Gearing up for Summer

Over the winter I've been trying new programs with some successes and some failures.  I've been taking pictures and getting ready for write-ups, but they're not quiiiite there yet.  Soon!

The big news has been that I won The Michigan Library Association's Pletz award, which is such an honor!  You can read about it here if you're interested (and want to see my amazing cat print dress) http://www.milibraries.org/about/frances-h-pletz-award/

At this point Summer Reading is planned and locked down.  When people hear about my programming stats (60% improvement my first two years, and still growing albeit at a slower pace!), they always want to know how I do it.  The answer is PROGRAM PROGRAM PROGRAM. Summer is the teen librarian's time to shine--the teens too young for jobs/cars usually don't have a lot going on--so give them something! As I work on scheduling my staff for the summer, the first step is to fill in the programs.  Here's my June, to give you an idea:

There are only four days in June when I am working but don't have a program, and some days I have 2-3 programs.  Is it a lot to do? sure. But I never understand the librarians who avoid programs or only do a few because they're so concerned about burnout.  To me, this is the job. This is how you make it work--by working, a lot!  Some of these programs are more work than others--D&D night, for example, is very little work for me.  But something like Cupcake Wars takes a fair amount of prep work.

I'm keeping up my winter focus on providing lots of programs about lots of things in the hopes of creating new "regulars" as my core group grew up and left me!  Some of my craft programs have been pretty small, but they are still a lot of fun and I think they'll grow.  I'm having trouble with the North Branch still, and having a hard time pinning down why.  Last month, no one showed up for book club at all!  But I had 7 for DIY Spa Day (write up coming), which is a decent crowd for that branch.  I'm trying out some crafty things there this summer to see how that goes.