Programming and Outreach is an important but often overlooked aspect of running a curriculum materials center and can range from one-time low-complexity events to highly involved projects which involved many stakeholders. Below is meant to provide some inspiration or ideas for CMC personnel who are thinking about how to add to their programming or outreach efforts or get a better sense of what others are doing.
General Ideas:
- Have students learn about book resumes and create their own.
- Create an escape room aligned with a book or which tests library knowledge.
- Host faux book awards.
- Coordinate storytimes and read-alouds
- Design art projects or book illustration themed events
- Coordinator Taskmaster-themed games or challenges at the library
- Design a live or self-lead scavenger hunt of the CMC
- Highlight Makerspace resources with a bulletin board creation competition.
- Organize a treasure hunt of some kind.
- Design an event based on theming with a given book.
- Host or coordinate a puppet show.
- Have a live or grab-and-go craft with a book as Inspiration
- Coordinate frequent and rotating book or other materials displays
- Co-design exhibitions and exhibits
- Organize author and/or illustrator talks
- Facilitate a lesson plan “Science Fair”
- Stage a story walk elsewhere on campus or in the library.
- Host relevant lectures or symposia
- Schedule panel discussions on topics aimed at encouraging scholarly interest in children's literature
- Hold summer camps (math, literacy) with K-6 students
- Arrange CMC open houses
- Design workshops on various related topics
- Host online webinars
- Collaborate on school fairs or hold a mock version
- Have tours/instruction for home school groups, schools, students in high school cadet programs, etc.
- Organize unplug activities, such as origami, board games, coloring, etc.
- Highlight makerspaces with T-shirt printing or button making
- Provide virtual reality training or gaming
University Partnerships
- Partner with your university’s Alumni Affairs and/or Community Engagement offices on special events to reach a broader audience and leverage combined resources.
- Partner with other programs and departments within your university to cross-pollinate your CMC’s resources/services and engage with audiences beyond the walls of your library or department. (eg. clinical labs in speech pathology, OT, PT, psychology, medical school, etc.)
- Hold workshops on evaluating and critically reflecting on children's literature.
School Partnerships
Local Community Partnerships
- Promote community or educator borrowing programs.
- Host on-site storytimes or “Raising a Reader” workshop where the CMC is viewed as a safe, welcoming space in the community that seeks to engage visitors directly with interactive story time programs to foster pre-reading skills. The CMC, and by extension, the university will be viewed as a leader in promoting literacy awareness and practice.
- Collaborate and build networks with local community organizations and institutions such as the public library, YMCA, and community literacy groups.
- Invite public libraries to co=host events, sign students up for library cards, have pop-ups, etc.
- Solicit donations from surplus warehouses etc. to create free school supply donation events for future and current educators.
- Host civically engaged programs for communities tied to advocacy, or activism. These could be community art projects, speakers, or more.
Additional Resources
