36 Adult Program Ideas in 90 Minutes: Chat Outline (August 2019)

1. 36 Programsin 90 MinutesWebinar(August7,2019)
AmyAlessio
Easy Crafts
 Duct tape bookmarks
 We calledourversionof this(cleanthe closetcraftnight) BadArt Nightwithprizesforthe worst
art!
 We alsohave Bad Art Night!Mini 3d-printedtoiletforthe winner!
 We made catnipfelttoysthat waspopularwithall ages
 I alsohave more adultscome to our monthlyOrigami Clubthankids:Origami Clubsdoesbook
folding,3Dmodularas well astraditional folding
 We didmake a feltstoryworkshopthatit wassuccessful
ButtonMakers
 We didbuttonmakingat our DowntonAbbeyteaparty,bestlovedactivity!Whodoesn'tneed
Carson'sface on a button!
Itemsto CheckOut
 We have thoughtaboutaddinga buttonmakerto our itemstobe checkedout.
 We circulate telescopes,hotspots,museumpasses,andinstruments. Theyare all popular.
 we are goingto start circulatingUkuleles
 We are doingthe same withguitars
 TRL inWashingtoncircsUkulelesandbirdwatchingbackpacks.
 We have discussedukelelesandbirding kitsinourlibrarysystem.Materialsare circulatedin
connectiontoprogramsfor whichtheyare used.For example,circulatingukesandthenoffering
ukeleleclasses.
 Local patronsbringvegetables,plants, seeds,gardenimplementsandswapwitheach other.
We evenhave someonewhohaschickensandshe swapshereggs.
 sewingmachines
 tools
 Bike locksforin-libraryuse (several peopleagreedthattheyalsodothis)
 I'm doingan inovationgrantforbike locks
 puzzles
 LEGOS
 NASA Space Exploration backpacks
 Nature backpacksw/parkpasses
 We are just startingthe D&D kit butno data yet

2.  Our police stationhadanabundance of gun locksthat theywere givingawaytouse as bike locks
as well
 BirdingKits:Binoculars,laminatedcardsof local birds,a checklistthatpatron can use.
Music Programs
 We have Pickin'inthe ParkeverySpringandrun it throughthe fall.
 Karaoke ispopularhere.We have a theaterand nice soundsystemsoit'sreallycool
 I try to alwayscelebrate PoetryandJazzduringApril. One yearwe hadthe local highschool Jazz
bandplay.
FitnessFun
We offerFitLitWalkinggroups,participantsreadaselectedpopulartitle,we walkthruourdowntown
& Lowertowndistrictdiscussingthe book.
Programsfor Men Especially
 Flyfishingandblacksmithingwill reallydraw inthe men.
 Alsotry Dungeons&Dragons
FoodThemes
 The EpicuriousYoutube channel hasa seriescalled"KidsTry100 yearsof..."if anyone'slooking
for foodtheme ideas
 There'sa game showwhere people have toguessif objectsare real ormade of chocolate!
 We dida spam carvingcontest.
 We hadsomeone come talkaboutscrapple anda patronbroughta deliciousarrayof it for
tasting
 We have heldmanysuccessful programoncanningandfermentingfood.
 We hada recipe swapgoinghere butitjust diedout.
 There isan interestingBrazilianartist,VikMunizwhodidaninterestingseriesPicturesof
Chocolate—beautiful paintingsmade withliquidchocolate.
 I've done Pizza& Triviafor adults.Sofun!
 A Georgialibrarydoesa DIY PumpkinSpice Latte stationwithdecaf orregular
 DecorationEvent/NailedIt: Yes,usingcupcakes.Evenaddedanaileditfeature whenthe
presenterforgottoprep4 designsforthe cupcakessowe had an impromptu competition with
the extrasupplies.
 You shouldsee if there isaCharlie Cart nearyou (http://charliecart.org/)

3.  We doa Cookthe Books programwhere people bringinsamplesof recipestheycookedfrom
the bookat home.Turnsintoa potluckdinnerandour patronsLOVE it!We don'thave a kitchen.
HistoryEvents
 We have a hard time gettingpeopletocome to historyprogramstoo. All the historical
programsI did relatedtospace forsummerreadinghadhorrible attendance anditwasso
interesting!
 We have a patron thatspelunksandhasmade a videoof minesandghosttownsof the area.
Premieringhisvideohere nextweek!
 A retireduniversityprofessorhasbeendoingaseriesof worldhistorylecturesthathave been
verypopular
 ChicagoAutoShowhistorypresentationishuge here.butnoone came to mine!Mitcheven
givesawayticketsandhas fudge tosample
Self Defense&Safety
 Speakingof self defense- we partnerwithourlocal extensionoffice foranAdultHow-Toseries.
Theyplannedaself-defense programwithourlocal police department,andwe hadat leasta
dozenpeople turnout.Plus,the ExtensionOffice hasscheduledthree additionalsessionsthisfall
at theirsite,andtheyare full - witha waitinglist!
 Our librarysystemprovidedself defense andtheydoverywell withattendance
 EmergencyPreparednessdrawsacrowd.
VideoGaming
 We have triedvideogamingprogramsforadultsbutithas beenunsuccessful
 We have one that's opentoall ages andadultsmake up a large percentage of attendees.
 We offervirtual realityprograms andtheyare popular
 Yes,mostlyfamiliesuse them (boardgamres) butinternationalgamesweekdrawsmore people
Successful Swaps
 Our otherAdultServicesLibrarianhasdone severalplantswapsandone Craftmaterail swap.
 Our libraryhasa 'Crop Swap"
 PlantSwapinformation:
http://pflugervilletx.evanced.info/signup/EventDetails?EventId=1012&backTo=Calendar&startD
ate=2019/08/01

4. SummerReadingTips
 We changedoursummerreadingfromreadingbookstoreadingminutessoitwasmore
accessible toeveryone. Itwasa hit.
 For anyone whoiscuriousaboutnot requiring"signups"forSRP:Our librarypassedoutbags
thisyear,filledwithcalendarsof events,readinglogs,andafew otherthings.We wentfrom188
registrationslastyear(havingtofill out asignupsheet) to496 bags handedout.
 We have kindle foradults,childrenandteensasaprize and amazongiftcards (bookmarkanda
giftcard in one!),bookbagsfilledwithbooksforall reader
 Our participantsfilledoutasheetloggingtheirreadingandredeemeditfora lunchbag
 We stoppedgettingthe bagsbecause the onesthatgotthe bags wouldnevershow backup for
any programs.
 We offer$50 giftcertsto loacl restaurantsas a grand prize - weeklydrawingsfor$10 Shop Rite
giftcards. Very successful - over70 participantsthisyear.
 Our Friendsof the Libraryhappilypayforthe adultsummerreadingprizesyearafteryear!
 We allowedpeopletodecidedwhotheywantedtoread - gave themreadinglogswithcircles
and had themturnthemin whentheycompleted30 circles. Totallyuptothe person(orparent)
as to what constituted acompletedcircle! We alsodid100 waysto Read whichhasall kindsof
waysto read - read to a stuffedanimal,readclosedcapationsontv,readandmake a reciepe,
etc. I wastiredof the same kidswinnngeveryyearbecause theyreadsomuch. I wantto
encourage reluctantreaders.
 Yes - verypopularprizes:giftcardsto local restaurantsand local familyownedstores(ex.florist,
car wash,drycleaners).
 Thisyear forSummerreading,we're givingawaya"bouquet"of giftcards.A groupof $25 cards
fromlocal businesses.Inpastyears,we've givenawayaKindle,aniPadmini,andaFitbit.
CountyFair
 NewCastle CountyhasitsownFarmer's Market thatgoesto some of the libraries
 Soundslike the librarycountyfairwouldbe bestatlibrariesthathave large outdoorspaces.
Unfortunately,ourlibraryisatthe corner of twomajorhighways,sothiswouldnotbe a good
choice forus. We coulddosome indoorevents,though.
 The BerlinLibrary(Maryland) hasa gardeninfrontand everyone iswelcome topickvegetables
and flowersfromit
MysteryThemes
 A cool program we have comingup at the endof the monthiscalledThe MysterySuitcase.The
Royal Museumin Victoriasendsouta suitcase with5 "mystery"artifactsinit.As a group yousit
aroundand discusseachpiece,imaginingwhatitisfor,or actuallysharingthe infoif youknow
whatit is.We will be doingitas an outreachprogramto senior'shomesandalsoin-house here
at the library.I'mreallylookingforwardtoit.
 A towndetective iswillingtodoa crimescene presentationforus.

5.  The cautiontape isgood to use forbannedbookweekdisplays
 Our countycoroneris givingapresentationthisfall onwhathappensduringadeath
investigation.
 I justread an interviewwithnovelistRuthWare,inwhichshe talkedaboutVictorianpoison
gardens.That wouldbe aninterestingtopic,thoughnotnecessarilyaspart of an interactive
mysterynight(!) Itwouldbe agoodideato explore forahistory'smysteriesprogram.
Escape Rooms
 Escape rooms forteens
 Harry Potterescape room
 Justdidan AfterHoursBYOB Escape roomabout space
 We triedtodo an escape roomwithadultsand had noone show up. We had a popularone with
teensforStrangerThings,anda numberof adultswere there withtheirkids,sowe are goingto
try the same theme thismonthforadults.
 Marvel escape room
Technology
 APPY Hour is alwaysFun
LibraryCard Month
 We partnerwithlocal businesseswhoofferdiscountsandwe have ascenvengerwhere patrons
have to visitthe businesses,turnintheircompletionsheet,andenteredintoprize drawings.
 We're handingoutfamilybingocardsfor prizes
Relaxation
 We have an ongoingEssential Oilsprogramthatisusuallywell-attended
 We offerchairyogaseveral timesayear.We alwayshave retuningstudentsandnew.
 ChairYoga wasverypopularwithadults
 Our Bend& bookyoga ispopular.Good weatheryogainlibrarygarden
Halloween
 We have a popularFrankentoyprogram.Justneedbrokentoys,hotglue guns,andblood-
coloredpaint
 Our Friendsgroupputson a HauntedLibraryeach year. Theyturn the libraryintoa veryscary
hauntedhouse andhave a small carnival forthose that don't want to be that scared!
 We doTrunk or Treat Library Style - stationssetupthroughoutlibrary,kidsgetlittle prizesat
each activity,andeachchildgetsa book

6.  We offeraGreenScreenprogram at Halloweenandwe encourage all agestodressupand
choose a backgroundfor theirpic
 How abouta Horrible HalloweenHaikuContest?
Diwali
We use snapcircuts incards for Diwali (atopcandle)
VeteransDay
I dida displayof WWII,VietnamandDesertStormmedalsandribbons.
NaNoWriMo
 We've beendoingNano forabout4 years.Mostlyattendedbyour local writers'guild.Chocolate
isa necessity!
 We are gettingreadyto start a writingprogramfor seniors. Afterafew monthsof writing,we
will gointobookmakingso theywill have afinishedproduct.
HolidayParties
We're goingto host a booklover'sholidaypartywithayankee swapof books.Eithertheybringor our
stashof ARCs.
StoryTime for Special NeedsAdults
 We have a local organizationthatworkswithspecial needsadultsthatwe partnerwithfor a
weeklyadultstorytime.
 I alreadyreadat an adultdaycare,but my directorwantsme to start somethingatthe library.
Misc. FunEvents
• Justhad a great adultprogram fromGMU - Geometryof Self DrivingCars
• "Bingofor Books"isa verypopularprogram at my library
• We workedwithalocal pub andhelda TriviaNightafterhours.
• Octoberisfamilyhistorymonth - we're planningafamilygenealogyprogramtogetkids
interestedintheirheritage.