6 Easy and Engaging Ideas for Passive Programming
Looking for simple, inexpensive passive programming? These effective, engaging and fun ideas are easy to implement and won’t break your budget!
Fresh Ideas
3 Easy Ways to Promote Early Literacy and Brain Development in Your Library
Too Small to Fail’s campaign “Talking is Teaching: Talk, Read, Sing” provides you with early literacy resources to help you further your goals of empowering parents and enriching the lives of young children.
Learn the Lean Startup Approach to Starting Your Makerspace
Follow the lean startup process to makerspace success: start small, give yourself the freedom to fail and be willing to learn from your mistakes.
How Madison Public Library Delivers Award-winning Service
Join the conversation! Madison Public Library staff reflect on the organization’s recent successes and plans for future community outreach programs and service.
Are You Helping to Spread This Important Early Literacy Message in Your Library?
Reading aloud every day can have a big impact on a child’s future success. Join Read Aloud 15 MINUTES and share this literacy program with your community.
Teen Activity Calendar: September 2016
Library Journal Mover and Shaker Emily Ellis shares tips, tricks and ideas to help you provide fun and engaging teen programming this September.
Children’s Activity Calendar: August 2016
Back to School Month, Family Fun Month and more — use these August activities to help kids soak up the last days of summer and get excited for back-to-school fun!
Indoor and Outdoor Library Spaces: Getting Back to Nature with Nashville Public
Ready to embrace functional space both indoors and out? Get ideas from the Nashville Public Library on how to create an amazing outdoor space and discover ways to bring the outdoors inside.
Children’s Activity Calendar: July 2016
July is National Blueberry Month, Ice Cream Month and Hot Dog Month — so break out the summer snacks and find a sunny spot for your July activities!
Using Wi-Fi Data to Develop the Library Programs and Spaces That Meet Your Community’s Needs
Your physical space is one of your library’s biggest assets. Wi-Fi tracking technology can help you visualize how patrons are interacting with that space, as well as inform new library programs and space changes.
Children’s Activity Calendar: May 2016
May brings showers of fun library activities! Celebrate all month long with Get Caught Reading Month, Physical Fitness and Sports Month and many more.
Children’s Activity Calendar: April 2016
You’ll find a plethora of April activities and resources to help you showcase all your library has to offer — and celebrate School Library Month!
Children’s Activity Calendar: March 2016
Celebrate Youth Art Month and National Craft Month this March with a variety of creative crafts, activities and books to welcome spring!
5 Library Trends to Watch in 2016
As 2016 winds down, what library predictions proved to be true? Get a read on the top 5 library trends and assess what will carry over into 2017.
Children’s Activity Calendar: February 2016
There’s something for everyone to love at the library this month — share February activities surrounding Valentine’s Day, Black History Month and more!
Children’s Activity Calendar: January 2016
Ring in 2016 with educational, inspirational and tasty January activities and event ideas — there’s something for everyone in the library this month!
Children’s Activity Calendar: December 2015
Prepare for a flurry of fun to wrap up 2015! Enjoy plenty of engaging (and delicious!) December activities to draw the crowds into your library.
Children’s Activity Calendar: November 2015
We’re not talking turkey! There are plenty of creative November activities you can play up to encourage more people to check out your library. Have a look.
Library Advocacy, Part 1: The Importance of the Right Message
Your library’s role in the community is evolving. However, people may not understand this. Plus, if your library is trying to be everything to everyone, you’ll end up being nothing to anyone. See why it’s so important for your library to have a message and learn how to get the word out.
Children’s Activity Calendar: September 2015
You’re in the fall swing of things and now is a great time to showcase your library’s many colors and programs. Get ideas for September activities, holidays and observances.
Library Discovery: Opportunities for Surprise & Delight
How do you deepen patron engagement with the library and draw connections to other areas of your collection, services or programming? Read the latest ideas.
Children’s Activity Calendar: May 2015
May is the perfect time to flex your reading muscles and reach even more readers with great new ideas, displays and resources! Catch up on all the holidays happening in May 2015.
Training 21st-Century Research Ninjas
Research skills are essential for college and career readiness in the 21st century. Prepare students to be research ninjas!
Catch a Child with a Tale
Find out how folktales, fairy tales and other traditional stories can capture children’s imagination AND help them develop important literacy skills.
Debates & Common Core Speaking and Listening Skills
Looking for a way to incorporate speaking and listening standards into projects? Look no further! See LibrarySparks’ tips for holding a student debate that draws on students’ reading, writing, and speaking and listening skills.
Play It Again! Grant Writing Tips for Every Library!
Nearly every library could use some extra funds to better serve their community! Discover grant writing tips that make writing library grants easier and more effective.
Library Lessons: Picture Books for Kids
Picture books capture children’s attention while building essential literacy skills. Get started with book recommendations, resources and a library lesson plan from LibrarySparks.
Children’s Activity Calendar: January 2015
Did you know that there is an Appreciate a Dragon Day in January? You do now. View the January calendar for more fun kids activities and programming ideas.
Raising Healthy Readers
Raise healthy readers! See how one doctor uses well-child visits to build early literacy skills, providing books to children and encouraging parents to be active in their children’s learning.
Helping Reluctant Readers in a Common Core World
How do you nurture a child’s interest in reading and support Common Core Standards? Learn 4 ways to help reluctant readers reach Common Core objectives.
Boost Early Literacy Skills Through Storytimes
See how librarians can promote early literacy skills through enriched storytimes. During these storytimes, librarians model activities that parents and caregivers can practice at home with their children to boost reading readiness.
Play It Again! Learn Effective Time Management
At libraries, there are often more tasks at hand than staff to accomplish those tasks. Learn how to master effective time management.
Wayfinding Series: Part 4 of 4
Access a wayfinding signage planning worksheet to create a solid foundation for helping people navigate your library.
Adult Programming Ideas Aplenty at WLA 2014
Catch up on what happened at WLA 2014. Read about some of the great adult programming tips shared at the conference.
Children’s Activity Calendar: December 2014
Celebrate the season and December’s many special days with book suggestions and holiday activities for kids. You won’t believe all the ideas that await you.
Engaging Nonfiction Library Displays and Activities
Six library displays and activities that support Common Core State Standards and help you inspire and challenge kids to read more nonfiction material.
Wayfinding Series: Part 3 of 4
The right preparation goes a long way with wayfinding design and customer satisfaction. Learn simple strategies to observe patrons and glean signage cues.
Wayfinding & Wayshowing 101
Wayfinding and signage significantly influence customer perception of your library. Strategies like user observation can help to maximize their experience.
Wayfinding Series: Part 2 of 4
When it comes to library signage, you have to think like a marketer. Find out why it’s important to review and assess your communications from a branding standpoint.
Children’s Activity Calendar: November 2014
Fall into some great ideas for kids, teens and adults alike with our November activity calendar! You’ll benefit from new angles to engage readers and your community with your library.
Support the Core with Close Reading Strategies
Educators have students take a second look and even a third look at texts. This deeper study of text is called close reading, and it’s helping prepare students to meet the text analysis requirements of the Common Core State Standards. But, how can you help students get the most out of close reading? Read this post to learn more about effective close reading strategies.
Check Out What Happened at The Digital Shift
Catch the highlights from Library Journal’s recent virtual tradeshow, The Digital Shift: Libraries @ the Center and see how they apply to you.
The Stats are In! See How You Compare
View a clever infographic showing survey results from real librarians about customers’ needs for digital content, community engagement and programming and what librarians are doing about it all.