It sure seems like the folks in Ellsworth had a great time this summer! The librarians had so much fun with summer reading, they took kids, teens, and the whole community along with them. I would love to emulate this kind of enthusiasm and great ideas. Hopefully we’ll prevail on them to share more at our SLP workshop (now set for Feb. 2, Feb. 3 is the snowdate, so mark your calendars!), but in the meantime here is a sneak preview:
All summer long, each week the librarians posted a silly photo of themselves at some fabulous and iconic landmark–they featured sites from around the world. They didn’t reveal where they were until the end of the summer. Folks of all ages had a fun time looking at the pictures, giggling, and guessing where they might be. This wasn’t a contest, just a fun, interactive display.
The end of the summer program is always a great time for a party, and the pizza party for teens in Ellsworth sounds like the party of the year! Anytime the librarians have a blast hanging out with teens and being silly, there are bound to be some great memories made. According to Julie,
The teens earned a library buck for every half hour of reading. At the party, the teens used their library bucks to bid on items that were hidden behind three doors (like Let’s Make a Deal). We had great stuff and funny stuff. The highlight was a pig dog toy that oinked when you squeezed it – oh, the laughter! We also did Minute to
Win It challenges in between rounds of bidding. To conclude the evening, everyone had a “library buck” in a drawing so everyone who participated even though they couldn’t make the party had a chance for gift cards from Target and local businesses. Julie and Shelley had as much fun as the teens!