit their answer online, including the title, author and page number where they found it. This way, they still have to use the library’s resources, even if they already know the answer.

I take all the correct answers each week and do a drawing for our Trivia Masters, who then get a prize.”

Read the rest of her article here!

CMLE, Communication, Programs

CMLE Resources: Travel bugs

Geocache opened

CMLE is here for you with all kinds of resources and information. Each week we will share a look at another piece of that information, to help draw some attention to resources that may help you as you serve your community.

This week we look at our geocaching resources!

We are always looking for strategies to share library ideas with people – and setting travel bugs loose in the world is one of our unique attempts.

Have you tried geocaching? It’s fun!

And what is it? “Geocaching is a real-world, outdoor treasure hunting game using GPS-enabled devices. Participants navigate to a specific set of GPS coordinates and then attempt to find the geocache (container) hidden at that location.”

What are travel bugs? “A Trackable is a sort of physical geocaching “game piece.” You will often find them in geocaches or see them at geocaching gatherings. Each Trackable is etched with a unique code that can be used to log its movements on Geocaching.com as it travels in the real world. Some of these items have traveled hundreds of thousands of miles thanks to geocachers who move them from cache to cache!

There are three main types of Trackables: Travel Bug® Trackables, Geocoins and other Trackables.

A Travel Bug is a trackable tag attached to an item that geocachers call a “hitchhiker.” Each Travel Bug has a goal set by its owner. Goals are typically travel-related, such as to visit every country in Europe or travel from coast to coast. Travel Bug Trackables move from cache to cache with the help of geocachers like you. See the “What do I do when I find a Trackable?” section of the guide for information on how you can help Trackables move.”

CMLE has set loose five trackables into the world. Some disappeared, some are still out there – but we like them all and look forward to hearing about their progress! We get emails as they are found, and it is always fun to see how they are moving.

If you want to track the CMLE travel bugs:

We are with you! Travel bugs can be pretty exciting. We are looking forward to checking in on their progress, to see how many libraries they visit! You can follow the links below, or just click on the travel bug on the geocaching.com site to get a quick email each time it moves around.

CMLE, Programs

Spotlight Program: Murder in the Stacks

At CMLE, we so enjoy all our different types of libraries, archives, and other members! Seeing all the work you are doing is so inspiring; and we want to return the favor by helping you to find some of the great programming going on around the profession.

Each week we will share an interesting program we find. It may inspire you to do exactly the same thing; or to try something related; or just to try out some different programming ideas. (On November 9, 2017, we will drop a podcast episode on Library Programming; you can tune in here to check it out! Or, of course, subscribe or stream to enjoy any of the episodes!)

Murder in the Stacks

Have you been to the Twin Falls Public Library in Idaho? I have not (yet!), but it sounds like a great place – and maybe just a little scary! A library with staff who can come up with such fun programming sounds delightful; but all these faux mysteries might make for a scary workplace. (I absolutely can not wait to go visit! Anyone want to take a CMLE road trip to Idaho??)

From their website:

“One of the most popular adult games we’ve done is our interactive murder mystery (especially among our staff, who serves as guinea pigs before we unveil a new one to the public). Basically a game similar to “Clue”, the games revolve around a mystery to be solved – who, where, and with what weapon. Running such a live game can be as labor intensive as you want. I have a tendency to go a bit overboard, so I’ll describe my process, which can be tailored for your skills/desires/needs.” Continue reading Spotlight Program: Murder in the Stacks →

Communication, Programs

Spotlight Program: Citizen Science Partnerships

At CMLE, we so enjoy all our different types of libraries, archives, and other members! Seeing all the work you are doing is so inspiring; and we want to return the favor by helping you to find some of the great programming going on around the profession.

Each week we will share an interesting program we find. It may inspire you to do exactly the same thing; or to try something related; or just to try out some different programming ideas. (On November 9, 2017, we will drop a podcast episode on Library Programming; you can tune in here to check it out! Or, of course, subscribe or stream to enjoy any of the episodes!)

Citizen Science Program

As a mulitype system, we are always enthused about partnerships and sharing across different types of libraries. This program sounded really fun – and a great way to share resources and skills across academic and public libraries.

Citizen science programs can be great ways to bring people into your  public library, and to get them involved with your resources. Adding in the expertise of an academic institution to bring in expertise just builds the interest! (Note that this is funded by an IMLS grant – yet another great program from this organization!! Tell your federal representative and senators to keep funding for libraries!)

Can you do some science? Are you interested in exploring this? Let’s talk! We can help you to find a member to partner with, and you can offer some new, exciting programs to your community!

 

ASU Citizen Science grant project ASU’s 2016 Citizen Science Maker Summit: (from left to right) Narendra Das, a research scientist at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory; Dan Stanton, associate librarian for academic services at ASU Library and co-investigator on the grant; Darlene Cavalier, professor of practice in ASU’s School for the Future of Innovation in Society and principal investigator on the grant; Catherine Hoffman, managing director of SciStarter; Micah Lande, assistant professor and Tooker Professor at The Polytechnic School; and Brianne Fisher, former ASU graduate student. Download Full Image

“Arizona State University aims to position public libraries as key facilitators of citizen science, a collaborative process between scientists and the general public to spur the collection of data.

Through a new grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), researchers from the School for the Future of Innovation in Society and ASU Library will develop field-tested, replicable resource toolkits for public libraries to provide to everyday people contributing to real research, from right where they are.

Despite growing interest from public libraries to incorporate citizen science programming into their role as go-to community hubs, Dan Stanton, associate librarian for academic services at ASU Library, says there are no documented road maps, best practices or models to follow.

“Our project team is well equipped to address this need, as there is substantial expertise in the area of citizen science here at ASU,” said Stanton, co-investigator on the grant.

Led by Darlene Cavalier, a professor of practice in the School for the Future of Innovation in Society, the grant brings together an interdisciplinary team of faculty and librarians to build on previous work around citizen science — a practice rapidly gaining in popularity, particularly at ASU.

In 2016, ASU hosted the Citizen Science Maker Summit, organized by Cavalier, who is also the founder of SciStarter, an online platform and ASU research affiliate, where more than 1,600 citizen science projects are registered online and open for support and participation. The projects include everything from observing or recording natural phenomena to developing software or instrumentation.

Cavalier also serves on the National Academy of Sciences committee on citizen science and is the co-founder of the Expert and Citizen Assessment of Science and Technology (ECAST) network.

“We know from previous research that too frequently the lack of access to low-cost instruments, coupled with an unmet desire to feel part of a community, creates a barrier to entry for would-be citizen scientists,” Cavalier said. “We are grateful to IMLS for supporting our effort to understand how the characteristics and capacities of librarians, their local communities and the scientists who need help from those communities can be supported through public libraries.”

As part of the grant, ASU will partner with six Arizona public libraries representing a mix of urban and rural and youth and senior populations.

The toolkits that will be developed for the libraries will offer multiple entry points that acknowledge varying library capacities and diversity of patrons.

Risa Robinson, coordinator of the grant and the assistant director of learning services at ASU Library, says libraries are ideal conduits for citizen science.

“Citizen science represents the kind of low-cost but impactful programming public libraries have always provided,” she said.

“With the increasing demand for science literacy, the growing interest in citizen science and the library’s strong community anchor, this partnership makes sense.””