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!