That's a Wrap-Up, Folks!
By Kathryn Cantwell-Cole, Youth Services Librarian
Can you believe it? Summer is almost over! And with the end of summer, so ends our summer learning program for the year. While we still have a few logs trickling in during August, I am confident in saying that this was an incredible summer at the Rocklin Library.
If you have been in the library this summer (which I know most, if not all of you have) you may have seen me running around lugging around various odds and ends of materials or reworking the marble run on the summer display. There was a method to the madness, and it all boils down to offering the best in summer programming. This was my first year actually planning a summer program, so of course I plowed full steam ahead with 13 events, 8 in-library activities and weekly Saturday movie showings. Combined, we had a 40% increase in program attendance over last year! Wild Things!, a local conservation program and library event staple, had a record 410 attendees (up 51%). This year's performance of the Three Little Pigs by Puppet Art Theater Co. brought in 170 attendees, which has not been done by a non-Wild Things! event in several years. Even our other vendor programs, Sacramento Taiko Dan and Mad Science nearly had 100 attendees each. Even our in-library programs (Awesomely Bad Art, Board Game Bonanza, Clothespin Construction, and Forts! Forts! Forts!) brought in another 200 people. Thanks to those of you who donated sheets to Forts! Forts! Forts!; it was our highest in-library program with 84 attendees!
Of course, my personal favorite was Messy Baby Sensory Play for babies 0-24 months old. Six different stations allowed babies and their caregivers to explore different types of sensory elements including noise makers, coloring with crayons, sensory blocks & bottles, water play, paper play, and the messiest of all: the squishy station. We had 71 people turn out between two monthly sessions, several being repeat attendees. For families new to the library, this program also worked well as a promotion for Wee Read Baby Lapsit story time; multiple families joined this story time after coming to Messy Baby this summer.
Finally, the finale. This year, we decided to change our finale by offering it as a special after-hours event in the library. This event was exclusive to Readers who had completed their logs, earning them a Golden Ticket for entrance to any/all of 6 super-secret grand finales offered by Placer County Library. Their tickets allowed them to bring their family and a friend as well. Rocklin's event, held on August 4th, lived up to its name as the Rule Breaker Finale! Between the Obstacle Course, Drop Zone, Screaming Corner, and Dance Party, children and adults alike relished in being able to destroy the stereotypical "quiet library" image. Our obstacle course featured live ivy, hula-hoops of fire, balloon and CD barricades, and a "death-defying" walk across a plank floating in an "ocean" infested with sharks and other creatures. The Drop Zone took to the skies with parachutes, paper planes, and target practice, while Craft-o-Rama offered three different paper projects so attendees could take a break from the hustle and bustle. We turned the community room into the ultimate dance party: blacklights, bubbles, balloons, and roof-raising popular beats deejayed by yours truly. The picture book area housed our Book-o-lympics where attendees could build a domino rally of books, or take a turn at our bean-bag book toss. All attendees were also invited to take a selfie with our Giant Golden Ticket at the Golden Ticket Finalist Selfie Station. At the end of the night, a slew of Awesomes and Thank Yous were issued as the 200 attendees left happy and accomplished that they had broken all of the rules of the library.
Other interesting information:
Sign-ups: This year, we increased our overall number of signups by over 12%! The largest increase was the Adult categories with an increase of 34%. Even the Teen and Reader categories showed an impressive increase of 14% and 13%, respectively. By the end of the program, over 25% of participants completed their logs, an increase from the previous year.
Finishers: The highest category was Pre-Readers with a nearly half of all participants finishing their logs! Thank you to all of you who signed up and finished your logs!
What to do now? Start planning for next year, of course!
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