Innovative Outreach Ideas

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Ok everybody, we just experienced a Twitterstorm of ideas!

Katie, our friend over at Secrets & Sharing Soda AND Storytime Secrets tweeted about her need for two great innovative outreach ideas that she can implement before September. Now, concerns about the feasibility of this expectation aside, plenty of tweeps jumped in with great ideas and Mel--ever thinking Mel--noted that someone should grab these ideas from the ether and jot them down for everyone's benefit.

So here we are with round one. Keep an eye on Katie's blog for more ideas and some follow-up on what she ends up doing!

Mary, of Miss Mary Liberry fame (who happens to BE an outreach librarian) suggested:
--Teen outreach at a comic book store--maybe during Free Comic Book Day (May 5th 2012), Teen Read Week (Oct. 14-20, 2012) or Graphic Novel Week (Not sure when/what this one is).
--Outreach to senior citizens: Senior St., where librarian reads to seniors at nursing home
--Afterschool programs outreach: Boys and Girls club, etc. where librarian provides activities, crafts etc.
--Outreach to children in trailer parks, homeless shelters, community centers

Seth (Voices Inside my Headphones) suggests some online outreach--maybe a bookclub or something along those lines.

Laura (Bib-Laura-Graphy) suggests looking into local shelters for family/domestic violence, or a local Children's Hospital (or even children's department of general hospital).

Mel (Mel's Desk) had the idea to look at the library's goals and try to develop a 'sister program' with something adult services is doing. She also suggested looking into churches that offer temporary housing,
and WIC offices as possible outreach locations.

Lisa (Library Lady) suggests in-home daycare providers and public parks as possible outreach destinations.

And finally, a few ideas from yours truly:
--First Job Program (aimed at highschoolers) on getting (and keeping!) a very first job (to make this outreach instead of in-house, you could partner with local tech school or Optimists club or maybe even Chamber of Commerce for your community!
--Farmer's Market booth to promote library services/educate people about fresh/local food
--Hospital's birth education classes/groups or MOPS--targeting parent education rather than kids.
--Coordinate some kind of program for senior citizens/nursing home residents. "Ray of Sunshine" visits from families with young children to elderly folks, or kids reading to seniors.

So many great ideas! 

Cabin Fever Display

This would have been ever so much more timely a month ago, but it was very successful so I'll still share it.
I planned a party for the release of Cabin Fever, book six in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series.


As a lead up, I put together a display of 40+ read alikes with an ad for the party.




It was a pretty nice display, and since it is right in front of the main doors to the library it got a lot of attention. It was really nice for staff too, since they could direct patrons to the display if (IF! HA!) all of our copies of Cabin Fever were checked out.

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Flannel Friday--Holiday Extravaganza!

Today I bring you felt finger puppets!

The happy trio

The naughty little elf

Rudolph

Santa

The finger puppets are made from simple shapes cut in felt, layered together and stitched. They could just as easily be glued if you're not a sewer. But if you want to try hand sewing, nothing is more forgiving or fun to work with than felt.

Here's what I do with Santa. I love this simple fingerplay, and so do kids. Especially when they don't know that I have a finger puppet on!

Here Is The Chimney
Here is the chimney(Make fist, enclose thumb)
Here is the top.(Palm of hand on top of fist)
Open the lid.(Remove hand quickly)
And out Santa will pop.(Pop up thumb)

Here's what I do with Elf. I do this song all year, it's one of my favorites and makes the kids giggle and giggle when I pop the Elf out from behind my back and look at him suspiciously before he jumps to the next verse location (My head!)

There's  a Little Elf
Sung to: "If You're Happy & You Know It"

There's a little elf that's sitting on my nose, Uh Oh!
There's a little elf that's sitting on my nose, Uh Oh!
I don’t know what to say, and then he runs away

Now there's no little elf on my nose.

There's a little elf that's sitting on my knee,
There's a little elf that's sitting on my knee.
I Don’t know what to say, and then he runs away

Now there's no little elf on my knee.

Clip art for "Call Rudolph"

Call Rudolph
Eight little reindeer pulling Santa's sled
One fell down and bumped his head.
The elves called Santa and Santa said,
"Can seven little reindeer pull my sled?"
7…6…5…4…3…2…
One little reindeer pulling Santa's sled;
He fell down and bumped his head.
The elves called Santa and Santa said,
"Call Rudolph!"

I ended up not enjoying this one when I did it before.  It was TOO LONG, and the joke at the end just really fell flat so I'll be on the lookout for other rhymes to use my Rudolph puppet.

Our round-up is hosted internationally this week, by Library Quine over in Scotland!

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