Scratch Tickets for the Win!

This week on YA-YAAC, there was a discussion about the different ways to run Summer Reading. The focus was on a Summer Reading Bingo card, which I have tried at my library and it bombed. I think it was too complicated for our patrons and Circulation Staff, though I know other libraries have had great success with it. However, I mentioned to the group that I use homemade scratch tickets for my Summer Reading and the interest it garnered prompted me to write this post.

The beauty of this idea is that any librarian can do it, for any age group. It is a fun activity for patrons and it makes a small prize budget go very far. (Our teens were happy to scratch a losing ticket because it meant they got into the Grand Prize Raffle.)

When we did the Bingo card program, I had 46 participants. The year afterwards, I decided to revamp my Summer Reading and take a very simple approach with scratch tickets. It paid off with 269 teens participating. Last year, we beat that number and had 321 teens in the program.

This is how we did it:

Our Goals

• Make Summer Reading easy!
• Increase participation.
• Focus on fun.
• Eliminate the barrier of registering to participate.
• Encourage teens to return to the library all summer.
• Make teens aware of all the library has to offer, most especially reaching those who only come in for their school’s Summer Reading books.

Benefits of Scratch Tickets

• No registration needed—statistics were gathered on the back of losing tickets or the prize sign-in sheet. (I do have a registration form, which if they fill out, they'll get 3 extra tickets into the Grand Prize Raffle.)
• It is simple to implement. Staff ask if teens are going into grades 6-12 and automatically hand them a ticket.
• Teens instantly participated.
• Staff were excited to have a winner.
• Prizes were collected right away, eliminating hassle of hunting down winners later.

Challenges

New 2015 Design!

• It is time consuming to make so many tickets! But volunteers can easily do it.
• Circulation staff participation are important since they are the ones handing out the tickets.
• This program only rewarded those who came to the library often. 
• Prizes may be a challenge for some libraries, depending on what your budget is. If this is the case, you can adapt this program where instead of having each library item have a certain prize, they can pick a scratch ticket for whatever prize they are hoping to win. I know of another library who holds an auction at the end of Summer Reading and these scratch tickets will award different amounts of book bucks to the patron. So, there are many different ways to use this!

How It Works:

• You can buy Scratch Ticket Stickers on Amazon. I used to paint them, but when I learned of this in June of 2015, I completely redesigned our tickets to use them -- it worked out great! (If you prefer to make your own, we had used this tutorial: http://www.thedaintysquid.com/2012/03/diy-scratch-off-tickets.html. To save on time, we just painted a square over the words instead of painting the whole bottom like they did in the tutorial and we didn't use tape for clean edges.) 
• 7 categories, 7 major prizes. Fiction and Nonfiction each had 2 midlevel prizes and free books.
• All categories had lots of small winners, just candy and Summer Reading trinkets.
• We started off with 2/3rds losing tickets and 1/3rd winning tickets and made more when needed (usually more losing tickets, but I was ready to buy more candy if needed).
• ALL losing tickets qualified for the GRAND PRIZE RAFFLE, not listed on the Prize Board above.
• One ticket per day, handed out by Circulation Staff. If they checked out multiple categories, they picked what ticket they wanted.
• If they lost, they wrote their contact info on the back and the losing ticket would go into the grand prize raffle.
• If they won, they had to sign a sheet before claiming their prize. (Helped with keeping stats on winners)
• We made a Prize Board on the wall next to the Circulation Desk and entrance that clearly stated each category and the prizes. As teens won them, we taped "Claim" over the prize. This greatly influenced teens try check out different items based on what was available. 
• I tallied our participant numbers based on the names on the losing tickets and prize sheets.

NOTE: We only put one major prize in the raffle per week, right on top of the pile so we could control when the big prizes were claimed and could spread it out throughout the whole summer.

What We Learned:

• There were some teens who were disappointed that they couldn’t log their hours, but as one said, “I loved that [logging hours] when I was younger because I would constantly read in hopes of doing well in the program, but with my job and the crazy amount of summer work we have to do for APs, I didn’t get to read as much as I would have liked.”
• To accommodate those who are big readers but cannot come to the library often, next year, we are creating a category for book reviews.  One ticket per review.
• Despite the fact that we give out prizes for non-books, books by far were the top checkouts. In 2014, 82.6% were book/audiobook checkouts. Of course, we didn’t release the major prize in these categories until towards the end of Summer Reading to encourage reading.
• In 2014,  41% won at least once. All major and midlevel prizes were won by a different person.
• We used to add the Summer Reading theme to the tickets, but decided to go generic so we can reuse the leftovers the following year!

Template:

You can double click and copy our free template to get started! We just ask that you comment on this blog that you're using it. The circles on the left fit the 1 inch Scratch Ticket Stickers from Amazon. Just add your text and you're ready to go!

Follow Up Information:

I have been getting a lot of similar questions, so here's additional information:

1. How did you stagger your winning tickets?  Was there a rhyme or reason?

Did you ever find you had a bunch of unclaimed prizes?

I staggered the small prizes with the losing tickets (this was candy, Summer Reading swag, and free books). However, my $25 gift cards and the bigger prizes, I kept out of the pile. I had enough so that I only gave away one gift card each week and then sporadically added the other prizes in.

To ensure these big prizes were claimed, I laid them on top of the pile so the next person would win it (I didn't want to worry about people never reaching the prize. I guess you can say the random part was for me -- I never knew which teen was going to walk through the door and win it). Everyone walked away with their prize, so I didn't have any prizes leftover... except for candy and the other small prizes, since I never could be sure how many people would participate and I wanted to give them choices.

2. Did you base how many winning tickets you had on the number of teens

participating or was it random?

I had no idea that first year how many people would participate, so I counted up my summer reading swag and looked at the candy piece amount listed on the bags and made that many winning small prizes. I doubled that number and made the rest for losing tickets. So, basically, every third person should win something. I ended up having to make more halfway during summer reading, but you'll know how many more to make when you check the piles. Once you complete one year, you'll have a good idea of how many tickets to make the next time. (And, honestly, halfway through the summer, I just add in more losing tickets since I figured by this point, teens don't have to win so often. They should be hooked!)

If you enjoyed this article, check out our other posts on Summer Reading!

17 Ways to Accomplish Summer Reading
50+ Ideas for Summer Reading Swag that Make Your Patrons Dance
Ready to Go Book Display: Villains, Superheroes, and Everyday Heroes

Employee Appreciation Day is March 6th

Friday, March 6th is Employee Appreciation Day, which brings up the question, what do libraries do to show appreciation to their employees? A great conversation was started on ALA Think Tank that I thought is worth compiling here. Whether you want to acknowledge one person or the whole staff, lots of original ideas were shared!

Recognition

* At my school during faculty meetings, we recognize people with "a Coke and a smile." While describing something nice, we hand them a coke with a smiley face taped on the bottle or can.

* Make sure to include it in the yearly evaluation.

* We put a sign on the staff door with their photo and some fun graphics.

* Just say Thank You.

* Write a warm fuzzies [or, if you don't have such a website, somewhere visible to the public].

* Don't forget to tell your supervisor when she/he does something you appreciate, too!

Voting Awards

* We have a Kudos contest and give out awards like this every month. Staff members nominate other staff members, with a brief note about their exceptional effort/kindness/professionalism/general awesomeness. Each month, there is a drawing. Both the nominator and the nominee for the instance drawn receive a $5.00 gift card (usually for a bookstore or coffee shop.) All of the nominations are shared in a systemwide email, so everybody gets a few minutes of fame.

* We have a recognition program where the thankful party fills out a little two part card. One part has To: / From: / Thank you for: lines. The other part has To: & From: only. The second part gets dropped in a mason jar on the admin desk. A card is drawn at each staff meeting for a gift basket prize. (That way everyone gets thanked, but you don't have to spend a lot of money.)

* We give "You Make a Difference" awards- any staff member can give them to any other staff member for anything they did that was especially kind, helpful, or "above & beyond the call of duty." ...[T]here is a tear-off section at the bottom. When you collect 5, you can hand in the bottoms to your supervisor for 1/2 hour off with pay.

* At my library, we have a Kudos Board. Co-workers can recognize and thank someone who went above and beyond. At our in-service twice a year, they are read out loud for everyone and then the staff member gets to keep theirs.

* A plastic crown/tiara coupled with a chocolate bar was enough to get my staff motivated enough to move us up ten spots in the circulation rankings. We turned one bookcase into a staff picks shelf. Everyone had half a shelf and at the end of the day one of the pages would record how many books of each staff member had been checked out that day. At the end of the month the top book selector got a chocolate bar and plastic crown or tiara. It made it so that EVERYBODY at the branch was hand selling books and circulation shot up. I think it cost me a grand total of $5 a month to run.

Time

* Give them 5-10 extra minutes on break.

* Let them go home an hour early.

* Give them a longer lunch hour.

* Give them an hour or two uninterrupted to work on something they enjoy doing or a special project.

Small and Big Gifts

* $5.00 gift cards to Dunkin Donuts and leave them in their mailboxes.

* Redbox coupon + bag of popcorn. Hip2Save has some good coupons.

* Mug + bag of coffee or tea; Hot cocoa in a jar.

* Cupcakes and/or boxes of chocolates to thank staff for exceptional work.

* Coupons worth $3 in books from the book sale.

* Free lunch for everyone.

* I've also given gift certificates, for local and in-house purchases, teas, etc. People seem to like gift bags of anything especially if they are geared towards their interests.

Free Ideas

* Jeans day.

* Employee of the Week parking space close to the entrance.

* Formal letter in their file.

* I have made certificates for the best poster or most creative exhibit.

* Coupons for a free soda or snack from the vending machine.

* Handwritten notes of appreciation.

Crafty Ideas

* If you are crafty, you could make them something out of their favorite book(s)--bookmarks, jewelry, keychains, etc. I taught myself how to make bracelets out of recycled used books from DIY bead rolling videos on Youtube. Very easy to learn!

* A couple years ago I made a "you rock" rock.....big rock with those words in it. I gave it out the first year and then that person gave it to someone else the next year. Then I felt bad that only one person got the rock so I gave out little rocks to everyone with the letter "u" on it. Which is funny because several people asked "what's an "n" rock?"

* Thank you note wrapped around a candy bar.  [A Girl and a Glue Gun has good printables.]


Check out ALA Think Tank for the original conversation:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/ALAthinkTANK/permalink/800204260052396/

Ready to Go Book Display: Superheroes

Welcome to our series, "Ready to Go!" Book Display. Once a month, we'll highlight the latest or greatest for every age group (Adults, Teens and Children) that you can promote within your library or order for your collection. 

It's that time of year! Time to start planning for summer reading 2015! This month I will be focusing on Superheroes but stay tuned for Every Day Heroes in March and Villains in April.

Recommendations for Adults:

 League of Regrettable Superheroes by Jon Morris (June 2015)

For every superhero hitting the big time with a blockbuster movie, there are countless failures, also-rans, and D-listers. This book affectionately presents one hundred of the strangest superheroes ever in print.

Marvel Encyclopedia by Matt Forbeck (March 2014)

The newest edition for of the bestselling encyclopedia is now fully revised, extended and updated.

The Secret History of Wonder Woman by Jill Lepore (Oct 2014)

A cultural history of Wonder Woman traces the character's creation and enduring popularity, drawing on interviews and archival research to reveal the pivotal role of feminism in shaping her seven-decade story.

Superheroes! by Laurence Maslon (Oct 2013)

A tie-in to a PBS documentary series explores the 70-year history of the superheroes who have engaged fans for generations.

75 Years of Marvel Comics by Roy Thomas (Nov 2014)

In celebration of Marvel's 75th anniversary, TASCHEN presents a magnum opus of the most influential comic book publisher today, with a look inside at its celebrated characters and more.

Recommendations for Teens:

The Adventures of Superhero Girl by Faith Erin Hicks (Feb 2013)

Presents the adventures of Superhero Girl, who struggles with her everyday life, battling monsters and aliens, and snarky comments from Skeptical Guy.

The Shadow Hero by Gene Luen Yang and Sonny Liew (July 2014)

Collects new stories of the Green Turtle, a masked hero in the 1940s whose alter-ego is Chinese-American.

Ms. Marvel Vol. 1: No Normal by G. Willow Wilson (Oct 2014)

Kamala Khan is an ordinary girl from Jersey City - until she's suddenly empowered with extraordinary gifts. But who truly is the new Ms. Marvel? Teenager? Muslim? Inhuman?

Who is AC? by Hope Larson (April 2013)

When Lin, a teenage girl who is zapped with magical powers through her cell phone, starts to get a handle on her power she realizes she has to go head to head with a villain who spreads his influence through binary code.

Hero by Perry Moore (May 2007)

Thom Creed, son of a disowned superhero, finds that he, too, has special powers and is asked to join the very League that rejected his father, and it is there that Thom finds other misfits whom he can finally trust.

 Recommendations for Children:

Ten Rules of Being a Superhero by Deb Pilutti (Oct 2014)

An instruction manual for aspiring superheroes that follows the adventures of action-figure Captain Magma and his sidekick/owner Lava Boy as they outsmart a villainous dinosaur, evade a bee, and save a worm from certain destruction.

Public School Superhero by James Patterson and Chris Tebbetts (March 2015)

Kenny Wright is a kid with a secret identity. In his mind, he's Stainlezz Steel, super-powered defender of the weak. In reality, he's a chess club devotee known as a "Grandma's Boy," a label that makes him an easy target for bullies.

The Story of the Avengers by Thomas Macri (Oct 2013)

Describes how a group of super heroes became the Avengers team.

Superfab Saves the Day by Berengere Delaporte and Jean Leroy (Aug 2014)

With a large superhero costume collection, Superfab is the best-dressed superhero around, but his frequent costume changes often stop him for arriving in time to help people in trouble, until one day, his style sense may just save the day.

A Superhero Cookbook by Sarah L. Schuette (July 2011)

Provides instructions and step-by-step photos for making a variety of simple snacks and drinks with a superhero theme.

The Princess in Black by Shannon Hale & Dale Hale (Oct 2014)

Hiding her secret identity as a monster-fighting superhero, Princess Magnolia interrupts her fancy tea with the unsuspecting Duchess Wigtower to stop a big blue monster from endangering her kingdom's goats.

Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Substitute by Jarrett J. Krosoczka (July 2009)

 The school lunch lady is a secret crime fighter who uncovers an evil plot to replace all the popular teachers with robots.

10 Instagram Tips for Instasuccess

Thinking about making a library Instagram account? If you want to reach your teens, research and even many teen librarians will tell you that Instagram (IG) is the place to be. I talked with Garrett Pinder from Jones Library and an avid Instagram user, and we collaborated to come up with a top 10 list for all libraries getting started:

1) Hashtags are IT 

Hashtags are so important for people to find your content and very integrated into the way people use Instagram. Make sure to use a hashtag for your library and use it consistently. Also, look up hashtags of your city/town and see what’s most popular. Check out the users and see if there are any that you could follow/like.

2) Hashtag in Comments for Searchability Benefits

Put most of your hashtags in your comments AFTER you post so it disappears when people respond, but are still searchable for people to find you.

3) Engage with your Followers 

You don’t have to follow your patrons back, but try to like some of their photos!

4) Yes, You Can Instagram from Your Computer

You cannot switch between accounts easily, but you can download an app for your desktop so that you can upload images directly from your computer to IG. We use Gramblr.

5) You Can Also Repost on IG

Follow people who post about generic literature content and repost their beautiful images on your account for more content with little work on your part! Apps like Iconosquare Websta and squarelovin will let you do this [Update: Starting April 28, 2015, Iconosquare began charging expensive fees to access their special features like reposting and statistics. I'm thoroughly disappointed with this change and have deleted my account.]

6) Learn from Your Statistics 

Pay attention to your Instagram Statistics to see what resonates well with your followers. Iconosquare mentioned in #5 will tell you what times of day people responded, your filter impact, and the top tags on IG.

7) Location, Location, Location

Always use your library as a location (Place on Map) so people can find you.

8) You Cannot Schedule Posts to Go Live

Due to IG’s API, you are NOT allowed to have an app schedule posts for you (though there are programs out there who will do it but they caution you of the risk upfront…) however, you can use apps like Latergramme which you can put your posts into a queue to later post yourself. (It only sets up a reminder, it does not publish.)

9) IG Plays Well With Facebook

Connect your account to your Facebook Page. It’ll create a new tab (next to pictures) so they can see all of your photos. Do you want to see your Instagram Feed on the menu WITHOUT clicking on the “More” button?  When you click the “more” button, you’ll see the option “Manage Tabs” and you can rearrange their order. (Who needs the review tab on the visual menu?)

10) IG Is All About That Image, 'bout That Image

People go on Instagram because they want to see beautiful pictures. It is better to not post at all than to post a lousy image. Please pay attention to that. The good news with Instagram, you don't have to post often to get attention, so make your images count.

Bonus Tip: Andriod and iOS are Not Equal

If you can choose between Android or iOS, go with the later for posting on IG. According to a conversation on Reddit, there's a noticeable difference in image quality between Andriod and iOS. However, if you only have an Android, don't let that stop you from posting on IG. There are many users with Andriods, and we're all hopeful IG will eventually fix this problem.


GARRETT PINDER is the Young Adult Services Coordinator at the Jones Library in Amherst, MA. You can follow Jones Library's Teen Department on all of the social media via @JonesLibTeens handle. You are also welcome to follow Garrett on his personal blog, http://www.booksick.com, where he writes about books, and his personal opinions and reviews.

From ALA to Zuckerberg: Librarian Facebook Groups

Are you on Facebook? Do you know of all of the library Facebook Groups that you can join and instantly connect with hundreds, in some cases thousands (and in one particular group over 10,000) other librarians?

No? Well, have no fear! The 5 Minute Librarian has compiled some of the top groups in many different areas of public librarianship. This list is no where complete (it is really hard to find these groups without knowing someone who is in them), so please post in the comments any additional groups to be included on this list!

Also note that I did not include any regional groups since they would only apply to a small number of readers, but local groups are out there! Look up your colleagues and see what groups they are part of - that may be the easiest way to find them.

ALA Graphic Novels & Comics in Libraries MIG

https://www.facebook.com/groups/284091538417404/
American Library Association's Group dedicated to Graphic Novels & Comic Books! Also find us on ALA Connect: http://connect.ala.org/graphicnovels
2,197 members

ALA Think Tank Library Think Tank - #ALATT

https://www.facebook.com/groups/ALAthinkTANK/
Librarians and library workers! Social media's space for them! We #makeithappen and #partyhard TOGETHER! We>Me
DISCLAIMER: WHILE we love the American Library Association, we are IN NO WAY affiliated with them.
33,202 members

Bossy Librarians

https://www.facebook.com/groups/208893832596915
This group came out of an ALA 2013 presentation on NextGen library leadership. We decided more needs to be done for NextGen library managers. This will be a closed group, but keep staff privacy issues in mind. Post your management successes and troubles so we all can learn!
1,265 members

Business Librarians

https://www.facebook.com/groups/buslib/
This group is dedicated to informing librarians with reference and research specialties in all aspects of business and finance of new developments and trends in business librarianship. We welcome business librarians (academic, public, corporate, etc), adjunct members like vendors of business-related research materials, and librarians of all sorts who just want to learn a little more about business research.
437 members

Collection Development Support

https://www.facebook.com/groups/CollectionDevelopmentSupport/
A place to ask for collection development suggestions and support.
469 members

Creative Librarians

https://www.facebook.com/groups/CreativeLibrarians/
This site is for all to share your ideas for crafts, programs, and activities that are a success at your libraries. Please share.
177 members

Digital Librarians & Developers In the Stacks

https://www.facebook.com/groups/763880967005882/
A lab for digital librarian developers—a place where new tech products and services for libraries and communities, media and publishing, are created and innovated—and a space for discussion. PLEASE NOTE: We must be able to verify you are a librarian and/or library-affiliated from your FB profile to approve your request to join. This is also our informal pool of librarian developer contractors we will go to when we need to hire for short-term, freelance, mostly virtual contract work.
479 members

Deeper Library Think Tank

https://www.facebook.com/groups/deepalatt/
Like #alatt, but deeper, and closed.
3,476 members

eLearning in Libraries

https://www.facebook.com/groups/459190367552515/
This is a group for anyone who is interested in developing e-learning for library purposes. We will share ideas and engage in discussion about e-learning. Public, academic, school, and special library staff are all encouraged to join. E-learning can include screencasts, tutorials, videos, and any other training delivered in an online format, and may be for library staff or patrons.
1,329 members

Elementary Librarian Exchange

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1726469570900005/
Please share but keep it elementary library oriented!
-ideas you use in your library
-issues you need help with concerning your library
-elementary book reviews
-your library's website/Facebook page/blog/Pinterest/social media/TPT page
-products you love for your library
-contests/grants related to libraries
-lesson plan links to help with library lessons
-technology ideas
-classroom collaboration ideas
3,681 members

Flannel Friday

https://www.facebook.com/groups/flannelfridayfun
Welcome to Flannel Friday's Facebook page! FF is a non-profit* international group of librarians and educators working together to share quality beyond-the-book experiences for children.
3,168 members

The Grown-up Table: Library Programs and Services for Adults

https://www.facebook.com/groups/grownuptable
Welcome! This is an open forum for discussion about anything that falls (or might fall) under the banner of library programs and services for adults. Questions can be submitted anonymously.
432 members

IFLA - LSN, Library Services to People with Special Needs

https://www.facebook.com/groups/ifla.lsn/
The Section for Library Services to People with Special Needs provides an international forum for the discussion of ideas, sharing of experiences and development of tools designed to promote and improve the effectiveness of library and information services to special needs groups, and the promotion of national and international cooperation at all levels.
2,276 members

ILLers; a FB Group For Interlibrary Loan Librarians

https://www.facebook.com/groups/172179662942180/
This is a place where you can post anything related to the libraries' resource sharing activities.
888 members

Intellectual Freedom Fighters

https://www.facebook.com/groups/456760254514041/
The Intellectual Freedom Fighters (IFF) want to get Intellectual Freedom issues on the minds, hearts, and tongues of the wider library community. We want to inform you about these issues and provoke tough conversations. We intend to create change in the wider library world. The IFF is an outgrowth of the ever-vigilant ALA Intellectual Freedom Round Table (IFRT), which has been protecting your freedoms since 1973. [...] The IFF Group is here to get the whole library community thinking about Intellectual Freedom questions. We all face difficult issues and scary situations sometime, let's face them together. Comments are eagerly solicited, although uncivil or off topic posts may be deleted.
383 members

International Public Library Think Tank

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1954456498104274/
This is a think tank created especially for library staff in public libraries. Library ideas, concepts and trends will be discussed in a professional, respectful manner with an emphasis on advancing public librarianship.
62 members

League of Librarian Gamers - for Librarians who Play

https://www.facebook.com/groups/LeagueOfLibrarianGamers/
A group for librarians who play games of all kinds - board games, card games, RPGs, video games, tabletop games, Magic: the Gathering, miniatures, dice games, classic games. If you're a Librarian, and you play games, join this group!
2,376 members

Librarian Memes

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1709521932616653/
NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH LIBERTARIAN MEMES This is a group for sharing all your library, school, and learning memes! Invite your friends!
4,610 members

Librarians in the Northwest

https://www.facebook.com/groups/LibrariansNW/
A virtual meeting ground for librarians and library professionals in the Pacific Northwest interested in talking about how to #makeithappen in their library spaces.
1,444 members

Libraries & Information Technology: Making FarmVille Work Better

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1411955635742429/
A place for those who work in public & academic library IT departments to network & share advice. This is a closed group, so feel free to be candid.
213 members

Libraries and the Opioid Crisis

https://www.facebook.com/groups/librariesopioidcrisis/about/
As library staff see the opioid crisis impacting patrons and communities, this group provides a way to share research, news, and strategies to respond.
295 members

Librarians For Social Justice

https://www.facebook.com/groups/libs.social.justice/about/
Our Mission Statement: Through volunteering and fundraising projects, Librarians for Social Justice works toward creating a more equitable and just society.  We actively engage with our community, on a local and global scale, in order to turn information into action.
99 members

Libraries & Social Media

https://www.facebook.com/groups/LibrarySocial/
This is a group for anyone working professionally in social media for their library, or those curious about what it's like.
8,561 members

Libraries Step Up (in times of crisis)

https://www.facebook.com/groups/libcrisis
Our mission is to kick ass and save the day, library-style. We're a centralized location for collecting and disseminating information about urgent political or natural disasters' effects on libraries and library services.
1,051 members

Library Cons and Fests

https://www.facebook.com/groups/LibraryConsAndFests/
A group for libraries and librarians to share information related to holding conventions and festivals of all kinds, from book fairs to comic cons.
701 members

Library Coffee Shop Talk

https://www.facebook.com/groups/188470881170938/
Enjoy your hot beverage and enjoy a light virtual conversation with other library minded folks.
795 members

Library Employee Support Network

https://www.facebook.com/groups/toxic.libraries
A place where librarians can gather and talk about abusive workplaces anonymously and safely and also get support and advice from colleagues. Email LESN.share and admin will post your comments anonymously. *OR* You can post from our anonymous Facebook account (ask one of the admins for the password).
5,563 members

Library Entrepreneurship & Maker Services

https://www.facebook.com/groups/startup.library/
More and more, libraries are becoming places of active, connected learning. We have also stepped up to the plate to help the jobless and career-changers in our communities rejoin the workforce. This group is where we will be discussing new ways that libraries can support makers, job hunters, the business-curious, freelancers, career changers, builders, startups, entrepreneurs, and existing businesses. Let's make business and maker support as visible as storytime. Library Entrepreneurship & Maker Services is an official Member Interest Group of the American Library Association: http://www.ala.org/groups/mcoms/migs Visual resources are being collected here: http://www.pinterest.com/libent/
1,652 members

Library Marketing and Communications Conference (LMCC Discussion Group)

https://www.facebook.com/groups/LMCC.Discussion.Group/
Library Marketing and Communications Conference Group - join in the conversation about issues related to library marketing and communications. The Library Marketing and Communications Conference connects marketing, public relations, special events, fundraising, outreach, and program development professionals for public and academic libraries.
967 members

Library Marketing and Outreach

https://www.facebook.com/groups/740944219278343/
Library Marketing and Outreach is an Interest Group of the Association of College & Research Libraries, a division of the American Library Association. Please share ideas and events from your libraries! This group is for:
- Sharing ideas, resources, websites, software, etc. to help us market our libraries and their services. Emphasis on FREE or low cost resources!
- Show off the work you do: your success stories and your failures, ask for help from others, and plan for local meet ups in your state to exchange ideas!
3,874 members

Library Management Group

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1524906657799350/
This group is for topics related to library management- supervising, programming, budgets, advocacy, outreach, etc. Feel free to ask for advice, start a conversation, or rant. Though this is intended to be a safe environment, please be careful when discussing sensitive personnel matters. No sales pitches, advertising, bullying, harassment, or any other obnoxious behaviors will be tolerated.
3,376 members

Library Pokémon GO Support #PokeLibrary

https://www.facebook.com/groups/pokelibrary/
Support for libraries who are experimenting with Pokémon GO programming and outreach. What to share here: your program ideas, your publicity samples, your event photos, news and commentary, funny memes appropriate for use on social media, research and analysis, trends you notice,and anything else you think might be helpful.
878 members

Library and Information Professionals

https://www.facebook.com/groups/457656001020762/
A forum for sharing ideas and information around the future of libraries around the world.
3,092 members

Library Related People

https://www.facebook.com/groups/libraryrelatedpeeps/
This is a Facebook group that welcomes all library related people. If you work in any library related capacity, intend to do so, or are plain interested we want you!
3,235 members

LibraryAware Lab

https://www.facebook.com/groups/lalab/
Let's talk and share the library advocacy and marketing challenges and successes. Here we can ask each other questions and get a little more information so we can get to better solutions. LibraryAware Lab is a place to discuss, share, collaborate, and learn about what works and what doesn't work.
1,257 members

MakerSpaces and the Participatory Library

https://www.facebook.com/groups/librarymaker
An open space for collaboration and sharing about MakerSpaces, digital media labs, and participatory/community spaces in libraries. Let's share ideas, failures, successes, and resources!
4,663 members

Millennial Programming Ideas

https://www.facebook.com/groups/millennialprogramming/
Share ideas on programs you have created for 18-30 somethings or ask if you have any questions!
441 members

Minecraft in Libraries

https://www.facebook.com/groups/minecraftinlibraries/
The purpose of this group is to share thoughts, ideas and tips about hosting a Minecraft server in a public library setting. One of the biggest tricks is to have a great group of administrators who are dedicated to making sure that the server remains a positive community that is welcoming to one and all.
636 members

Museums + Libraries

https://www.facebook.com/groups/878024828888385/
A forum for library & museum professionals to exchange ideas & be all up in each other's business. John Cotton Dana is our mascot. Cross-pollination is our jam.
740 members

Music Librarians

https://www.facebook.com/groups/157147244323011/
569 members

Outside the Lines

https://www.facebook.com/groups/getoutsidethelines/
Outside the Lines is a weeklong celebration – Sept. 13-19, 2015 – demonstrating the creativity and innovation happening in libraries. Participating in Outside the Lines? This is a place to share ideas for events, campaigns and guerrilla marketing tactics for this fall's celebration of libraries. Inspiration, suggestions and questions welcome! Find out more at http://getoutsidethelines.org/
1,200 members

Paging America: Advocate for Your Public Library!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/113676302125880/
How do you support your public library? Let us count the ways! Share your advocacy tips, tools and genius ideas with library advocates and patrons around the world.
568 members

Programming Librarian Interest Group

https://www.facebook.com/groups/698178656926704
To bring together all types of librarians interested in public programming for their patrons. Programming is an intrinsically essential library service. The Programming Librarian Interest Group helps librarians advocate for programming at their own institutions, share program ideas and successful strategies, and provides a space for professional development by librarians who do programming officially and unofficially as part of their job duties. The group is also be a vehicle for ALA members to connect more dynamically with ALA’s Public Programming Office.
9,286 members

R-Squared Risktakers

https://www.facebook.com/groups/rsquaredconf/
The R-Squared Risktakers group is a place to share how you've put your ideas from #rsq12 into practice. Share risks, challenges, triumphs and creative ideas. Whether you were at the conference or just love disrupting conventions, this is a place for free exchange.
302 members

RDA Cafe

https://www.facebook.com/groups/RDACafe/
RDA Cafe is a group for library and information science students, and professional librarians and catalogers, as well as, anyone interested in and working with Resource Description and Access (RDA). It’s a place to discuss RDA and topics of current interest pertaining to cataloging and description of bibliographic data, as well as, to share resources, and get the latest news. This is an unofficial group, and it is not owned by JSC for Development of RDA.
1,799 members

Readers' Advisory for Library Staff

https://www.facebook.com/groups/ReadersAdvisory/
For when someone asks you about a book they can't remember the title of, you're trying to find a read-a-like of something of which you've never heard, or you just want a recommendation for what to read next. Questions about other forms of media are also welcome!
1,029 members

REFORMA Think Tank

https://www.facebook.com/groups/Reformathinktank/
Welcome to the REFORMA Think Tank. REFORMA is the National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish Speaking. In this space, librarians, community members, and activists who serve the Latino and Spanish speaking communities in the United States and beyond will be able to share ideas, recommendations, and benchmarks to support each other in providing better services to our communities.
665 members

The Shareable Clique

https://www.facebook.com/groups/ShareableClique
A Facebook Group for libraries and book lovers to share their viral content that can be reshared on other Facebook accounts. What works well at your library that may work well at other libraries? Share your successes, increase your outreach, and help other libraries build their audiences!
2,515 members

Solo Librarians Network

https://www.facebook.com/groups/739055509526456/
Solo librarians (and librarians who work in small libraries) can come here to share ideas and engage in discussion. Librarians in any sort of institution (public, academic, school, corporate) are welcome!
503 members

STEM in Libraries

https://www.facebook.com/groups/STEMinLibraries/
For library professionals interested in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) programming in libraries; a place to connect and share ideas.
1,690 members

Storytime Underground

https://www.facebook.com/groups/storytimeunderground/
Storytime Underground is a collective of youth services librarians and professionals who firmly believe literacy is not a luxury. Our mission is threefold: We support each other; we promote each other; and we train each other.
10,526 members

Storytimes And More on the Go

https://www.facebook.com/groups/storytimesandmoreonthego/
A place for Children's librarians and staff who conduct outreach to come together and share ideas. Outreach is and has become so much more than just storytime for many libraries. Reaching out into our communities and letting them know what's available to them is such a valuable tool for all libraries. We are on Pinterest ~ http://pinterest.com/storytimesa/ ~ and on Twitter ~ https://twitter.com/StorytimesToGo ~ Please follow us!
1,724 members

Tattooed Librarians

https://www.facebook.com/groups/2431775521/
For librarians with tattoos!
1,891 members

Technology Training and Libraries

https://www.facebook.com/groups/215892381802232/
A resource for technology training for staff and the public. This is a place where ideas and resources can be shared.
2,770 members

Teen Librarians

https://www.facebook.com/groups/618059348208569
Welcome! This is a space for library workers to share ideas about serving the teens in their community.
3,018 members

Teen Services Underground

https://www.facebook.com/groups/407834692712782/
Our mission is to support, promote, advocate, and build a community space to highlight the importance of teen services in minding the gap. We know how hard teen services can be and we want to help!
4,285 members

Teen Think Tank

https://www.facebook.com/groups/192137410961794
Teen Think Tank all started with three teen librarians who like to collaborate. Rikki Unterbrink (Amos Memorial Library), Erin Gillespie (Findlay-Hancock County Public Library), and Steve Moser (Dayton Metro Library) would share ideas and help brainstorm on a regular basis. One day we realized that it would be great to get even more people sharing ideas and helping to brainstorm when needed. Teen Think Tank is what became of that conversation.
1,079 members

Tiny Library Think Tank

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1547323442210920/
Welcome to the Tiny Library Think Tank!... Please feel free to ask questions about anything related to issues that affect those of us working in very small library systems - collection development, programming, policy creation, community outreach, retroactive automation, book repair, building maintenance, and more. Members of this group understand that tiny libraries do not often have HR departments, retained lawyers, multiple MLS-degreed librarians, or many other resources that are available to employees of larger library systems, even systems that may technically be considered "small" or "rural".
242 members

Troublesome Catalogers and Magical Metadata Fairies

https://www.facebook.com/groups/161813927168408/
A place for catalogers, metadata librarians, and those who admire them. Grab your wands and raise some Hell. ;c)
4,233 members

WordPress and Librarians

https://www.facebook.com/groups/wordpress.librarians/
This group is for librarians using WordPress.
1,475 members

Zine Librarians

https://www.facebook.com/groups/zinelibrarians/
A group to talk about zine librarianship! How to build a collection, how to catalogue zines, how to organize zine events, and more! All zine librarians and archivists are welcome: academic, digital, DIY, public, school, volunteer, etc.
444 members

Special thanks to Patrick Sweeney, Laura Hollister, and Austin Stroud for their help in compiling the original list! Additional groups have been added as we find them. (There was also a repost of this article in MakingItHappen.)

Note: Member numbers have been updated to February 16, 2018. Please check back later for any updates! Inactive groups will be removed yearly.

Remember -- sharing is caring! If you join a new group due to this list, please tweet, email, or post about this blog post. It'll warm my little librarian heart that the hours I spent on this list were indeed helpful!

10 Meaningful Library Volunteer Roles

Library volunteers - we all get the requests, but what to do with them? There is just only so much dusting, weeding, children programming prep, and mending you can have them do. Below are some ideas that have been successful at other libraries, especially for teens and adults. Please keep in mind - some union contracts may not allow certain tasks to be performed by volunteers, so before you do anything, make sure you double check with your Director what you can and cannot have a volunteer do.

Window Artists

  If your volunteers are artistic, get them to work on your windows! All they need are brushes, tempera paint, and a dab of dish soap (just to make it easier to wash off afterwards). You could have them paint advertisements of upcoming events or you can do seasonal themes. Better yet – pick out a children’s picture book and ask them to paint an inspiration from it, then you can put the book on display.

Children's Room windows at the Marlborough Public Library. Teens painted their inspirations from The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle 

Outreach Specialists

  Is there any library that does this enough? Find outgoing people who are willing to promote library services and resources at community events and festivals. They can even bring library card registration forms or a floating book collection, which we discussed a few months back.

Program Facilitators

   Tap into your volunteer’s passion. What kind of programs could they run at the library and you provide the advertising? Pikes Peak Library District has a manga artist run their anime meetings as well as teachers to run their ESL circles and teach foreign languages.  Don’t be afraid to think outside of the box! Alachua County Library District has local history aides staffed by volunteers.

Shelf Managers

   By far, this is the favorite position our teens enjoy at our library. We train them to be shelf readers and they spend half their time making sure their section is in order and the other half of the time shifting books. If you have any pages, see if you can match your shelf mangers to a page and have the page supervise their work. (If people are unable to pass the shelf reading test, have them only focus on shifting books. There's always plenty of work to be done there.)

Library Photographers

   Train a few photographers to come in and take pictures of your big events or final products. We include a photo release with our online registration so we can easily know ahead of time who we can photograph, but we also give the photographers permission forms to hand out if needed. Make sure they download their favorite pictures on your computer BEFORE they leave, or you may never get them. This program has been very beneficial for our social media networks and our website -- and all of our library photographers are teen volunteers. Note: Make sure you credit them for their work! They like to see their name attached to their pictures. Also, consider investing in a DSLR camera. The picture quality greatly increases, even if you just use the auto mode.

Photo Credit: MPL Photographer, Lauren Munday

Social Media Managers

   Social media can easily eat up a lot of anyone’s time, especially if you're trying to post on Facebook twice a day. There’s no reason why a librarian needs to manage these accounts 24/7. Volunteers can help post new information that may interest patrons (if you don’t want to link them directly to your account, you can have them email you links) and there are 3^rd party apps for Instagram like Iconosquare which will let you repost content, so your volunteers will only need to tag you and you can reshare. Create a content guideline and find ways to divide up the work!

Collection Assistants

     Use volunteers to help you fine-tune your collection. Print out reports of missing books so they can double check they are not on the shelves and then you can delete them. Have them look up your series (fiction, manga, and graphic novels) and make a list of missing books for you to order. If you put stickers on your books (like Teen’s Top Ten), have them hunt them out and add them.

Technology Gurus

     Some libraries let volunteers work one-on-one with patrons. Other libraries tap into their skills to help keep up with their own computers like installing updates and reimaging laptops so all the junk is cleared off of them and they won't slow down. You know, the things that you know you should be doing, but never have time to do...

Library Marketers

    The more you market your programs, the more the community will know about them. A volunteer can easily post all of your events online like Patch.com, your local newspapers, and most especially the local TV station. They could deliver fliers around the city/town. They can hand stacks of the library newsletters to local grocery stores and hair salons. They could write up press releases and news articles about programs past which you can send to the local newspapers. They could even help create ads for your website and social media, if you like their artistic style (Remember Canva? It can do wonders, if you have the time!).

Find Your Passion and Turn It Into a Volunteer Opportunity

     South Brunswick Public Library has a puppeteer program where they teach teens how to do a show and then the teens perform for children at the library. Marlborough Public Library had a 4D Movie presentation of Frozen where teens engaged all of the five senses during the movie. Louisville Public Library has a Reading Buddies program that connect struggling young readers with teens to practice reading each semester. None of these are quick volunteer opportunities, but they give volunteers a chance to learn a new skill, be very creative, and provide a program to local patrons. It could be very rewarding!

Summer Bonus

Is your library buzzing with patrons unable to find their school's required summer reading books? Consider doing what Shrewsbury Public Library did and create teen greeters. They sit at table near the door with school book lists in hand. They are trained to find the books on the shelves and, if they are all checked out, they can help patrons request the book from another library. Summer chaos avoided!

Catch Patrons' Attention with These 7 Easy Flyer Tips

This week I am excited to announce that we have a guest blogger, Dan Barbour from Shrewsbury Public Library. He is a YA Librarian who has excelled in flyer design that has sold out events. Today, he is going to share a few tricks that he's learned along the way.

I've worked in libraries over half my life, and while I've seen many different aspects of library programming surge forward into new and exciting territories, one important element that is often left in the Stone Age is event marketing. I've been designing library program ads since before I could drive a car, and I've learned a few basic tips which I'm going to share. Do with these pointers what you wish, but I can assure you, programs don't always sell themselves, and a few tricks can be the difference between a room of empty seats and a successful program. There are many programs you can use to make a sign, but I highly recommend investing in Adobe Illustrator - the flexibility is so much better. (Jess Note: but if you cannot afford Adobe Illustrator or are intimidated by its learning curve, check out our post about Canva) Here we go…

1. Less (Text) is More

* The rule of seven lines for text is a good guideline to shoot for, but many times you need more, so try using boxes/blocks to break up text. Some programs require a full presenter bio and/or sponsorship information that you cannot edit or leave off…make this as small as possible not to discourage readers. If it looks like it’s going to take too long to read a sign, most people won’t read it at all.

* If there is information that isn't crucial to your sign, in all cases leave it off the sign!

* Consider adding a QR code and/or website link for additional text that you in turn can leave off the sign. Interested readers will then have the option to learn more. The site www.qrstuff.com is a great free and simple resource for creating QR codes. Even if people don’t use the QR code, it makes your sign look more modern and “with it”!

2. Don't Go Font Crazy

* With the exception of company logos, keep your signs to no more than three different fonts. Also choose fonts that are simple to read, especially from a distance.

* Sites such as www.dafont.com allow you to download free fonts that look better than the standard set that could make your sign look less professional.

3. Use Size and Space to Your Advantage

* Use the space you have - don’t be afraid to make your text as big as will fit the area you are working with.

* Play around with the alignments (center, right, left, justified) – in many cases center aligned looks the best.

* Some signs need TONS of information and you cannot get around it. To make this excess text look better, consider using an inverted text box like this:

4. Watch Your Colors

* Be careful with colors – using yellow text on white is one example of a bad idea (which I have seen used more than once!). Here is a guide to complementary colors – I find it a useful tool when thinking about what colors to pick when designing an event ad - http://www.tigercolor.com/color-lab/color-theory/color-harmonies.htm

5. Convey Your Message Through Font Size

* Focus on the point/message when choosing which text to enlarge and which text to keep small. Example:

With this kind of sign, the topic is that the Library is closing, so that should be what is emphasized. Adding the year is not necessary in most cases – we wouldn't be posting a sign like this a year in advance, and people know that if the sign is on the window at the library, the sign pertains to the library – those details shouldn't be equal in size to your reason for posting the sign.

6. Get Graphic

* Adding clipart is similar to adding text in that too much can look overcrowded and take away from the message of your sign. That being said, it’s nice to have signs that aren't just all text. (See post from last September about 123RF.com for free quality images)

* If you are advertising a recurring event and have photos from the last program, use those. People love to see real depictions of the program as opposed to cheesy stock clipart. They also will be more likely to show the sign to their friends since they are starring in it.

7. To-Go Signs

* Sometimes no matter how amazing your sign looks, those reading it get busy and forget everything they just read. I've found it very helpful to make a small sign and have a pocket attached (I use old date due card pockets!) with miniature versions containing just the very basic information. It’s also exciting to see how fast these slips go – a great way to gauge interest in a program, especially if it’s a drop in event.

Those are some simple tips than can elevate your sign making, but the best way to make a great sign is simply to play around and do it often. Practice does indeed make perfect….or at least better. So the next time you’re ready to send off a sign to a bunch of your area libraries asking them to post an event sign, be proud of what you’re distributing!


DAN BARBOUR is the Young Adult Librarian/Volunteer Coordinator at the Shrewsbury Public Library in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts. He has spoken at MLA, NELA, and other conferences/workshops on information literacy, youth programming, and advertising events in libraries. He is also the owner of Vertigo Trivia (www.facebook.com/VertigoTrivia), an interactive event service for libraries, restaurants, and cooperate/private events.