On the Road with Unprogramming!

I love the opportunity to get out and share with library colleagues. But as many of you know, it's even more fun to get out of the library world and share with folks outside of libraries.

I'll be presenting tomorrow at the Wisconsin Afterschool Association conference in Lake Geneva. This two day conference is for providers as well as folks working in youth serving organizations like the Y and teen centers who work regularly with afterschool kids.

The fact that I will be at this conference is pure kismet. I was visiting a friend last fall and her dining room table was full of applications for presentations. Turns out she is the chair of this year's WAA conference. In our conversation, it was clear that libraries should not just be part of the association and conferences but also have a place at the table given our work with this demographic.

So "Book It! Creating Fun, Book Based Programs for School Agers" was born. Here's the description: Promote literacy and fun! Learn easy preparation ideas, how to adapt books to parties and tips on “unprogramming” (letting kids guide discovery). Best of all - leave with plans!

I'll be talking unprogramming ways to keep programs managable: collecting great sources from blogs and Pinterest; reasonable prep time; giving kids agency to discover and creating stations of stuff. The book party themes we'll talk about:  dinosaurs, Elephant and Piggie, Dr. Seuss and Diary of a Wimpy Kid programs. The Pinterest board is ready. So am I.

Let's meet new friends and potential partners and share the library good word!

Graphic courtesy of Pixabay