The Social Library, Volume 15

Jennifer Peterson /

Image courtesy of the Hawn Memorial Library on Facebook

Welcome to Volume 15 of our Social Library series! It's so exciting to find fresh ideas each week in our Facebook hunt. This week we found some great programs good for any time of the year, but perfect for the launch of the summer months. Check out these creative things happening at libraries we follow on Facebook.

  • The Hawn Memorial Library in Clayton, New York, hosted a Teddy Bear Sleepover last week! It began with a special 3:00 storytime where patrons of all ages were invited to bring, and leave, their favorite (or second favorite) stuffed animal for a sleepover. The staff snapped secret photos of the over-night guests, which were shared when young patrons returned the next day to pick up their stuffed friends. If you haven't hosted an event like this yet, here are a few resources to inspire you:
  • The Pima County Public Library in Tucson, Arizona, leverages the very active #FridayReads hashtag with this nice weekly feature, Patti's Picks. Patti Cheney works in the Collection Development Office at the library and shares a short review of what she's reading each week and invites others to share what they're reading too. Here's an article she wrote last year in the local paper about the World’s best job: selecting books for the library.
  • Image courtesy 
San Luis Obispo County Library on FacebookThe Suwannee River Regional Library System in Florida invited the community to a Recipe Swap at the Live Oak Library. Each month, the swap features a recipe type (May featured cool foods) and attendees bring a recipe and a dish to share with others, though samples are not required. June's Recipe Swap will meet at the Branford Library with the theme, Dad’s Favorite BBQ.
  • The Louisville Public Library in Ohio often partners with the local garden club, and this coming month, they're joining forces for the Annual Shoe Garden, part of their Summer Reading Program. The post invites the community to "Bring an old pair of shoes and plant a flower. One for the library garden & one for your garden!" Here's a wonderful picture from their 2013 Shoe Garden.
  • Three branches of the San Luis Obispo County Library in California hosted the Third Annual Peeps Diorama Contest during the month of April and the Cambria branch shared these wonderful photos of winning entries. Here's a write-up announcing the contest in The Cambrian with more information.

We look forward to seeking out next week's treasures from those we follow on Facebook. If you have innovative and impactful programs going on at your library that you'd like to showcase, let us know at [email protected], or find us on Facebook.

Thanks to all of this week's featured libraries for such outstanding service to your communities!