Summer Reading 2008
Best practices:
Sunnyside: Book Reviewers of the Week
Librarian selects 1 teen review (from SR website) a week to highlight “based on writers’ enthusiasm and heart” and creates a poster to display in the library with the teen’s name, book title/author, and the review.
Queens Village: Teen Volunteers Make Piñatas
Have teens create piñatas to be used by younger children in library programs.
Forest Hills: Teen Volunteers
Encourage teen volunteering/community service with book and/or craft buddy programs. Let teens create displays, bulletin boards, etc.. Keep track of their time (informally is okay) and give them a letter to take to school at the end of the summer.
Bayside: Penny Jar
For each book logged by Bayside’s teens and kids, a penny was collected in a jar. At the end of the summer, the kids and teens voted on the charity they wanted the money to go to. Possibility of getting a matching donation from a local business, too.
Flushing: Breaking Dawn Party
To celebrate the release of the final Twilight book, held a party where the library’s circulating copies were raffled off (winners got to check out the books). Props included a life-size coffin!
Cambria Heights: K’nex
Used mini-grant money to buy a kit (enough for approximately 12 teens to use) to create rubber band powered racers. A hands-on activity boys and girls were excited about.
What Worked/Didn’t:
The booklist wasn’t successful:
--some schools used as reading list--not enough copies
--tweens were more likely to read listed books than older teens
--displaying/having a “summer reading books” area raised circ
The theme was okay but the incentives . . .?
--bug themed incentives were a hit in some places, not at all in others
Discussion about having a “store” concept for next summer--teens earn currency, save up or spend right away to “buy” from a range of items (ie. pencils to iPods)--AGREED, WE’LL PROCEED WITH THIS FOR 2009 (theme = Express Yourself)
iPod Nano Winners:
the 3 teens who won were from
Court Square
Far Rockaway
Central YAS
