Easter is coming…along with Easter candy. Buy some bunny-shaped Peeps in multiple colors to have at your desk. Prepare a display of your new books surrounded by Easter grass and plastic eggs. Make a sign that says Reading With My Peeps. Anytime a patron checks out a new book, offer them a marshmallow Peep to take with them. Here are 10 more display and program ideas:
National Card and Letter Writing Month
Challenge your patrons to write letters by hand instead of emails. Provide a selection of note cards that are blank inside and pens with different colors of ink. Once their note is written, give them an envelope to take home and address. (With the price of postage, you’ll probably want them to stick a stamp on it at home!)
National Humor Month
Know any good jokes? Display joke books for your patrons and challenge them to tell a joke to at least three people today. Focus on the joy and therapeutic value of laughter and humor. See how laughter can reduce stress, improve job performance, enhance learning, promote health and peace and enrich the quality of life. Use sticky notes to create a “Joke Wall” in your library.
National Poetry Month
An annual observance to pay tribute to the great legacy and ongoing achievement of American poets and the place of poetry in American culture. Go to http://www.poets.org for daily poems and lesson plans on poetry. Challenge your young patrons to read and write different types of poems: rhyming, concrete, haiku, and reverse. Post a poem a day on your library’s website, Facebook page, and in your library.
School Library Month
This month is set aside to celebrate the work of school librarians in our nation’s elementary and secondary schools. The 2017 theme is Because School Libraries Empower Students. The official hashtag for this year’s celebration is #slm17. Complimentary Web Graphics and Files along with a printable poster can be found at http://www.ala.org/aasl/slm.
April Fool’s Day (April 1)
Display all your books that have the word April in the title. Then, prepare your patrons April Fool’s snacks they won’t soon forget with the help of these funny food imposter recipes from Party Pinching: http://partypinching.com/april-fools-day/. My favorite is the “Sunny-side up cupcake.”
Draw a Bird Day (April 8)
Draw a Bird Day was never declared an official holiday. Today it is celebrated worldwide as a way to express joy in the very simplest of things in life. To celebrate, quite simply, draw a bird and share it with whomever you choose. The drawings are not meant to be “professionally” done by any means. The important thing is just to draw and bird and share it. Display the “how-to-draw” books from your collection. Provide materials for your patrons to draw their own bird pictures! Find out more about this holiday at http://www.dabday.com/.
National Library Week (April 8-15, 2017)
“Libraries Transform” will return as the theme for National Library Week in 2017. First sponsored in 1958, National Library Week is a national observance sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA) and libraries across the country each April. It is a time to celebrate the contributions of our nation’s libraries and librarians and to promote library use and support. All types of libraries – school, public, academic and special – participate. Find a proclamation, a public service announcement, a press release, and much more at http://www.ala.org/conferencesevents/celebrationweeks/natlibraryweek.
Webster’s Dictionary First Published (April 14, 1828)
On this day, Webster’s dictionary was first published. Since then, thousands of words have been added. Check out Merriam Webster’s annual list of the most searched words of 2016: https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/word-of-the-year-2016/surreal. Stack a few dictionaries on a table with this list of words displayed prominently.
Earth Day (April 22)
Today is a day to give thanks for all of the gifts the earth has given us. Display the books and dvds from your collection that show the beauty of the earth. Encourage patrons to think about what they can do to help our planet. Prepare a list of things that can be recycled in your community and give details about where the recyclables can be dropped off.
Arbor Day (April 28)
Trees are simply amazing. They clean air and water, slow climate change, ease poverty and hunger, prevent species loss, and feed the human soul. All we need to do is plant and care for them. Display your books about trees and have a tree-planting program at your library. Choose from a selection of nearly 200 trees and shrubs for your program at the lowest prices available at https://www.arborday.org/.
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