Throwback Thursday: Totally Turned Up! - 2013 Summer Reading

A college themed Summer Reading Program?
Yes, yes I did.
It seemed rather far fetched, but once I started working on it, it didn't sound so crazy anymore.  Besides, we want teens to be excited about college and careers, right?  Right.

So for last year's Summer Reading program, I planned "Totally Turned Up - The University of Swag!", a college-themed experience.

We started out the summer with a pretty cool Orientation Day party!  The teen room's superhero decorations from the year before were taken down and replaced with these circles which made the room look like a student commons on a campus.  It was a stark change from the comic characters and gave just the right effect.





Kickoff included coke floats,  popcorn, balloons, and pom pons!  We also watched Pitch Perfect, one of the few "high-school friendly" college themed movies I could find. LOL



Each week of the summer was based on a different college major or concentration!


Guests included an actual crime scene investigator from the local police department for our School of Physical Sciences.  Local Hip-Hop Artists who all hold college degrees, came in to speak about pursuing your artistic passion as well as your education, which also had a great conversation about the artists on radio today who hold degrees but perpetuate ignorance in their music, which was amazing! And one of the last visits of the summer was a body image workshop for young ladies where I invited my actual sorority sisters to stop in.

The finale party was a Homecoming Dance that rivaled some real college homecoming parties I've attended. LOL

Here are the final participating slips!!  I'm hoping this year's will have even more!

 

Agency 8336: The Conspiracy or Teen Summer Reading 2014!

Let's see,... intrigue, secrecy, affinity for technology, and a willingness to try just about anything.  Sounds like a teenager.

Agency 8336 is my brainchild for Summer Reading 2014!  A way to weave in very cool technology and activity, without boring the smack out of my teens.

I have much older teens, who use our library for more than reading and research.  They visit our space to interact with friends, find entertainment, and basically hang out.  They also visit the library of their own accord, without extensive parental guidance or interaction.  That said, my summer "reading" program has to be done a bit more fluid than the traditional programs.

Summer Reading Has Begun! (And I Think They Actually Like it)

What a couple of weeks it has been!
Summer Reading has officially begun here in my library, and with it came our first teen-focused program.  Heroes & Villains is off to a booming start, with over 25 teens signed up (HUGE for teenagers), and some even having reached a checkpoint already.
There are a lot of little components, which confused me for a while, but I think I've finally gotten it to the point where it is easy to digest.
So, here's the final rundown of our Heroes & Villains SRP Kickoff!

Marketing & Materials

Each teen that signs up receives a contact card (punch card):

Teens can "check-in" with us once a week to receive a punch on their card for any ONE spaces.  They turn in a Debriefing form{below} with a short review and we check to make sure the space they're getting a punch for is the same as the one on their form.  A completed card is their entry into our grand prize raffle!  Thanks to a generous donation from our library Friends group, we are able to offer a Kindle Fire AND a Wireless Gaming chair as our 2 grand prizes.

Now, my other concern was how to keep them interested throughout the summer.  One huge draw for them is that they can turn in as many forms as they wish per week, so even though they only get one punch on their card, and can only win a grand prize from those, they can enter as many forms as they want for chances to win weekly raffles as well.  

Daring to Be Different

It's May...which means that Summer Reading "planning" month is in full effect.  I feel behind actually, since the calendar of events for the younger kids and tweens is already full in my library, and the teen calendar is seriously lacking at the moment.

Planning the summer reading program this year has actually felt a lot like cleaning my room.  You know, you get really excited about how your room will look once you're done, and you start digging in, but before you know it your room is messier than it began and you find yourself sitting in a pile of trash wanting to say "never mind".  That pile of trash is my Pinterest board right now. LOL

I knew from the very beginning that I was not going to want to follow the state SRP(Summer Reading Program) theme.  I'm sure that "Own the Night" is perfect for some, but my teens and even myself if I'm being honest, would have looked at it with a lot less than enthusiasm.  No shade on anyone using it, but it just makes me think of a rape prevention event. :/

Our department decided to do our own thing this year, with a "What's Your Story" theme to highlight story, magic, fairy tales, folk tales, etc. For the teens, this will be the first year that they have their very own program, and I don't feel that I've been too ambitious.  At least not yet.

Random Librarian Thoughts: Farewell SRP

I am ecstatic that our Summer Reading Program is over.

Shhh, don't tell anyone.