YSS member - and newly elected board memebr - Terry Ehle from the Lester Library inTwo Rivers is doing some amusing musing on the necessity of certain programs and the joy that might be found in endings....
With December just around the corner I am plagued with the task of “who can I ask, convince, beg, bribe or kidnap to be Santa this year?” The thought of another long evening, with children waiting patiently (cough), to sit on his lap fills me with dread.
So I ask myself: Why am I doing this program and how is it
promoting the library and reading?
Have we been doing it for years and years and years? Yes. Do lots of people come? Yes.
Do they check out books after?
Not always. Do they come to story
time next week because they saw Santa?
Rarely. Are they rushing to get
library cards because Santa was so wonderful?
Probably not. Are we the ONLY location
in town for children to see Santa this year?
Not even close. Then why I am doing a program I don’t really enjoy? Good
question.
1 comment:
Santa does come to our library, but the whole program is arranged by a local bank. Last year they asked me to come read stories and I made an attempt, but honestly? A program to see Santa, with crafts, cookies, and all preceded by a piano recital with some 20 odd kids is NOT the ideal venue for a storytime! This cemented my decision to kindly but firmly decline any future invitations to "come do storytime" as part of any community program. If I'm competing with multiple programs, it's not a storytime...it's a Confused Noise.
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