This "Present a Program" poster was placed in the lobby of the library a few years ago and since then, quite a few business, including experts from the field of medicine, finance, business, & computers, have inquired about doing a free informative program for the library. This option allows businesses to share who they are and what they do in addition to providing a 45 minute educational workshop on their expertise.
I work closely with the presenter so we both are benefit from the program: the facilitator receives business exposure without selling on the premises and the library receives reliable information from the experts. Marketing takes a lot of time in terms of creating flyers and posting online and in-house, and offering a reservation sign up list to assist in maintaining program attendance.
Tustin has a computer lab with no staff to teach computer classes. All of our computer classes are offered by volunteers.
One of my tasks was to design a 3 book displays. The Memorial Day book display included a ton of books accented with memorabilia and related items that were raffled off if patrons read found and read the challenge placed somewhere in the display. Ross Stores is a favorite of mine to purchase interesting pieces that look great for decor and as prizes, too. Fun.
With a $300 license from movlic.com, we have a senior volunteer who loves watching movies on a weekly basis. AWESOME!
Local authors are a hard sell and sometimes I feel bad for them because marketing and public speaking is often not their forte. Perhaps people may feel they are obligated to purchase their book if they attend the event?
The Craft Guild is awesome! Again, a group of volunteers:)
We gave the Tustin Area Historical Society a space to present quarterly and so far, it's working great for them:)
Yes, Tustin has a community choir and they're awesome!
Every library must have a book club that can run by themselves at times when there's a shortage of staff. This group is crazy awesome!
This young author, though I was unable to attend, expressed his gratitude as the audience participation he received enriched his experience. By the way, most of these programs I do not attend due to time constraints and staff shortages. Staff are aware of the programs and room is set up for their use. The presenters are prepped to start the program on their own unless otherwise requested.
Displays are a great way to pull in patrons and a creative outlet. If I had a panoramic camera, you'd see the entire display.
