Planning
Events and Celebrations
Calendar
Check the calendar for a list of events and celebrations as well as links to programming ideas to help with your program planning.
Academic Libraries
It’s Academic: Using Programming Librarian in LIS Courses
As a library science educator, and with concerns about saturated job markets as well as declining job opportunities, I’m always looking for ways to give my students a competitive edge. Read more...
Copyright
Copyright Tips for Programming Librarians: Public Performance Rights
Many librarians like to include film or DVD screenings in their library programs. Can you do this without first obtaining permission from the copyright holder? Read more...
Copyright Tips for Programming Librarians: Using Images in Programming Materials
Everyone can be a novice graphic artist using computer technologies to capture appealing designs, images, and photos found on the Internet for use in presentations, Web sites, and promotional materials. Some may pause and wonder, “Is this a copyright problem?” Read more...
Funding
Grant Funding Sources
Following is a selected list of organizations and institutions that have funded library programs for adults or worked as partners with libraries for programs—have you approached similar groups in your community for funding or in-kind support? Read more...
Making the Case for Library Programming
Even though library programming is widespread, programmers still find themselves faced with having to persuade the library administration, board members, colleagues, and even patrons and the public of its value. Read more...
Library Students and Programming
Get in the Loop!: How Library Students Can Use Programming Librarian
As I round out my final semester in library school at Long Island University, the impending need to fill-up my library skills tool-box and fill-out job applications is in the forefront of my thoughts. Read more...
Literacy
Early Literacy Parties in Spanish
Fiestas de Alfabetización Temprana en Español, or Early Literacy Parties in Spanish, is a featured program hosted at the King County Library System (KCLS) branches and co-funded by the King County Library System Foundation. These eight-week series of free weekly workshops for Spanish-speaking parents and caregivers with children ages newborn to five designed to raise awareness of the importance of early literacy. Read more...
Marketing
Marketing and PR for Cultural Programs
Publicizing your program is just as important as planning the content. Ideally, you’ll want to make this part of your library’s overall marketing communications plan to maximize results. In the crowded media marketplace these days, both high-tech and high-touch are needed for success. Read more...
Partnerships and Collaboration
Collaboration @ Your School Library
Though I work in an independent school that embraces its library, I did not think it would hurt to make a stronger case for the value of our library; therefore, I decided to host a wide variety of events throughout the year. From documentary film day to organic garden building, I wanted to go beyond the author visit and offer my students thought-provoking and interesting activities. Along the way I learned a few important lessons. Read more...
No Library Is an Island: Community Collaborations
Gone are the days when the library stood in splendid isolation. Libraries partner with all kinds of organizations to deliver programs and produce audiences ... more libraries than ever are reporting that successful collaborations are central to their planning and no longer an afterthought. Read more...
Professional Development
Professional Development Opportunities
Several professional conferences and events—from the world’s largest library conference to local seminars—provide opportunities for librarians to learn more about cultural programming through workshops, seminars, model programs, and more. Read more...
Program Planning
Audience Building and Diversity
The first step in diversifying the audiences for your library’s cultural programs is deciding who (or is it whom?) you want to come. A “general” strategy is almost sure to fail—e.g., deciding to try to attract more young people, more Latinos, and more men with the same program is going to be tough. Read more...
Evaluation of Cultural Programs
There’s a lot of buzz about evaluation these days. Are programs effective? Do they make the library, and by extension, the community, a better place? Do they accomplish what we intend and/or do they sometimes have other, maybe even better, unintended consequences? Read more...
Hosting a Traveling Exhibition: Tricks and Tips
Never be afraid to try; the following are some suggestions for hosting a successful exhibit. Read more...
Programming Resources
A Journey through a Goldmine: PBS.org Resources for Programming Librarians
Unless you’ve been living in a mine shaft, you know PBS creates excellent early literacy television shows. Between the Lions and Word World make reading fun for emergent and beginning readers. Read more...
Libraries and the First Amendment
When five African American men entered the Audubon Regional Library in Clinton, Louisiana, they had already broken the law. The year was 1964 and their crime was entering a segregated, whites-only library. Read more...
School Libraries
Collaboration @ Your School Library
Though I work in an independent school that embraces its library, I did not think it would hurt to make a stronger case for the value of our library; therefore, I decided to host a wide variety of events throughout the year. From documentary film day to organic garden building, I wanted to go beyond the author visit and offer my students thought-provoking and interesting activities. Along the way I learned a few important lessons. Read more...
Underserved Populations
Early Literacy Parties in Spanish
Fiestas de Alfabetización Temprana en Español, or Early Literacy Parties in Spanish, is a featured program hosted at the King County Library System (KCLS) branches and co-funded by the King County Library System Foundation. These eight-week series of free weekly workshops for Spanish-speaking parents and caregivers with children ages newborn to five designed to raise awareness of the importance of early literacy. Read more...