Social Library, Volume 81

Jennifer Peterson /

Image courtesy LAPD Read Along on Facebook

We continue our Social Library series, featuring posts from libraries we follow on Facebook, representing the many ways in which libraries are connecting with their communities. This week's edition includes law enforcement representatives participating in library programs, a librarian mentor to an award-winning author, an exhibit of objects found in returned books, and a brilliant marketing campaign. We hope you enjoy these library highlights and are inspired by their great work!

  • We were delighted to learn about Los Angeles Public Library's LAPD Read Along program this week. In weekly storytimes throughout the system, local police officers read to young patrons to help to establish positive relations with law enforcement and to support community literacy.
  • Bertolet Memorial Library in Illinois also partners with law enforcement! They've invited the community to come to the library for Coffee With the Sheriff, a coffee klatch to get to know the Ogle county sheriff, ask questions, and learn about the department.
  • We learned from a story shared by Marigold Library System, about How a kind librarian changed author Richard Wagamese’s life. That kind librarian worked at St. Catharines Public Library in Canada and mentored the award-winning Canadian Ojibwe author and journalist in his younger years. Thank you to Susan Cameron, a librarian in Oakville Ontario, who shared the wonderful story via the Globe and Mail.
  • Image courtesy Castlemaine Library on Facebook
  • Castlemaine Library in Australia has created an exhibit, Ex Libris Detritum - Things That Fall Out Off Books. "It's an exhibition of accumulated objects that we find in returned library books - a secret glimpse into library world."
  • Nioga Library System in New York caught our eye with their announcements about The Check Out Challenge, a community-wide opportunity to win prizes and to learn about all that the library has to offer. There are 19 participating libraries in this years' #Checkoutchallenge2017, hosted from April 1-15. Patrons are invited to stop by their local library to pick up a punch card, earn a punch for each completed task, and then return their punched card to be entered to a drawing to win prizes. A write-up in the Daily News quotes Katherine Cooper, library director for the Lee-Whedon Memorial Library, who explains, "The whole premise behind the Check Out Challenge is to raise awareness of the digital services that the libraries provide." There are three prizes people can win from the Check Out Challenge: a Sony Playstation with a $50 gift card; a GoPro camera; and a Fitbit watch. In order to be eligible to win, patrons must complete five out of seven tasks:

    • Get or show your library card.
    • Connect to the library’s free Wi-Fi.
    • Stream a song, movie or TV show.
    • Post a library selfie with #CheckOutChallenge.
    • Download an eBook, eMagazine or eComic.
    • Check out a CD, DVD, video game, or book.
    • Ask your librarian a question.
    And you won't want to miss this fantastic video they created to promote the challenge, complete with live talking books, left for unsuspecting community members in public locations!

Thank you to all these libraries for their great work, and if you'd like to see your library featured in future Social Library editions, please let us know via [email protected]rg or find us on Facebook.