Stealth Programming Presentation at MLA October 2013

2. WHAT IS STEALTH PROGRAMMING?
Passive programs
 An interactive, non-formal ‘event’ that engages patrons with no specific time or
date, requiring little or no staff interaction
Sneak attacks
 A more formal ‘event’ that may occur at a specific time or date but still requires
little or no staff interaction
Benefits
 Promotes library and its materials
 Patrons interact with library resources
 Low cost, low prep

3. January: My Ideal Bookshelf

4. http://www.miopl.org/index.php/adult-section/adult-services

5. January: National Puzzle Month

6. January: Golden Globes
VOTE
Best Motion Picture
__________________________________
Best Director
__________________________________
Best Actress in a Motion Picture
__________________________________
Best Actor in a Motion Picture
__________________________________
Best Television Drama
__________________________________
Best Television Comedy
__________________________________
Name__________________ Ph: ________

7. January: Elvis’ Birthday!
 Match the Elvis picture to the movie title
 Show an Elvis movie
 Talk like Elvis Day
©www.elvis.com

8. January: Chinese New Year
• Display books by Chinese American authors (e.g. – Amy Tan, Gene Luen Yang)
• Hang a poster of the Chinese horoscope.
• Give an individually-wrapped fortune cookie for any patron who checks out a book
or answers Chinese trivia.
• Calligraphy – Using black ink and brushes, patrons can practice writing various
Chinese phrases
• Writing their names – Using black ink and brushes, patrons can write their names in
Chinese. You will need a teen volunteer to help.
• Chopsticks – Provide chopsticks and miniature marshmallows for patrons to
practice their dexterity with chopsticks.
©http://wikis.ala.org/yalsa/index.php/Passive_programming

9. January…
 Movies – book/movie dinner date
 National Papercrafting Month
 Morse Code – January 11th
 National Mail Order Gardening Month
 Winter Reading Program for Adults
 For Staff: Show and Tell at Work Day - January 8th

10. February: Sweet Treats

11. February: Romance
 Blind Date with a Book
 Speed Dating / Friending
 Hunt for Hearts
 Wear Red

12. February: Random Acts of Kindness Week
February 10-16, 2014
http://you–are-beautiful.com

13. February: Prom Dress Collection
 Set up a clothes rack
 Signage explaining why you’re collecting
http://hopecloset.com

14. March: March is Reading Month
Read to a Therapy Dog
Reading Incentive Programs

15. March: Teen Tech Week
March 9-15, 2014

16. March: National Craft Month
Crafternoon

17. March: Other Celebrations
 Pi Day – March 14
 National Women’s Month
 Lucky Leprechauns

18. April: World Book Night

19. April: National Library Week
April 13 – 19, 2014
Drop Everything and Read – all month long (but esp. April 12 th ) FLASH MOB!
http://www.coloradoan.com/article/20130412/NEWS0101/304120040/A-mob-readers-fills-Old-Town-Square

20. April: National Poetry Month
Spine Poetry
Poem in Your
Pocket Day –
April 18
Copyright bookandlatte.com
Blackout Poetry

21. April: Tax Time

22. April: Jazz Appreciation Month

23. April: National Jelly Bean Day – April 22
Guess How Many Jelly Beans Are in the Jar and Win!

24. April…
 National Donate Life Month (Michigan Libraries for Life)
 Community Spirit Days – All month long
 Financial Literacy Month
 National Humor Month
 National Kite Month
 Straw Hat Month
 YoYo Weekend April 12th -14th
 For staff : Laugh at Work Week April 1 st – 7th

25. KEEPING TRACK
Tracking Numbers
 Can be as simple as hashmarking
 Counting items put out
Measures of Success
 All about the numbers
 Patron rate of return
Evaluation
 Leave out short evaluation forms (Would you like more programming like this?)
 Talk to patrons to see what worked and what didn’t

26. May… National Photography Month
 Photo Contest
 Photo Displays

27. May… Star Wars Day – May 4
http://www.501st.com/

28. May… Comic Extravaganza

29. May… National Inventors Month
Design and fly an
original paper airplane

30. May…




Cinco de Mayo
World Red Cross Day
Mother’s Day
Women’s Safety & Self Defense Awareness Month

31. June: Summer Reading
What do you Geek? What do you Dig? ………

32. June: Summer Reading Continued
Weekly Raffle
Legos
Hot Wheels
Marbles
Foam Letters
Buttons

33. June: Art in a Box
 Put out supplies
 Drop-in
 Teen volunteers prepare

34. June: Storytime in the Park
 Sneak Attack
 Passersby get drawn into the
program

35. June: Planet Pursuit
 Hide pictures of planets around the department
 Kids find them and glue mini-picture in their diary
 Older kids write a fact about each planet they find

36. June…
 World Wide Knit in Public Day (Second Saturday in June) – knitting group
 North American Euchre Showdown – Euchre tournament
 Flag Day (June 14) – Color Flags

37. July: Gummy Worm Day – July 15

38. July: National Scrabble Week 19th - 24th

39. July: National Grilling Month

40. July: Book Exchange Month

41. July: Take Your Library Card on Vacation
 Patrons take photos of themselves on
vacation holding their library cards
 Post on a world map
 Post on Facebook page

42. July…
 Michigan Thumbs Up!
 Paperback Book Day
 Tour de France
 Father Daughter Take a Walk Together Day – July 7th
 Teddy Bears’ Picnic Day – July 10th
 Comic Con July 18th – 21st
 Tell an Old Joke Day – July 24th
 For staff – Chocolate Day July 7th

43. August: Teens Top Ten

44. August: Lone Ranger
 Find hidden masks
 Show movie
 Have script available

45. August: Coloring Sheets
 Colored pencils
 Markers
 Crayons
http://www.doverpublications.com

46. August: Sidewalk Chalk
 Put out chalk
 Designate an area

47. August: National Geocaching Day
August 20
 Hide a geocache
 Put a clue on your
Facebook
 Collaborate with other
community resources

48. How Often/Duration of Programs?
How Often
 No magic rule of thumb
 Often enough that people look forward to what you’ll
have next
Duration
 Depending on the theme, anywhere from one day to
several months
 Raffles can go on from a week to a month
 Reading incentives 2-3 months
 Hunting for objects – 1 month

49. September: Library Card Sign-up Month
 Partner with local businesses
to offer discounts for people
who show their library card
during the month of
September.
 Hand out library card holders
to children who get their first
library card.

50. September: Michigan Reads
 Display book
 Put up poster to sign
 Read in storytimes
 Hand out stickers/bookmarks

51. September: Lego Club/Contest

52. September…






Banned Books Week
Healthy Aging Month
Resumes – Resume review w/local headhunter
International Literacy Day – September 8
Citizenship/Constitution Day – September 17
Talk Like a Pirate Day – September 19

53. October: Teen Read Week
 Different theme every year
 Customize for your community

54. October: National Reading Group Month
 Provide space
 Have book club kits
 Big Library Read for
e-books
http://www.nationalreadinggroupmonth.org/

55. October: Make & Take Crafts

56. October: Caption Contest

57. October: Dictionary Day - October 16
 Define a word & win

58. October: National Coupon Month

59. October: Vote for Pumpkins

60. November: Chess Club
 Bi-monthly
 Drop-in
 Ages 7 and up
 Beginners and experienced players welcome
 Volunteer facilitates

61. November: Stuffed Animal Sleepover
 Children drop off stuffed animals to the library.
 Staff or Teen Volunteers pose animals around the library
and take photos.
 Children pick up their animals the next day.
 Post the photos on Facebook/e-mail to the patrons

62. November: Read Around America
 Bingo Sheet
 Raffle ticket for each Bingo
 Hide symbols around the department
 Put a sticker on U.S. map

63. November: Holiday Mail for Heroes
 Leave cards out for people to sign
 Make cards in Youth programs
 Drop off to Red Cross

64. November…
 Picture Book Month
 National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) - Six Word Essay/Story Notebook
 America Recycles Day (November 15) – Repurposed make & take crafts
 International Games Day (November 16)
Wii Bowling for Seniors
Put out board games around the library
 Veteran’s Day – War movie festival

65. December: Learn a Foreign Language Month

66. December: Bingo’s Birthday Month
Book Bingo

67. December: Holiday Concert

68. December…
 Recipe Greetings for the Holiday – December 1st – 7th
 National Dice Day – December 4th
 Nobel Prize Day – December 10th
 Dewey Decimal System Day – December 10th
 International Shareware Day – Second Saturday of the Month
 Crossword Puzzle Day – December 21st
 For Staff : Hour of Peace Day – December 31st

69. Websites…
Brownielocks' Holidays & Fun For Everyone! - http://brownielocks.com/month2.html
Chase’s Calendar of Events - http://www.westglen.com/news/1/ChaseCalendar.pdf
Earth Calendar - http://www.earthcalendar.net/index.php
Programming Librarian - http://www.programminglibrarian.org/home.html
Wikipedia List of US Observances http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_observances_in_the_United_States

70. Specific Holidays/Occasions
501st Legion – http://www.501st.com http://www.greatlakesgarrison.com/
America Recycles - http://americarecyclesday.org/
Banned Books Week - http://www.ala.org/bbooks/
Children’s Day/El dia de los ninos - http://dia.ala.org/
Citizenship/Constitution Day - http://constitutionday.cpms.osd.mil/
Dover Publications - http://store.doverpublications.com/
Drop Everything and Read - http://www.dropeverythingandread.com/NationalDEARday.html
Free Comic Book Day - http://www.freecomicbookday.com/Home/1/1/27/992
Geocaching - http://www.geocaching.com/
Holiday Mail for Heroes - http://www.redcross.org/support/get-involved/holiday-mail-for-heroes
Hope Closet – http://www.hopecloset.com/

71. Jazz Foundation of America - http://jazzfoundation.org/
Library Card Sign Up Month - http://www.ala.org/conferencesevents/celebrationweeks/card
National Library Week - http://www.ala.org/conferencesevents/celebrationweeks/natlibraryweek
National Literacy Month http://www.reading.org/General/Conferences/InternationalLiteracyDay.aspx
National Novel Writing Month - http://nanowrimo.org/
National Photography Month - http://www.apa360.org/
National Reading Group Month - http://www.nationalreadinggroupmonth.com/index.html
Random Acts of Kindness – http://www.randomactsofkindness.org/frequently-asked-questions
Pi Day - http://www.exploratorium.edu/pi/index.html
Picture Book Month - http://picturebookmonth.com/
Random Acts of Kindness - http://www.randomactsofkindness.org

72. Teen Literature Day - http://wikis.ala.org/yalsa/index.php/Celebrate_Teen_Literature_Day
Teen Read Week - http://teenreadweek.ning.com/
Teen Tech Week - http://teentechweek.ning.com/
Teens Top Ten - http://www.ala.org/yalsa/teenstopten
Thumbs Up! Award - http://www.mla.lib.mi.us/awards/thumbsup
World Book Night - http://www.us.worldbooknight.org/
World Red Cross Day - http://www.redcross.org/news/event/2013-World-Red-Cross-Day
World Wide Knit In Public - http://youtu.be/rPxfQeP8nZ0
You Are Beautiful – http://www.you-are-beautiful.com

73. Slideshare