AtoZ Blogging Challenge – Junior Friends

Program Name: Junior Friends of the Library

What: We’ve had a lot of success with this program and I can’t take the credit as it’s been in existence longer than I’ve been working at the library. Our Junior Friends of the Library is a community service organization for middle school students (grades 5-8) that meets at the library once a month during the school year. The kids help out with projects in the library and we offer additional programs for the middle school kids to attend – book discussions, game and spa nights, movie nights, trivia competitions, etc.

Where: This program gets anywhere between 15-35 kids during the school year and we meet in our storytime room in the library.

When: We host meetings once a month during the school year and every Monday night for six weeks during the summer. The kids help out with our large family programs – crowd control, raffle drawings, used book sales, snacks, pajama storytime, straightening shelves, etc.

Who: This is run by our children’s librarian with the help of other staff members as necessary. Each month she decides on a few projects for the kids to work on and let’s them go to town. They are an awesome force for good when we can harness their energy in the right place.

How: This program looks great for kids as they are getting ready for Junior National Honor Society, it keeps kids coming to the library as they get older and many join our Teen Advisory Group when they phase out of our middle school group and enter high school.

Alternatives:

• Try offering a TAG group that meets and decides on the programs they’re interested in.
• I’d love to try an “Adulting 101” class for high school kids – how to set a budget, find housing, cook a few simple meals, do laundry – all of those things that should be taught in school because everyone will eventually have to do them.

During the month of April, I’ll be participating in the 2018 Blogging from A to Z Challenge. For this year’s theme, I’ll be offering you a library program plan with everything you to need to re-create it at your own library. Most of these programs we’ve offered in the past, others are programs I’d like to try in the future. I’m always looking for new inspiration and I thought you might be too!