AtoZ Blogging Challenge – Lunch At the Library

Program Name: Lunch at the Library

What: We haven’t offered this program before, but I can see how it would be a really great way for libraries in urban and suburban communities to draw in a crowd during the week. Offer a program as often as you want – once a week, once a month, once a season for adults to come with their lunch and learn about a topic. This could be something as simple as “How to Take Better Photos on Vacation” or “Best Mystery Reads of 2018” or “Easy  and Healthy Lunches for Work” – you could take this any direction you wanted to go. My library is in a very busy suburban area and I think this would be a fun idea to try!

Where: You’d need a meeting space that you’re not worried about cleaning up after people eat, so a place with tables and chairs (maybe in a “U” shape) where people could eat while listening to a presentation.

When: Obviously during lunch time! But what time that is would depend on you community. Again, this could be offered as often as you’d like. I’d probably shoot for something once a month to try it out.

Who: Adults who work/live in close proximity to the library who can stop by for a 45-minute program during their lunch hour. I think getting the word out about this program could be difficult and may require some in-person meetings with local business leaders to help promote this idea. Partnering with the Rotary could also be helpful to reach out to local business people.

How: This could be as simple as the staff sharing their expertise or you could bring someone in who wouldn’t mind volunteering some time to help present on a specific topic.

Alternatives:

• If lunches just wouldn’t work for your service area, try a Saturday morning or Thursday evening – the time is flexible.
• I’d also love to try a How-To Fair where people setup tables in a variety of locations in your library and teach people how to do something for 30 minutes and then someone else teaches people about a different topic. These look like a lot of work to set-up, but so much fun!

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!