How to Organize a Summer Reading Program
Your library doesn't have a "slow season," so there's no shortage of important tasks on your to-do list all yr long. Considering librarians wearable so many hats, information technology tin can be hard to follow the all-time exercise of spreading your summer reading programme planning throughout the year. Fortunately, you lot tin even so have the best plan yet whether you lot're putting the finishing touches on your plan or are just getting started. Attempt these 5 tips to keep yous on track for an engaging and memorable summer reading program.
1. Take Time to Plan
It's always of import to frontload your tasks and be strategic as you set a planning checklist leading upward to your program's launch. If you but have a couple of months until your plan kickoff, you lot might think that information technology's best to hitting the ground running — simply this may not be the case. Since your time is limited, you'll want to make the most of it past taking a step back to decide how much time you can realistically dedicate to each job. This is especially important if yous'll be working with multiple stakeholders to finalize your program's components. The more than time y'all can give your colleagues for blessing, the better.
2. Lean on Partners to Go the Word Out
Y'all already know that relationships are primal to your library being thought of as an integral role of your community, so yous likely have established partners you lot've worked with on previous programs. Recall about which of your partners can aid get your program in forepart of your target audition members. Traditional media contacts — think radio hosts and newspaper writers — can offer invaluable support, since community members who don't regularly visit the library likely become their local news from at least ane of these sources.
Before you call on your established radio and newspaper contacts, draft a press release so they accept the details they'll need to aid you lot become the discussion out. Keep these best practices in mind as you write:
- Keep it curt, sugariness, and to the point. Aim for 300–500 words total for this release — no need to write a whole novel. Journalists are busy. Get to the point quickly and so they know what key pieces to promote when they cover your news.
- Keep your audience in mind. If y'all were a patron, what would entice you to register for your library'due south reading program? Highlight incentives and be articulate about the timeline so community members know when and how to act.
- Mention other library services, too. Your reading programme isn't the only valuable service that you offer your community, then take this promotional opportunity to draw attention to your other events and resources as well.
Find more best practices for harnessing traditional media to promote your program here.
3. Take Your Programme to Schools
School principals, librarians, English teachers, reading coaches, and tutors all work closely with many of your program's target audiences, specifically students and their parents. Enquire these educators for help with driving registration and participation in your program. Be certain to remind them of the many benefits of your summer reading program, such every bit minimizing the summer slide, when appealing to educators for assistance.
To make the nearly of these connections, focus on one or 2 advocates among school employees who can aid you get into as many classrooms equally possible. Not only will they exist helpful for this year's program, but you can utilise these partners to attract students and their parents to your library's other events and programs as well.
Find other tips for boosting your summertime reading program through schoolhouse outreach hither.
4. Get Creative Without Reinventing the Bike
Librarians know that literacy encompasses more just reading books, so many libraries are expanding their summer reading programs to exist summer learning programs. They're integrating new types of programming, makerspace activities, and Stem resources to combat summertime slide with fun and engaging activities for all ages. Permit some of these ideas inspire your own activities. We've collected a few of these creative means to expand summertime reading beyond but reading books here.
5. Apply All Bachelor Promotional Real Estate
Get the most out of your remaining pre-launch time by making smart use of all of your available promotional real estate, from Facebook to your website. Start promoting your programme on your library's social media pages equally soon as yous tin, and follow social media best practices to brand your posts as effective equally they can be. Even if your registration page isn't ready however, send out a few "teaser" ads to get potential participants excited well-nigh your program'south launch.
If yous are using issue management software, like Demco Software'south SignUp, you tin can hands tag all of your summer reading events so that they're automatically pulled into a feed on your website, making it easy for patrons to not merely discover your summer reading program equally they browse your website, but also to annals for the program, as well equally other events year-round.
The bottom line is that fifty-fifty though yous only have a couple of months left to wrap up planning your summer reading programme, this is plenty of time to brand it the best one yet! For ideas on how to keep patrons coming dorsum after your programme is underway, download our free guide, How to Go along Summer Reading Participants Engaged.
Source: https://www.demcosoftware.com/articles/5-tips-to-help-you-plan-this-years-summer-reading-program/
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