Program Ideas - Children/Teens

Program Ideas

Banned Books Week-
--One week each September to encourage librarians to inform their patrons about the importance of their
Book Discussion Ideas-Another great site from the Multnomah, Oregon library with discussion topics for many books, plus additional links to publishers with their suggestions for book discussion.
Book Talks—Outlines ways to Book Talk many books. Searchable by title, subject, interest level. Also contains tips on Book Talking, reading lists, links to awards and more
Bookmark Contest-Adapt this template to create your own bookmark contest for younger children or teens. Thanks to the Cairo Library for sharing the template.
Boys and Library Programming-Thoughts from Michael Sullivan presented at the 2004 PLA Conference
Calendar of Library/Reading Promotion Weeks/Months
Dog Therapy Program
Drop In Programs -Suggestions for setting up activity areas in your library where young people (preschool to teens) can come in and have something to do which does not require staff supervision.
Election Day Tie-in Programs-A compilation of ideas for programs that tie in with Election Day, from pubyac listserv.
Father/Son Book Club using Kathleen Odean's Best Books for Boys (available in the Mid-Hudson collection) as a source of appropriate literature to discuss. Ms. Odean also has additional activities for dads & sons to continue reading activities at home or adapt them for library use.
Favorite Book Contest-Guidelines from Suffolk County Library System for holding a book contest for children
I Just Loved This Book program-Plan a program in which adults bring in and read the books they "just loved" as young children. A brochure from a program done in Ulster County is available as a sample.
Gardening with Kids-While this site is designed for school use, it certainly can be adapted for the public library setting, as it contains a Q&A library, activities, a teaching themes library, a guide to grants and funding sources, guides for building a greenhouse, creating wildlife habitat and more.
Knitting/needlework Classes-Suggestions from librarians on pubyac listserv about offering knitting or other needlework classes to young people and adults.
Locked in the Library—Suggestions for planning a library sleep-over with young people
Mother/Daughter Book Club using Kathleen Odean's Best Books for Girls (available in the Mid-Hudson collection). Ms. Odean has additional activities to encourage moms & daughters to read at home.
Movie Tie-ins with Children's Literature-Ideas from Walden Media for program tie-ins with movies created from children's literature
No Cooking Recipes for Programs-Great ideas from fellow librarians for all kinds of foods you can create at the library with no cooking required.
Pen Pals in Libraries-Contact information for a person who coordinates a pen pal program involving young people in United States libraries.
Play Groups in Libraries-Don't have time to conduct another program at your library? Here are guidelines from Pleasant Valley Library showing how to set up a group which is predominantly run by participating families.
Preschool Program Ideas-Ideas from staff at the Whatcom Library System in Bellingham, Washington.
.Programs for Infants-Books and Materials
Prop Shop II (2004 PLA Conference Workshop Handout)-Ideas for storytelling with props (flannel & other) and includes patterns for all props, plus bibliography of books mentioned.
Quilting with Kids
Readers' Theater Scripts—This site contains scripts for Readers' Theater productions suitable for teens to prepare to present to younger children
Storybook Character Costumes—Listing of children’s publishers & others who rent or sell storybook character costumes, including links to author sites with activity ideas. (Some are fairly pricey.)
Survival Game--Directions for a group game-making activity for a teen program. You might add the finished games to your circulating collection. To make it easier for teens, substitute various printable computer media for some or all of the suggested materials (i.e.., business card blanks for question cards and eliminate the need for lots of handwriting).
Team-Building Ideas-Compilation of team-building activities for elementary or teens, posted on pubyac listserv.
Theme Links-Site with indexed thematic program ideas for anyone working with young children