Idea Seeds

Nothing is more fun than watching an idea grow and spread. Social media speeds things up and lets you watch an idea pop up here, there and everywhere...and delight in how a program, display or initiative gets tweaked to fit the library and community.

A recent pair of blog posts explore the fun of doing Toddler Drive-ins.  Anne at So Tomorrow and Amy over at Catch the Possibilities both described their successful preschool program. While I wrote about a drive-in we did, the idea originated somewhere else. Two of my staffers found it on Pinterest and zing! It happened, got blogged about and rolled out hither and yon (sadly, I don't have the pin on my boards..."Hey out there! Did you start this cool idea sometime in or before 2012?")

The same fun happened when more people started blogging about storytime content, flannelboards, Diary of a Wimpy Kid parties, Mystery Reads (or blind dates with a book), stuffed animal sleepovers, 1000 Books Before Kindergarten, and a host of other programs. Like great youth librarians, we went "Aha!" and began to try these ideas at our library with our kids.

In my opinion, nothing is better than being a Johnny or Jenna Appleseed and spreading little seed ideas all over the place to grow.  And, at the exact same time, nothing is better than walking by, seeing a seed, picking it up and seeing a new and different program or approach to service grow thanks to the generosity of a colleague.

Whether flung or picked up, may your 2014 be filled with idea seeds!

Photo courtesy of Pixabay