May will be here before you know it. Mother’s Day, graduations, and Memorial Day. We are on the slippery slide that takes us into Summer! A lot of your display area will be featuring astronauts and outer space, but here are ten more ideas for programming and displays.
National Bike Month
Bring a small bike into the library and place it on a table. Gather books about bikes, fiction and nonfiction and display them on the table around the bike. Use this guide to hold a bike rodeo where the children of your community can practice and develop skills that will help them to become better bicyclists and avoid typical crashes.
Star Wars Day (May 4)
May the Fourth Be With You! And beware tomorrow – Revenge of the 5th! Prepare a display of all your Star Wars books and DVDs. Make origami Star Wars characters using the help of Tom Angleberger’s popular Origami Yoda series.
Teacher Appreciation Week (May 5-11)
Teacher Appreciation Week is a week-long celebration in recognition of teachers and the contributions they make to education and society. It is held in the first full week of May of every year and provides an opportunity for students, their parents, and school principals to show their appreciation for the hard work teachers do and the long hours many of them put in. Prepare a display of books that feature school and teachers. Remind you patrons to show their appreciation for the teachers in your community.
Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show Established (May 8, 1877)
The first ever Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show was held 142 years ago. Prepare a display of your nonfiction dog books—children’s or adult’s. Invite a local breeder to give a presentation on show dogs and their characteristics.
Christopher Paul Curtis’s Birthday (May 10, 1953)
Curtis was born in Flint, Michigan. He is an American writer of children’s books. He is known for the Newbery Medal-winning Bud, Not Buddy and The Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963. The latter was adapted for a TV movie of the same name, which aired on the Hallmark Channel in 2013. Place a small poster acknowledging his birthday on the shelves near his books.
National Chocolate Chip Day (May 15)
Fill a mason jar with different kinds of chocolate chips and place it on the circulation desk near the checkout station. Challenge all who borrow material today to estimate how many are inside. Offer a package of chocolate chip cookies for the closest guess.
National Pick Strawberries Day (May 20)
Visit a local strawberry patch or pick up a pint of fresh strawberries. Encourage patrons to try out a new recipe to celebrate the beginning of strawberry season. Find books in your collection that have the word “strawberry” in the title and display them on a red tablecloth with printouts of the recipes for patrons to take home.
Margaret Wise Brown’s Birthday (May 23, 1910)
What child hasn’t been lulled to sleep by the gentle rhymes of Margaret Wise Brown’s classic Goodnight Moon? Brown, a former teacher, believed that very young children could be fascinated in the simple pleasures of the world around them, and created some of the most enduring and beloved children s books of all time. Develop a display in the children’s room with the book and items from the Goodnight Moon story.
Memorial Day (May 27, 2019)
Honor those who died in the service of our nation. Display books about the monuments erected to commemorate those in the armed forces lost in combat. Give your patrons small flags to decorate their yards.
World No Tobacco Day (May 31)
Pull together a list of tobacco cessation resources to hand out or feature on your social media.
BONUS Library Trivia – The New York Public Library was dedicated on May 23, 1911.
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