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I'm back in my old stomping grounds on the eastern side of the state where I worked for 22 years presenting a workshop on programming superhero-dom (told you I've been thinking about that alot!).

This workshop is sponsored by the Wisconsin Library Association - it was a donation to their foundation auction and Winnefox Library System snapped it up. It's a great way of giving back to our association and also encouraging everyone to become state and national association members because, you know, together we are stronger!

While it has a superhero theme, the workshop isn't an SLP workshop.

As I mentioned in my last post, while programming isn't all we do, it is certainly the most public and often the most pressured thing we do (from preparation to conflicting demands). Today we looked at strategies to program smarter and more effectively; the importance of balance and how to fairly meet the many needs of our public - and our funders. Creating a zen balance between service to all ages, finding time to recharge and plan, learning to get off the hamster wheel of constant programming and program shares were just some of what we explored.

What you couldn't be there? Drat! Well, there's a 6 week online UW-Madison SLIS course I'm teaching around the concepts in the workshop starting January 26 (registration is now open).

Here are the workshop resources that were shared with my colleagues:

Develop Your Inner Superhero Workshop Pinterest board
Kids Library Program Mojo (for a full list of fantastic program idea blogs AND great program idea posts- this is the class crowd-sourced blog from our spring CE course and has a ton of ideas from students!)

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When we set up our summer reading program we like to create games that lead kids to different parts of the collection.  It's our sneaky way of connecting kids and books together. Kids who might never take a recommended book from our hand are wild about this "stealth" style of recommendation.


One all-time favorite game is the Mystery Bag Game where we bag up recommended books and let kids choose one blindly, check it out and tell us how they liked it.  It allows us to highlight fiction and non-fiction and it works great.

Another easy game is a jar filled with little slips with Dewey numbers on them. We ask the kids to pull out a number, find a book in that number, check it out and tell us how they like it when they return.  We choose numbers with large amounts of books (so 599s; 796.3s; 811s; 921s; 560s; 620s etc) so kids have a wide choice to find something they like.  We also change the numbers periodically as those areas empty out to give other areas of the non-fiction a chance.  We always hear from parents and kids that they have discovered new subject areas.

We also sometimes will set up a kids lit or fairy tale trivia game for kids. We'll come up with easy, medium or challenging questions to accommodate different age groups - we want all kids to be successful. We have three different questions per week and change the questions weekly. Kids adore it.

We also have an Early Literacy Area and Story Action Pod area that we encourage kids to play at and tell us when they are done.  While I've been on my summer library program workshop tours in Wisconsin and Kansas I heard from alot of the librarian staff on other games they use successfully - scavenger hunts; a "Spin the Wheel" to do different fun activities; searching the room for a hidden literary character; and more. Those ideas are contained in my Idea Sparklers posts, one of which can be found here!

What stealth games do you use in your library to lead kids to books and more reading?

Image: 'Three Wise Ninjas'  http://www.flickr.com/photos/34887679@N00/5570900386

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January brought more grea tideas to the fore from participants at my Summer Library Programming workshop at the Arrowhead Library System in Wisconsin. There were ideas from last year's One World Many Stories SLP plus great ways to partner with area businesses and organizations.

Backyard Bird Count - held during February, do a bird themed storytimes; kids make toilet paper tube binoculars duct-taped together. There is a website to record bird counts done at the library. Small bird cut-outs are placed throughout the library for adults (and kids) to find.

Stuffed Animal Search – a stuffed animal is put at various small businesses in town with a clue at the library to help kids find out where each one is. A small form at the business can be filled in and brought back to the library and put in a drawing. The animals are then given away at the end of the program.

Passport Game – in the same line as above, kids were given passports with participating business names. The businesses are given 3 clues for kids to guess what country they are representing. The kids have a passport that the business stamps when they guess correctly. If they got all the countries, they received a pencil prize.


Find the SLP Character – a character is hidden in the department. Kids are given 3 oral clues by the staff to find it and earn a high five when they do. The beauty of this is that kids have to interact with staff to get the clue and staff and kids love it.

Trivia Wheel - Kids spin the wheel and land on a country and are asked to do a silly activity – polka; dance like a kangaroo; etc. When they finished they got a hand stamp or tattoo.

4H Partnership – 4 H comes in monthly and presents a free program featuring crafts and a snack with a different theme each time.

Kid Decorators – children decorate large outline shapes relating to the theme during the first week or two of the SLP. This works with large people shapes as well that kids and staff decorate together.

Space Pix – Use Google Earth to print out pictures of different locales in the area. The library provides clues and kids who guess correctly get their names put in a drawing.

Year-round Scavanger Hunts – during slow times or during spring beak make an all-ages hunt on different themes (Edgar Allen Poe – hide ravens around the library). When people get stumped, there are signs: “ If you are stuck, come see your Lifeline at the desk!”


Grades 3-5 Reading Incentive – instead of prize, kids can choose a party ticket (Wii Fun) to attend a fun party with their peers.

Image: 'a flowing current'  http://www.flickr.com/photos/63595585@N00/3413370118

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