I mentioned in a previous post that our job duties were restructured just prior to the start of the 14-15 school year. It meant that I wasn't doing as much programming. It also meant that most of the programming I did choose to do became very low-key and easy to manage. Here's a little recap of the low maintenance programs I chose for the fall.
Lego Family Fun Day: I think we've been offering this program for a year now and it is the very definition of low-key. We set out our LEGOs and let families build together. Attendance dropped quite a bit in the fall. As I've mentioned before, we had a bit of a weird fall, so I'm not sure if it's that or something else. I've decided to try something just a bit different in the spring; we'll see if it changes our attendance numbers.
Mario Kart Tournament: one of our teen volunteers requested this program, something I'd already thought about doing for a few years. It wasn't quite as successful as I'd hoped - though we had a significant number of teens in the room, several of them had no interest in playing. That is fine; I like them hanging out and having fun at the library, and we had set out board games that they played instead. However, it made the tournament a bit uneventful and we had a winner quite quickly. Also, our winner did not seem as thrilled about winning the beautiful Golden Hubcap as I'd hoped. I think we're going to try this program again in the summer and aim it at a slightly younger audience (both ideas will probably end up making the program insane). We'll see how it goes!
Pumpkin Decorating: I think this is the third year I've offered this program. It's always well-attended, and I like how thoughtful the tweens are when it comes to their decorating; they really want to get their pumpkin just right. After last year's slightly inappropriate showing of Hocus Pocus, I erred on the side of caution and showed It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, which several of the kids had not seen. I know my boss talked about offering a family version this year; I think that's a great idea as well and I know other libraries have had success with that.
Throwback Thursday: this was a new monthly program for teens that I decided to try out. I'm sure you're aware of #tbt on social media; I thought I'd try to be somewhat relevant and base a program around this idea. It's pretty simple - I pick two old (read: older than the teens) movies, they vote on the one they want to watch, and we throw it on. I provide snacks and coloring sheets and crayons, usually related to our movies. They're allowed to chat and color (I find it relaxing) and there are very basic rules: no talking about school, be polite, and don't make a mess. I've had pretty good attendance so far, and several kids have told me it's their favorite program to attend. A couple times I've offered a very simple craft (by which I mean one aimed at preschoolers) and they haven't been as interested in that. So far, we've watched Beetlejuice, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, and The Nightmare Before Christmas. It's been a lot of fun, and an extremely easy program!
What low-key programs does your library offer?
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