The Inconvenient Truth of Incentivized Reading Programs

So, I've been working on that deeper dive into incentivized reading I kept saying I was going to do, and I have found that there is a plethora of literature on incentivizing desired behaviors and extrinsic vs. intrinsic motivations in general and specifically in regards to reading, and even some about summer reading programs in particular. In fact, there is so much research on extrinsic vs. intrinsic motivation I could work on this for years and not get through it all, but I now feel like I've read more than enough to draw and support informed conclusions about summer reading programs (see Annotated Bibliography).

*Spoiler Alert* - We're doing it wrong! 

Let me qualify that....we're doing it wrong IF our goal is to encourage reading, and especially if our goal is to create life-long readers. Moreover, this is not new information. Not only does research regarding extrinsic vs. intrinsic motivation go back several decades, I discovered that an article reviewing the existing research and making evidence-based recommendations for summer reading program design was published in the top journal for children's librarianship seven years ago, and an opinion piece cautioning against incentivized reading supported with references appeared in the same journal FIFTEEN years ago! And apparently ignored, likely because they didn't fit the narrative librarians want to believe or meet the demand for statistics by administrators and politicians. It is, as Al Gore would say, an inconvenient truth.

Let's back up for a minute... So, just what is our goal for summer reading and other reading programs? Summer reading programs date back as far as 1896, but they rapidly expanded and gained importance after early research seemed to confirm the idea of summer learning loss, often referred to as the "summer slide", and show it was responsible for the increasing achievement gaps between students from upper and lower socioeconomic households (more recent research casting doubts on this notwithstanding). Summer reading programs then gained a sense of urgency and evolved from relatively simple, laid-back programs to be a major focus of public libraries. 

Then the perfect storm of recession, reduced funding, the advent of the internet, and development of new digital media threw public libraries into a fight to continuously prove their relevance, and administrators and bureaucrats relied heavily on statistics to do this. This emphasis on stats is where summer reading programs began to go off the rails, in my opinion. The focus changed from children to numbers as staff became pressured to increase their stats year after year. More programs, more people attending, more kids participating in summer reading....more, more, more. Summer reading became a stressful, exhausting circus and the original goals of fighting the alleged "summer slide", encouraging reading, and creating a life-long love of reading fell by the wayside in the pursuit of numbers.

This focus on numbers over children led to the incentivized reading programs that are the standard today. In order to get kids to participate, prizes were given. To get even more kids participating the next year more prizes were given, then chances at raffles for increasingly expensive, flashy prizes: bicycles, videogames, iPads, e-readers (at least those are related to reading), gift cards, elaborate themed gift or "experience" packages, and more. I once worked for a library that literally paid kids to check out books! In the late 1970s-early 1980s my siblings and I were happy to get a coupon for a free DQ ice cream cone; now some kids are walking away with prizes valued at hundreds of dollars. 

So, what's wrong with this? Anyone who has had basic psychology (or heard enough pop psychology) is familiar with the Skinnerian theory that giving rewards increases a desired behavior, right? It's such a widely held belief that most people take it as fact rather than theory, but the truth is that it's not quite that simple. Yes, rewards may increase the desired behavior---in the short term. But once the reward is removed, the behavior decreases. In order to make long-term, lasting changes in behavior, you have to have a carefully designed, long-term behavior modification program that is designed to gradually transfer extrinsic motivation to intrinsic motivation. And that's not going to happen in an 8-week summer program.

There is an abundance of research going back decades that supports this, but much like the research showing the necessity of phonics instruction was ignored for decades by the educational system, this research has also largely been ignored. To be fair, all research has to be looked at with a critical eye, many are very small studies and there is research that suggests otherwise, but what I've read so far, combined with my own training in behavior modification and observations from a decade of summer reading programs, has me convinced that the typical incentivized summer reading program is not very effective in developing life-long readers. Big flashy prizes and cash payouts motivate more cheating rather than more reading, in my observations.

And what about the articles claiming successful incentivized summer reading programs? That brings us back to the question of what the goal of summer reading really is, what behaviors are we actually wanting to increase? What are we measuring? If the goal is simply a short-term increase in circulation and "participation" stats by getting people to check out books and complete reading logs, then incentives work. But if the goal is to actually increase reading, and *especially* if the goal is for that increase to be long-term, then typical incentivized summer reading programs aren't going to do that. Even more concerning is research that suggests that incentivizing something the person previously did on their own, without incentives, can actually cause the desired behavior to decrease​. The mere offering of a reward for a behavior may lead the subject to infer that the desired behavior must be unpleasant if they need to be bribed to do it. So not only are we NOT really creating a bunch of new lifelong readers, we could be hurting kids that are already readers!

So if there is so much research suggesting short-term, incentivized reading programs are not in the best interest of encouraging life-long reading, why are we still doing them? For many reasons it is not only an inconvenient truth, but an uncomfortable one that many just don't want to talk about: 

1. We've fallen into the trap of "that's the way it's always been done"; we've drunk the Kool-Aid.
2. Denial - it's not just a river in Egypt. People don't want to know or believe the truth because they don't want to admit what we've always done isn't working, feel powerless to change it, don't want to have to make changes, or don't know how to change; so they'd rather just ignore it.
3. We tend to create emotional narratives to rationalize it, because we so badly WANT it to work, "if incentives motivate them to even pick up a book, then hopefully something will catch their attention and they will start reading", sounds good, tugs at the heartstrings, but is this really happening enough to warrant continuing the status quo? Do they really keep reading after the summer is over and rewards are gone? Could there not be better ways to facilitate this scenario than flashy prizes?
4. Admin and stakeholders like numbers, and are VERY resistant to giving up anything that generates statistics! Stats can be useful and have their place, but do not tell the whole story. This is where children's librarians and library administrations can be at odds; we tend to focus on the kids, they tend to focus on the numbers. And I won't lie, I also like numbers and data because they are a concrete way to demonstrate our value and accomplishements to management, administrators, and stakeholders.
5. It's not really possible to do controlled, long-term studies of reading habits in relation to library summer reading programs to clearly show what works and doesn't work; but measuring short-term concrete behavior such as completion of reading logs is easy. 
6. Front-line librarians often don't have a voice in the design of summer reading or authority to make radical changes; these decisions are often far-removed from those who have the most knowledge and expertise, and actually work with the kids.
7. FEAR! The fear of change, the fear of questioning the status quo, the fear of not having convenient stats to demonstrate our worth, the fear of going against the grain, the fear of less participation. But consider this quote from Suzanne Stauffer in her 2009 article in Children and Libraries (the peer-reviewed ALSC journal):

"If you find yourself thinking, 'If I don't give incentives, no one will come [participate],' ask yourself what that says about the children's real motivation and the program's real effect."

If our goal is truly to promote reading and life-long reading habits, and the typical incentivized reading program doesn't really support that, what do we do? That's a very good question, and one I will attempt to explore in my next post. In the meantime, please see my annotated bibliography (link below) for supporting references:

Annotated Bibliography

Summer Reading

So I'm guessing many of you are either (1) in full-blown panic mode trying to get everything ready for summer reading, (2) trying to squeeze in some time off to recharge before summer reading, (3) or simply enjoying the last week or two of calm before the storm. Today is the last day of school for our public schools, so it will start getting busier here next week, then hit full force in June!

Back in my days as a page in the children's department, summer reading meant a HUGE increase in my workload, and was exhausting, and often frustrating, with all the summer camp groups that would come in and destroy the department while their counselors sat in a corner chatting amongst themselves and playing on their phones. In my current position as a paraprofessional in the Outreach department, summer reading doesn't affect me as much as others. At my level I'm not involved in any of the decision-making or major responsibilities of getting everything planned and ready, and since I'm only in the library at a service desk one afternoon a week, I don't have to deal with the increased chaos every day. I generally just keep doing the same thing, going out to daycares and doing storytime.

I do see some changes, though. At some of the daycares, enrollment goes up during the summer; at others it goes down. At ALL of the daycares the kids are much harder to engage and keep focused, much more chatty and wiggly, in the summer! I will drop off summer reading materials, and help deliver their prize books at the end. The one big change for me this summer is that I will also be doing several school-aged STEAM programs. Last year I did one; this year I think we have 7 scheduled so far! It will be hectic, but I love having a chance to do something different! I am able to repeat programs since they are all different groups, but I do need to come up with two new program ideas for one place.

I do sympathize will my peers for whom summer is much more chaotic, demanding, and stressfull. Some libraries make summer reading such a circus, with major events almost everyday, I don't see how anyone does it. Sometimes I wonder if that's all really necessary, and does it really accomplish anything other than increasing our numbers? I can't help but question sometimes if the original intent of summer reading has been lost. 

Summer reading was originally supposed to address the "summer slide", but now it seems like it's more of a numbers game, increasing circ stats and program attendance, rather than increasing literacy. Some studies have suggested that incentivized reading at best does not really translate to increased reading later on, and at worst may actually discourage voluntary reading. My library offerred some really cool prizes last year, and "participation" definitely increased, if you define participation as turning in a reading log. But was there really any more reading going on? I don't really think so, just more cheating.

What's the right answer? I don't really know. When libraries are fighting for funding and proving they are still relevant, statistics are the only hard evidence we have, so it's not practical to say they don't matter, but I would like to see some of the obsession and pressure to increase stats, and be "bigger and better" each year relaxed and the focus put back on learning and literacy. In particular, I would love to see more research about incentivized reading and the effectiveness of different summer reading programs, and more research-based summer reading program design.

But, it is what it is for now, and I do enjoy seeing more people at the library, in particular the now school-aged kids who used to come to storytime, and I love the chance to do some other types of programming! It will be busy, but a good busy! Happy Summer, everyone!

Summer Reading 2024 - Reflection

 

Now that summer reading is officially over, it's time for my annual reflection on how things went, what worked, what didn't, and what we might do differently next year. This was the 11th summer reading of my career, the third one that I was in charge of almost all the planning and most of the execution, and I felt that it went really well.

There was a lot of upheaval, restructuring, and staffing changes back in the spring that took a lot of time to deal with and adjust to, and caused a lot of distraction, which made planning summer reading much more difficult and stressful this year. I personally find the planning everything, deciding on programs, booking performers, etc., to be the most stressful part by far, but then once we get past the kick-off, the actual summer is the easy part and goes by so fast. This year everything seemed to go really smoothly and drama-free, and I actually enjoyed it. 

I structured this year essentially the same as last year, with some minor tweaks. We had programs each week for every age-group, plus a family/all-ages program that was either a performer or a family craft, and a fun, low-pressure, non-competitive, not heavily incentivized "Bookopoly" reading challenge that awarded free books at the beginning to get them started, another free book when they turned it in at the end of the summer, entry into a prize-drawing (modest, $25-$30 value gift cards or prizes related to reading or learning), and kids also got some coupons for other goodies that were donated by various restaurants. The Bookopoly board had various reading prompts or learning/literacy related activities, almost the same as last year, with slight update in design to fit with this year's theme (for more details on the Bookopoly reading challenge and link to a template, see last year's "Summer Reading - Going Rogue" post).

Some of the changes this year were:

• This year we did elect to go with the CSLP theme, "Adventure Begins at Your Library".
• We have a new adult services librarian who fully supported adult summer reading (the previous one wanted nothing to do with it).
• Adults were also able to receive free prize books just like the kids for the first time
• We also hired a new teen librarian right before summer, so I no longer had to oversee the teen programming or collection development or entrust it to someone who really didn't know anything about programming.
• I kept programs more simple to reduce my stress levels.
• I tweaked the rules/instructions for the reading challenge, to make it clear that they were supposed to keep it and work on it all summer, not turn it in as soon as they met the minimum number of squares (as happened last summer).
• Dropped registration and tracking prize book claims for the reading challenge, which reduced my workload and made things much simpler for all staff. Participants merely had to pick up the Bookopoly sheet, then turn it in.
• We hired two new children's services staff right before summer, who really stepped up and helped out, even covering several programs when I got hit with Covid during the last week.
  
  

Performers & Costs - fees are generally up another $100 this year, and turnout was slightly less than last year, but it does bring families in who don't attend any other programs. 

• Kick-Off, Petting Zoo ($825) and Explore-a-Truck (free), great turnout
• Steel Drum Band ($600, decent show, very poor turnout to have spent that much)
• Theatre Troupe, Cinderella and Jack & the Beanstalk ($700), good turnout, everyone enjoyed
• Raptor Rehab ($350), decent turnout
• Science Show ($400), good turnout
• Animal Show ($400), good turnout
• Edu-tainment ($800), very good turnout, known performer
  
  

Weekly Themes - I book performers first, then choose weekly themes around them. These are just very loose themes that guide some of the programs, weekly displays, and scavenger hunts, but I don't force every single program that week to fit the theme, or force every program to fit the overall summer theme for that matter.

• Backyard Adventures (native wildlife, outdoor activities)
• Adventures in Space
• Explore the Arts (art, music, dance)
• Fantasy Adventures (fairy/folk tales, fantasy)
• Library Adventures (miscellaneous)
• Safari Adventures (exotic animals)
• Treasure Hunt Adventure 
• Ocean Adventures

Popular Children's/Family Programs:

• Play-Dough - The most well-attended non-performer program of the year! Who would've guessed? 🤷
• Beach Terrariums - Had to turn people away after we ran out of supplies.
• Shrinky-Dinks - Kids LOVED making these! Had a choice of shoe charms or key chains, and though I expected shoe charms to be to top choice, it was actually key chains to hang on back-packs that they most wanted to make. Already been asked to do it again.
• Owl Pellet Dissection - educational, slightly gross, but cool!
• Safari - Made "binoculars" then went on safari throughout the library to find inflatable animals and answer questions about them.
  
  
  

Programs that Flopped:

• Space - though they loved making paper rockets, the activity making constellations with pipe-cleaners and glow-in the dark star pony beads was a flop. Many said it was "too hard" and wouldn't even try it, though some did complete them successfully.
• Secret Codes & Hidden Messages - Not exactly a flop, but though I've done both in-person and hybrid versions of this program successfully before, it was clearly too ambitious for this group. They had a MUCH harder time and took way longer getting through what I'd expected to be fairly quick, instructional activities, and many struggled with the clues of the final treasure hunt challenge, not recognizing call numbers nor being able to used them to find books containing the next clue. They needed LOTS of help and the program ran WAY long. I still had positive feedback from several participants; it just needed to be simplified.
• Fairy Tale STEM - Another that wasn't a true flop, more of a sleeper, as those who did attend really enjoyed it and had fun with the Lakeshore Learning Problem-Solving STEM kits, but it didn't draw people and attendance was very low.
• Tie-Dye Bandanas - A total shock that attendance for a tie-dye program was very low; I'd expected to be overrun! I don't know if it was because we weren't doing shirts, or what. Those that attended did enjoy it, but struggled more with getting their bandanas tied up than expected. Probably would've done better as a "family craft" program than an "elementary explorer" program.
  
  

The Outcomes:

• Children's/Family program attendance held fairly steady, with just a tiny drop. I expected this, now that everything else is back to "normal" there are many other activities and summer camps available than the previous two years.
• Teen program attendance significantly increased.
• Children's participation in the reading challenge increased slightly.
• Teen participation in the reading challenge doubled!
• Adult participation in the reading challenge nearly tripled! Partly due to being able to get free books this time, but mostly to having a supportive adult services librarian.
• Much more engagement with the reading challenge. Even though I reduced the minimum from 10 squares to 5, by tweaking the instructions so that people worked on it all summer and didn't focus on numbers, most participants completed many of the squares, far above the minimum. I also had many more kids and adults talk about working on the reading challenge and asking for book suggestions for various squares.
• Lots of positive feedback from kids and caregivers about the quality of the programming and how much fun they had this summer, several saying it was the best summer ever. Personally, I feel the quality was just as high, if not higher, both of the previous summers. Our current director and I think the difference is more a difference in atmosphere rather than a difference in quality of programming. We were much better staffed this year, with engaged, qualified staff for one, but the previous two years we were saddled with a very incompetent, unprofessional, and unethical director who pitted staff against each other, alienated patrons, and created a very toxic, high-stress environment, and staff morale was at an all-time low. Thankfully she is gone and we now have new leadership, better staffing, and staff are much happier and working as a team again; patrons can clearly sense the easing of tensions and that the environment is more positive, professional, and welcoming.

I was really pleased with how smoothly the summer went, and that I was able to enjoy it, and especially happy about all the positive feedback from patrons. We generally get positive feedback, but it seemed that we had an exceptional number of positive comments this summer, and no complaints. It's always nice to feel that your hard work pays off and people do appreciate what you do.

Next Year?

Since this summer went so well, will we do things very similarly next time? Well, I don't know. Things have changed so that I'm not solely in charge of it any more. Right before summer, in addition to a new adult services librarian, a new teen librarian was also hired, and it was decided to restructure and divide youth services into two separate departments, Children's Services and Young Adult Services, with me as the head of Children's Services and the new teen librarian as head of Young Adult Services. So it won't all be up to me next year, and though I would prefer for us to have a single cohesive, coordinated program for all ages as I think the simpler it is for staff and families the better, my colleagues may prefer to do their own thing. 

One change I'd like to consider, now that I have two colleagues to help with planning, is to make the Kick-Off more age-inclusive. Previously, since I was doing it all myself I had to limit my focus of the kick-off to kids and families, but I would like to try possibly shifting the time from morning (10:30am - 1:00pm) to late morning-early afternoon and add at least one activity geared to attract teens and one for adults, or something that is truly all-ages. I'd also like to add a smaller finale at the end. As for kids and family programs, I am finding I'm really needing to "water down" and simplify my programs compared to what I was doing 5 years ago. Attention spans are almost non-existent, kids and adults alike are having much more trouble following directions, lack problem-solving skills, and have no tolerance for frustration; they want everything to be quick and easy, and will give up if it's not. I'm going to have to figure out how to step back and design programs to help them build these skills.

Other Articles Related to Summer Reading:

• "SRP 2023 Summer at the Library" - Last year's summer reading reflection
•  "Summer Reading - Going Rogue" - for more details of the Bookopoly Reading Challenge
• "True Confessions" - My past love-hate relationship with summer reading
• "The Inconvenient Truth of Incentivized Reading Programs" - Why research does not support the effectiveness of incentivized reading programs
• "Evidenced-Based Summer Reading Program Design" - Designing more effective summer reading programs that actually support reading, based on research
• Annotated Bibliography - articles related to incentivized reading programs and increasing reading motivation and practice
  
  

Now, time for a programming break to clean, re-organize, get in some training and professional development, and make plans for the next year!

How did your summer go? What worked and didn't work for you? What changes have you made, or will make for next year?

True Confessions...

 

So, I have something to confess that might be shocking to some, though I am sure there are those who are secretly in agreement with me. Now hold on to your cardigans folks, but the truth is.... I hate summer reading! 

SRP 2022 Reflection - The Reading Challenge

 

When I started this job in December of 2021, I knew that the summer was going to be hard and stressful, with getting a late start planning it, rebuilding from the ground up, having no idea what people wanted or what kind of numbers to expect, and it was my first time being responsible for actually planning and executing an entire summer reading program. I've lived through many, but always in larger systems where SRP was planned centrally by someone else, and only having to be responsible for planning my own handful of programs. But I was excited at the prospect of for once being able to do things the way I thought they should be done, or so I thought.

Evidence-Based Summer Reading Program Design

The Inconvenient Truth of Incentivized Reading Programs, Part 2

Image by freepik at Freepik.com

In Part 1 of this series I discussed how summer reading evolved to become the heavily incentivized programs that are so commonplace today, despite the fact that research does not support the effectiveness of using rewards to promote long-term reading habits or gains, and suggests that extrinsic rewards are not only ineffective, but can actually reduce the desired behavior. I also posed some of the beliefs, attitudes, and conflicting priorities that have led to this research being largely ignored as an inconvenient and uncomfortable truth. So, where do we go from here?

The first thing we have to do is start talking about it! Yes, it is very uncomfortable to challenge long-held beliefs and traditions, to question the status quo, and it takes a lot of time to dig into the research to educate ourselves and others (which is why I've shared an annotated bibliography). But if our mission is truly to encourage life-long reading, then we can no longer bury our heads in the sand and fall into the trap of "that's how it's always been done". We need to educate ourselves and have the difficult conversations, look at reading programs through a critical, evidence-based lens. And yes, convincing the powers-that-be will likely be a challenge, but the sooner we start having those conversations and presenting evidence, the sooner we can effect positive change. 

So, lets start with the assumption that our goal really is to promote reading and life-long reading habits. If the typical incentivized reading program doesn't really support that, what do we do? Fortunately, we can also turn to the literature for guidance as to what factors do positively affect reading habits and ability, which generally fall into three categories: (1) self-direction & autonomy, (2) ease of access to, and ease of finding, materials they want to read; and (3) social interaction and collaboration:

• Choice - The importance of empowering kids with the freedom to make their own reading choices is mentioned repeatedly in the literature. Let them choose what they want to read, validate and show interest in their choices, let them set their own reading goals, let them decide when and how they like to read. Some may like to read a little every day, others may only read 2-3 days a week, but sit and read an entire book, or several books, at one time; reading is not a "one size fits all" practice!
• Non-Competitive - Reading programs should not be competitive, or have a competitive feel. This may attract your competitive, high-achieving skilled readers (who are going to read regardless), but will alienate those who are not competitive, those who read more slowly, struggling readers, and reluctant readers.
• Book-Rich Environment - This is mentioned in the literature more in regards to the classroom and home as obviously the library is a book-rich environment. But we need to be sure we are making everyone feel welcome and offering well-curated collections that will attract readers and make it easier to find books they want to read. Also, are there ways we can support book-rich environments at school and at home? Outreach, bookmobiles, etc.
• Variety - Offer a variety of reading levels, formats, and materials in a variety of genres and topics. Fiction, non-fiction, graphic novels, magazines, audiobooks, digital materials, print materials, etc. This also will make it more likely kids can find something they enjoy reading, are willing to try, and will continue reading. Any and all reading "counts"! Don't limit your reading program to only include certain types of reading material, and don't limit it to only library books! I know we want the circs, but odds are most of the books they read will be library books anyway, so why set a limitation that may make it difficult for some to participate? My first manager used to tell kids they could read the back of cereal boxes if they wanted. Reading is reading! Tracking time rather than books, titles, or page numbers allows for this.
• Make it Social - Book clubs, group reading times, book-themed programs, lunch bunch, author talks....give kids the chance to see other kids reading and to talk with other kids about their reading.
• Set an Example - Seeing adults reading and hearing adults talking about their reading and sharing their love of reading.
• Remove Barriers to Access - Re-examine library policies and procedures to make it easier for kids to have access. Fine forgiveness programs or going fine-free all together, temporarily overriding blocked juvenile/teen accounts for the summer, a "community shelf" of donated books kids without cards can take, making it easier for kids to get library cards, partnering with the schools to issue all kids library cards, bookmobiles and other outreach programs to bring the library to those who can't get to the library, etc. 
• Remove Barriers to Participation - Re-evaluate your reading program to make it easier for all kids and types of readers to participate. Allow any and all types of reading and reading materials to count. Don't limit reading to library books, don't require a library card to participate or attend programs. Don't require specific titles, formats, or reading every day. If you must track, track by time rather than books, titles, pages, or days of reading. This levels the playing field among ages and abilities, allows for any and all types of reading, and validates all reading choices and habits.
• Reading-Related Prizes - If you must offer rewards, make them related to reading (or supportive of early literacy skills with young children), no big, expensive flashy grand prizes. Books, bookmarks, e-readers, etc. 
• Read to Them - Older kids still like to be read to! Be sure to read a variety of materials, genres, fiction, and non-fiction. Incorporate reading aloud to older kids in your programming, and encourage parents to continue reading aloud to older kids.
• Help Them Find Books They Will Enjoy - Margaret Mackey (2014) asserts that one key difference between successful and unsuccessful readers is the ability to find and select books that they will like, a skill that is not taught in school and only innate to some. Providing finding aids such as shelf labels and signage, themed bibliographies, displays, book reviews, book talks, and instruction on using the online catalog are all ways to make it more likely kids can find books that will interest them.
• Make Reading Relevant - Tie reading to real life experiences, current trends and interests, and engaging programs and activities that will stimulate curiosity.
• Creating a Welcoming Environment - Make sure kids, families, and teens feel welcome in your library. Create play areas, cozy seating for families to read together, comfy seating or reading nooks for solitary reading, activities to do while at the library, displays that invite browsing, staff that are welcoming and provide excellent customer service and reader's advisory. The more welcome people are, the more often they will come to the library, the more time they will spend in the library, and the more books they will read in the library and checkout to read at home.
• Market Collections & Programs - We try, yet it still seems that so many people are unaware of all the library has to offer. Partner with schools, other civic organizations, non-profits, and businesses to get the word out! What works for you will depend on your community. 

What might this look like? There is no "one size fits all", but I will describe the compromise I have come up with that satisfies my need to at least attempt to incorporate what the literature is telling me, and still satisfy the need for stats to present to the board and the public's expectations.

To start with, since I arrived at this library I have worked to create a welcoming, inviting environment, and I try to create fun, interesting programs for all ages with lots of hands-on, experiential learning to help draw people in, and of course the programming is increased during the summer with a combination of mostly in-house programs with some outside presenters and paid performers. I have displays, try to tie books to programming, starting each elementary program by inviting kids to share about what they had been reading and booktalking 3 new books, or books that relate to the activity we are about to do. And yes, I will bend the rules a bit if that means sending a kid home with a book they wanted.

For the reading challenge, instead of logging minutes, pages, books, or days, I created what I hoped would be more relaxed, fun, non-competitive "Bookopoly" board, with each square containing a prompt for reading or a learning activity that supported program attendance, interacting with library staff, family reading, or early literacy skills (there were also opportunities for free choice). This was for all ages, birth through adult. Participants were encouraged to set their own goals, though I did ask that at least 5 squares be completed (out of a total of 40). They did not have to go in any direction or order, and could pick and choose which squares to do. Every child/kid/teen that signed up got to pick a prize book! What better way to encourage reading that to start them off with a book of their own choosing to keep? When they turned it back in at the end, they got another book, and an entry into a prize drawing. I don't really like prize drawings to be honest, but I felt they were expected. My compromise was to keep them modest ($20-$30 value) and reading or learning related.

I pushed that this was leisure reading and meant to be FUN, not a competition or a chore, and that ALL genres and formats were valid, and that kids should be allowed to choose what they wanted to read. There was no requirement to read only library books or to have a library card to participate. The only stipulation was that grand prizes were limited to those in our service area (our county and surrounding counties) and must be picked up in person (sorry, Aaron), and the child had to be present to pick their own prize book (to encourage free choice, and be sure the child existed). I got a lot of positive feedback, though not as many were turned back in at the end as I'd hoped. I'm basically doing things the same this year, but maybe doing a finale event to encourage returned reading logs. So that's what I am actually doing, for now. 

But, what would I do if I could *really* do whatever I wanted, and had the staff and funding to do so? First off, I would ditch the whole formal reading challenge and reading logs! Are you clutching your pearls? I know it sounds like blasphemy, but I just think they are largely ineffective, people are over them, and no matter how fun and easy we try to make it, it still feels too much like homework when it's required (I would still put out various reading challenges as purely optional activities for those who enjoy them). 

Instead, I would just give books away! No strings attached. Not only at the kickoff at the library, but also at various locations around town where families or kids who might not typically come to the library might be. The park, the splash pad, the health department, the farmers market, low-income housing complexes, community centers (if we had one), etc. I would also like to see a significant summer outreach program in addition to our in-house programs.

If your library has successfully moved away from incentivized reading programs, please share in the comments, or by e-mail at adventuresinstorytime@gmail.com. I'd really love to hear what others are doing instead, and how they were able to convince the powers-that-be to try something totally different. Did they give up their focus on stats, or just shift to focusing on other stats, like program attendance? How did staff and the community respond?

Let's make summer reading less about numbers and prizes, and more about kids and reading!

Summer Reading - Going Rogue

 

This will be the 10th summer reading of my career, but only the second I've been completely responsible for planning and executing, and the first that I really got to do things the way I wanted.

SRP 2023 "Summer at the Library" Reflection

Image by freepik

This summer was the tenth of my career (not counting 2020, The Summer That Wasn't), and my second as youth services manager, responsible for designing and overseeing everything, including planning and executing most of it myself. This year was a little less stressful since it wasn't my first time, so I had a better idea of what to expect in terms of attendance and had more programming planned and supplies ordered in advance. It was also more satisfying since I got to design things they way I wanted this year, and I departed from the mainstream a bit, "going rogue" in some ways. In the past I've had a love-hate relationship with summer reading, and this year I was able to love it a little more.

Overall, it was a great success. We had a 32% increase in program attendance for birth-10 and families, and a 15% increase in program attendance for ages 11-18 (what we consider "teen"). This was primarily due to more and earlier promotion of "Summer at the Library", more promotion of big events, dropping registration, and getting the retractable wall between our meeting rooms fixed so we could open it up and accommodate more people at our big events (big events being the kick-off, paid performers, guest presenters, and a Meet a Truck event). Attendance for in-house programs was roughly the same, with a slight drop in attendance for the elementary programs, but an increase in attendance at family craft programs, which is what I was hoping for to keep crowd size more manageable in the elementary programs, and avoid some of the issues with younger siblings. Once again, we saw the same trend of a gradual decline in attendance after the first 2-3 weeks due to vacations, summer camps, and getting ready for back to school.

Here's what really worked for us:

• Having a Purchasing Deadline. Our director imposed a purchasing embargo from May 16th-June 30th (the end of our fiscal year), which forced me to plan things early in order to get supplies ordered by the deadline. Made April-May busy and stressful, but June & July were much less so as a result.
• Having a kick-off event. This brought a lot of families in that we don't normally see, or see as often, and generated a lot of positive feedback and goodwill. We had a petting zoo, face-painting, games, crafts, costumed staff as T. rex and shark, and an ice cream truck.
• Having more big events. Paid performers cost $5 per person or less, and really draw a lot of people without a lot of staff effort. They really are worth the expense in the long run, and generate a lot of good will. More people coming to the library means more materials being checked out, more awareness of what the library offers.
• Ditching the CSLP theme. We really weren't excited about it, and I wanted to be able to do a wide variety of programs and not worry about being tied to a theme. We went with a general "Summer at the Library: Read! Explore! Discover!" Took pressure off me and the YS staff by making it very open-ended and all-encompassing, and patrons didn't miss having a big theme at all. I don't think they even noticed!
  
• Adding family craft programs (last year I had tried movie and game days as a way to add family programs with little staff effort, and there was no interest at all). This also helped reduce attendance for the elementary age programs, which had been over-crowded last year.
• Keeping things simple, especially the first 2 weeks when we typically get big numbers. Planned things that did not require a ton of prep and set up time, and that would be easy to stretch or otherwise accommodate bigger than expected numbers, and younger siblings.
• Hiring extra summer help. We hired a college student just for the summer, 12 hours a week, specifically to help me prep, set-up, and clean-up for programs, and to be an extra set of hands and eyes during the programs. It would have been a much more stressful and hectic summer without them! (I had two other part-time staff who primarily did the teen & tween programming and desk coverage.)
• No Slime! Not doing programs for the elementary age that would have safety concerns for younger siblings. Nope, was not fighting that battle again.
• Dropping registration! Registration was never helpful for planning, as there were so many no-shows and those who showed up without registration, just added more hassle and frustration, and resulted in more negative patron interactions. We only had registration for the teen tie-dye programs in order to know how many and what size shirts to buy (and still had the problems of no-shows and walk-ins).
• Ticketing - We had one event that had a crowd limit set by the presenter that was lower than our max attendance, so we tried advance ticketing (tickets had to be picked up in-person, no phone reservations, starting a week before the event) on the advice of others, and still had no-shows, but it worked much better than online registration.
• Consistent Days/Times - All kids programs & events were at 10:30 am, with Toddler Storytime on Tuesday, Family event or craft programs on Wednesday, Elementary kids on Thursday, and Preschool storytime on Friday, every week (except the week of July 4th). Teen programs were always on Tuesday & Thursday afternoons, though times varied slightly.
• Working in a mini-break the week of July 4th, when we are closed one day and always see much lower numbers anyway. So did not do the full week of programming, just one Family Lego Day and one Family Storytime. Gave staff a nice break, without really impacting numbers.
  
• Programs that were big hits: Elementary Butter-Making, Elementary DIY Dinosaur Models, Family No-Sew Sock Animals, Meet a Truck, all performers, Teen/Tween Tie Dye, Teen/Tween Guided Painting, Teen D&D
• Sleeper Programs: not as highly attended (possibly due to being in July), but were loved by those that did attend, and got attention on social media - Bubble Science, Shark Week, 
• Dropping Beanstack and switching to a more fun, easy reading challenge on paper; 46% increase in registration, and even though the completion rate of 34% was disappointing, it was still twice as high as last year.
• Giving away books at the beginning. Yes, kids got books for signing up, and 2/3 never finished, but putting books in the hands of kids is ALWAYS a win! (They also got a 2nd book, pizza coupon, and raffle entry when they turned in the log at the end.)

What Didn't Work:

• Elementary Solar System Mobile - Too much work coloring them all in (I felt the pre-colored templates would eliminate all creativity), and kids lost interest; few completed it, and only with significant adult help. It would be better as a group classroom or homeschool activity.
• Teen/Tween Flip-Book Animation - no one showed up, though I still think this would be a good program. Our teen programming is in transition and re-building after a staff change, so maybe worth trying again and with more promotion.
• Registration - Though we only used registration for the tie-dye program so we could have the right number and sizes of shirts, we still ended up with too many no-shows and leftover shirts. Next time, we will do something (1) cheaper, and (2) where size is not an issue. Maybe bandanas, and they can bring one additional item of their own if they wish?
• Teen/Tween Magic the Gathering - This was brand new, and not many in this community are familiar with it, unlike D&D. So the two summer sessions didn't have very good attendance, only 1 at the first and 2 at the second, but the third month had 4, so it seems like it will grow with time. I wish we had waited until fall to start it, and had done programs that would have been more popular for the summer.
• Consistent Weekday Morning Time Slot - Though we had good attendance having all the kids/family programs in the mornings, we aren't serving those families who are unable to attend mornings. But with our very limited staff and budget, it's hard to add additional evening programs, though I'll have to figure out something.
• Reading Challenge - Yes, we had significantly better results this year than with Beanstack, and those that completed the Bookopoly reading challenge said they really enjoyed it, I was very disappointed that only 1/3 completed and submitted it by the end of the summer. Adult participation was very low; however, we did see a significant increase in children 5 and under participating, so we are getting the message out that summer reading isn't just for school aged kids that are reading independently, and the 0-5 age group had the highest completion rate (44%). So it worked somewhat, just not as well as I'd hoped.

For next year, I probably won't change much as far as programming, except to figure out how to add at least a few weekend or evening programs to accommodate those who can't come during weekday mornings, and tweak the teen/tween programming a little, possibly adding more. We may or may not follow the CSLP theme; that will be something we re-evaluate from year to year. [I honestly think CSLP has become obsolete; I don't find the manual very useful and can get better ideas with much more complete instructions online, and I haven't been thrilled with the artwork and often use other stock art.] I also think I want to add some kind of finale event, maybe that would encourage more people to get reading logs turned in.

I'm not sure what to do about the reading challenge. I was encouraged by the higher registration this year, but then disappointed by the low completion rate. Yes, having more/bigger/flashier prize drawings might help motivate more people to turn them in, but I don't believe it really motivates more reading. I honestly think people are just over reading programs that require logging, no matter how easy and fun we try to make it; it still becomes a chore. They are usually required to log reading during the school year, which I always hated as a parent, and don't want to have to do it in the summer, too. There are issues with any format; not everyone has internet access or the ability or inclination to use online trackers, paper logs get lost, etc. And whether reading logs do anything positive is highly questionnable.

What I've observed, read, and heard from others is that highly incentivized programs don't work anyway, if encouraging long-term reading habits is the goal. It does encourage more cheating, but even worse, incentivizing reading may actually have the opposite affect of the intended goal. Unfortunately, we have become stuck in this cycle of chasing numbers, forgetting about the original goal of summer reading, and ignoring the research that suggests otherwise. If I could really do summer reading any way I wanted, not worrying about numbers or stats, I'd drop reading logs all together! That's pearl-clutching inducing heresy, right? But, hear me out. 

Research may not support what summer reading has become, and "we've always done it that way" isn't a good enough justification to keep doing it. However, administrators and state libraries are loathe to give up their statistics, and even many among our own youth librarian ranks insist that they work, despite evidence to the contrary, often insisting they have seen the results (maybe in the short-term, but can you show long-term?), or using the emotional argument "But if even ONE child is motivated to come to the library/check out a book, then maybe they will find that one book that will hook them...". Sounds good, tugs at our heartstrings, appeals to our vocational awe in wanting to believe we make a difference...but I believe library practice should be based in evidence, not emotion, and this ignores the very real, research-supported, possibility that these highly incentivized programs actually decrease reading in the long run. (I still intend to do a deep dive on this with proper citations, I promise!). Unfortunately, it seems this may have become the "inconvenient truth" of our profession.

But I digress... What I would do is instead is encourage reading with messaging, with giving away books all over town, with programming and outreach. Do more storytimes out and about in the community, incorporate books and reading into your programming as much as possible. For example, a cooking program for teens based on recipes found in YA books, STEM activities inspired by books, non-traditional book clubs, giving booktalks at the beginning of every program, arts/crafts inspired by book characters or illustrators, anything that encourages reading and portrays reading as both fun and functional. What would we use for stats? Why not base it on how many books given away, circulation, and program attendance? Why have we come to place so much importance on how many minutes or numbers of books are read? Does that REALLY mean anything? A child reading one book, but really enjoying that book and being excited about reading the next one is better than a child reading 10 books to get a prize, but not really enjoying it or continuing to read after getting said prize.

Will I be able to do this? Probably not, but I will at least pitch the idea, and if denied, I'll gather more evidence, and pitch it again next year!

If you have significantly changed your approach to summer reading, or if you have done any research on the subject, actual research or a lit review, I would LOVE to hear from you! Please drop me a line at adventuresinstorytime@gmail.com!

A Day in the Life of a Children's Librarian

 

We are now in the thick of summer reading, when kids and family programming doubles and we have increased foot traffic. It is very busy and exhausting, but luckily only for two months; I'd never be able to sustain this amount of programming year-round without additional programming staff.

This was a day when we had a performer coming in, which you would think would give me a break, but though I don't have to plan a program I still spend a lot of time and energy on set-up and take-down of the meeting room and interacting with people. In addition, I had not one, but two, meetings. Although every day is different, I'd say this was a fairly typical day during summer reading. So here's how it went:

• 9:00a-9:15a - Arrive to work, clock-in, check e-mail, check schedules.
• 9:15a-10:00a - Lower thermostats in meeting rooms, clear out all the tables and set up chairs. Make a few adjustments after performer arrives at their request. (Fortunately, a co-worker who arrived earlier had already started this for me and another arrived to help when she had to return to the desk; without help this would have taken much longer.)
• 10:00a-10:15a - Check both service desks and info table to see if they are sufficiently stocked with summer reading brochures and reading challenge sheets; get clicker-counter and performer's check from office, refill water.
• 10:15a-10:30a - Return to meeting room, give performer check, and open doors for audience to enter and be seated, count attendees.
• 10:30a-11:15a - Make opening announcements, then stay in room for show to monitor.
• 11:15a-12:00p - Rush to meeting with reps from science center (who were 45 minutes early!) about traveling exhibit we are to host in the fall.
• 12:00p-1:00p - Looked over books assistant had pulled for me for consideration for next week's storytime, covered children's service desk, re-filled displays and summer reading info, asked another staff member to put tables back in meeting rooms and return to normal arrangement, checked e-mail, recorded program attendance stats, assisted patrons.
• 1:00p-2:00p - Lunch
• 2:00p-3:00p - Checked in with staff member who was just beginning shift at children's desk, discussed scheduling off-desk time for them to participate in webinar the following day, various administrative tasks, prepared for upcoming meeting, prepared books to be dropped off at daycare next day.
• 3:00p-4:00p - Management team meeting, discussed changes in purchasing, program planning, and marketing, upcoming performance reviews, and departmental updates.
• 4:00p-5:00p - Reviewed plans & preparations for next morning's elementary program and re-arranged tables & chairs in program room to be ready, put away materials left from previous programs, general tidying. Pulled a few more books for displays, checked in with various staff, checked-email, checked library's social media.
• 5:00p - Clock out & go home.

That's most of it, anyway. I am sure there are things I have forgotten, as well as multiple quick conversations with co-workers and patrons while passing through, trips to the printer, short breaks for the restroom, water, or a snack, etc. It's all kind of a blur by the end of the day.

This was one of those days where I am busy non-stop, going from one thing to the next with very little downtime in between. I enjoy those days because they go by quickly, I'm too busy to get tired, and I'm usually interacting with a lot of people, but I am glad that every day is not like that or I would never have time for planning, collection work, and professional development. Plus, being a true introvert, I need some down-time with less interaction to recharge. 

I enjoy the busy-ness of summer reading, though I wish I was not the sole person responsible for planning ALL kids and family programs. Maybe by next summer one of our new youth services staff will be ready and willing to taking on some programming themselves. I'd still be there to help and guide, but it would be nice to have someone else be able to take lead on a few things and genuinely participate in overall planning. I find the *planning* of summer reading to be incredibly stressful! By the time it's actually here, it's a relief and just busy rather than overly stressful.

Summer Wrap-Up & Reflection

 

I began working at this library last year after summer reading had started and most of my first two months was spent doing a plethora of trainings required by the city and the library, so this was my first full experience with summer reading here (though the 13th summer reading of my library career!). 

I am now working in a larger library system where the summer reading program is designed centrally and branch librarians don't really have any significant influence. It is a typical incentivized reading program, with logging books read to earn a small prize and an entry into drawings for grand prizes. While I'm not a fan of this style of incentivized reading program, I've already written extensively about that in previous articles, so I am just going to focus on my programs and general observations specific to my experience at my branch. 

This system does not follow either CSLP or iREAD themes, and instead chose a "Wild About Reading" theme, with each location selecting a different habitat/biome and mascot. My location chose the "Deep, Dark Sea" for our theme and the Giant Squid as our mascot. We did not have a lot of time or money to spend on decor, but I hung some jellyfish from the ceiling, put some fish cutouts on endcaps, and created a mural in the children's area and put out a bunch of cutout fish for kids to write their names on and add to the mural. I also set up a deep sea diorama in a small aquarium with sand, plastic sea creatures, and a few others molded out of modeling clay. In addition, there was a deep-sea creature scavenger hunt that ran all summer that included a couple of facts about each creature and links to our catalog and an aquarium website for more information about deep sea life.

To give some context, the library where I currently work is a small neighborhood branch with lower circulation, program attendance, and foot-traffic in comparison to most of the other locations. We are in a lower-income area that has an aging population and a large immigrant/refugee population. There are not as many families with young children, and most people that come to the library are looking for internet access, printing, copying, faxing, and other technology assistance rather than books or programs. We are not well-funded and the programs at our branch do not get much support from the PR department. As a result, summer reading here is very different from any place else I've worked; rather than being super hectic and busy it is generally somewhat slow and quiet.

I am happy to say that this summer showed a significant increase in circulation, foot-traffic, and especially in program attendance and outreach over last summer! Partly because there are more of us available to do more programming and outreach now, but I also think that having more consistency in scheduling and targeted age ranges and offering programs with a broader appeal and more appropriate for each age range made a difference. We also received a large grant the previous fall which allowed the purchase of many desperately needed materials and supplies for programming, including both reusable and consumable materials, manipulatives, and furnishings. While I don't like to focus too much on stats, it is gratifying to see such a big increase in the year I've been there and to know I played a part in that. 

I am responsible for programming and outreach for ages birth through twelve; each week I had family storytime and a program for elementary ages, alternating outside performers with programs I presented. In addition to the weekly programs I continued the monthly "Imagination Station" and "Little Explorers" programs for preschoolers, monthly Pokémon Club for elementary/middle school ages, and offered bi-weekly "family fun" programs on Saturdays. I also had regular outreach storytimes each week, and several one-off outreach visits to kindergarten and literacy camps at nearby elementary schools. In total I designed and presented 26 in-house programs, hosted 4 programs presented by others, conducted 26 outreach programs at 8 different schools/daycares, plus dropped off reading logs and delivered prizes over the course of 9 weeks.

Here's a quick run-down of the various programs and how they went:

• Family Storytime - Not well-attended. Themes included giant squid, wild about reading, red panda, ocean/fish, sharks, ice cream, butterflies, and space. Though I did at least have 1-2 families each week, it was a different 1-2 families each time, and generally not people from our neighborhood, so no continuity or ability to build relationships. It seems people would drop in only if they weren't going to be able to make their usual storytime at another location that week or were visiting grandparents and looking for something to do. No matter what I try, I cannot build a successful storytime program here.🙁 I would drop it altogether since I have other early childhood programs that are well-attended and so much outreach is needed if the powers-that-be would let me.
  
  
• Preschool Programs - very well-attended, particularly the Imagination Station programs
• Imagination Station-Under the Sea
• Little Explorers-Music
• Imagination Station-Science Lab
• Early Explorers-Art - Talked about kinds of art, expression, etc., read Arlo Draws an Octopus by Lori Mortensen & Rob Sayegh, Jr., and Anywhere Artist by Nikki Slade-Robinson, then provided a wide selection of art supplies for open-ended creation (heavy art paper, colored paper, craft glue, glue sticks, scissors, decorative-edge scissors, dyed macaroni, pipe cleaners, modeling clay, crayons, markers, dot painters, brush markers). Kids really had fun with it and I saw lots of variety and creativity!
  
  
• Elementary Programs - overall well-attended (though targeted for ages 6-12, older and younger kids were accomodated when possible, or offered alternative activity for safety).
• Deep Sea Creature Crafts - very well-attended, choice of creating a giant squid from painted bottles and bubble-wrap strips (must use acrylic paint) or a pop-up anglerfish paper craft (or both if they had time).
  
  
  
  
  
• Fuse-Bead Art - well-attended, provided a variety of patterns and assorted colors of fuse beads with pegboards and forceps, I did all the ironing.
• Fingerprint Art - well-attended, showed a few examples, provided a copy of one of Ed Emberley's books on each table, along with a washable-ink pad palette, paper, colored pencils and skinny markers for adding details, and a pack of wet-wipes for cleaning hands. I also asked all participants to wash hands at the beginning so stamp pads would last longer (i.e. not get nasty with mold, bacteria, and yeast).
  
  
  
  
  
• Ocean & Beach Slime - very well attended! Went over chemistry of slime and recipes for both versions with slide presentation, then passed out pre-measured glue, borax solution, and additives (sand and tiny shells for beach slime; blue food coloring, assorted blue, green, & iridescent glitters, and fish beads for ocean slime).
  
  
  
  
  
• Shark Week - Shark trivia, jokes, and pony-bead shark keychain craft. The keychain proved to be a little more difficult that anticipated, requiring me to create my own pattern and very detailed step-by-step instructions, as well as offer a fuse-bead shark craft as an alternative. Several kids did opt for the more simple fuse-bead version, but a few kids and a couple of adults did do the pony-bead version, one kid did both, and a couple of others made more than one fuse-bead shark.
  
  
  
  
  
• Pokémon Club - had much higher attendance in May, June, and July than during the previous school year.
• Bike-Safety Rodeo - this was a free program provided by a community partner. Attendance was ok, but not as high as for in-house programming, and I have to admit I was rather underwhelmed by it.
• EMS Explore-an-Ambulance - another free program provided by a community partner. Though it was offered in the usual elementary program time slot, it had more appeal for younger kids, and also was a little underwhelming. In hindsight, I should have paired it with a related storytime for younger kids instead and tried to get fire and police as well.
• Dance Your Favorite Stories - This was a paid program from local dance theatre that turned out to be a bit more of a movement storytime better for younger kids, and just in general probably not the best fit for our community. It was not well-attended, and though a handful of kids from a community group that just happened to be at the library tried it, they got bored and left halfway through.
• Magic/Comedy Show - Another paid program from a local performer, this was really more of a comedy show with a few slight-of-hand tricks than a serious magic show, but the audience of mostly 4-8 year-olds loved it. The attendance was pretty good, though still ended up being a bit pricey per-person. But I would consider booking again.
  
  
• Family Fun Programs - lower attendance than weekday programs, but enough to be worth doing to have something for families who could not attend weekday programs.
• Shrink Art - provided assorted pictures tied to our summer reading themes for tracing, colored pencils, and colored sharpies; also reminded they could draw whatever they wanted. 
  
  
  
  
  
• DIY Puzzles - offered blank puzzles in 9-pc or 24-pc sizes to draw and color their own. Also had a large 36-piece blank community puzzle for each person to do one piece, but not high enough attendance to get very many pieces done. I put it out on the floor for others to do, but people just didn't have interest or just didn't get the concept. I ended up having to get staff to do a lot of them, two pieces went missing, and one mom let her kids scribble on all of the remaining pieces instead of just doing one. I love the idea of collaborative art, and was really disappointed that this activity didn't really work out like I'd envisioned.
• Construction Zone - put out Legos, Duplos, Mega Bloks, foam blocks, star builders, and stretch-and-connect builders.
• Summer Finale - very low attendance, won't bother next year. Had ice cream cones, popsicles, chips, water, and lemonade for refreshments; sidewalk chalk, bubbles, ice-painting, and scratch-art for activities, plus books to give away. Had so much left over. I think people were already in back-to-school mode or attended much larger, flashier, more exciting finales at the larger locations with more staff and more money.

All in all, though there were a few disappointments and lessons learned, I was very happy with how my summer programming went and felt it was pretty successful despite having such a low budget ($500) and getting almost no publicity. I tried to design my programs using materials we already had as much as possible, and took advantage of a couple of free programs from community partners. The community here really prefers craft programs, and luckily we are able to do a lot with fairly inexpensive materials. I do miss doing more science programs, but I am trying to work it in as much as I can with the limited supplies we have (baking soda and vinegar are my friends!). It has been a huge adjustment going from having a very healthy programming budget to having almost nothing, and really limits what I'm able to offer, but I'm doing the best I can with what I have.

If I am still here next summer I am going to mostly forego outside performers/programs in favor of better-attended in-house programs, and just book one or two performers that have proven to be able to draw a decent crowd, call the last regular program our finale and give out popsicles afterward and call it a day. I have also learned that even though summer reading at this location is not the typical super-busy-all-the-time summer I am used to, I am still worn out by the end of it because of all the additional outreach that we do here, and I am definitely going to build in a slight break next August to allow time to catch my breath, clean, organize, and prep for fall programs; I'm really regretting I didn't do that this time.

So how did your summer go? What were your biggest successes? Biggest disappointments? Lessons learned? Any first-timers out there want to share?