How do you plan on promoting your library this National Library Week? Share your programming ideas, and you could win a set of National Library Week–themed promotional materials.

Your ideas will be featured on the National Library Week website as a useful tool for other librarians looking for creative ways to use the National Library Week theme, You belong @ your library. Each idea will list the name of the librarian who submitted it and their library. The deadline for submitting your ideas is February 15.

As the You belong @ your library theme suggests, programming ideas should reflect a wide variety of library users, and should encourage library users that the library is a place with materials, programs, and activities for everyone in their community. The Campaign for America’s Libraries is looking for programming ideas for all types of libraries.

Librarians looking to promote National Library Week 2012 are encouraged to visit the National Library Week website. Public service announcements (PSAs) featuring author, TV host, and Honorary Chair of National Library Week, Brad Meltzer, are available for download.

As Honorary Chair, Meltzer appears in print and digital PSAs promoting National Library Week. The PSAs, developed by the American Library Association’s Campaign for America’s Libraries, will be placed in magazines and online throughout the spring. ALA also offers free customization of the PSA for libraries.

Additional promotional materials include a sample op-ed, proclamation, press release, and scripts for use in radio ads. All incorporate the 2012 National Library Week theme, You belong @ your library. Tools are available at the National Library Week website.

ALA Graphics products supporting National Library Week are also available, including a poster, bookmark and mini poster, as well as downloadable Web files and high-resolution art files. All Graphics products can be purchased through the ALA Store.

National Library Week is a national observance sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA) and libraries across the country each April. It is a time to celebrate the contributions of our nation’s libraries and librarians and to promote library use.

February is African American History Month, and our featured library, Red Bank (N.J.) Public Library (RBPL), is celebrating it with some exciting events, including a look at a Pulitzer Prize–winning African American playwright and an exhibition focusing on the artistic culture of African Americans.

RBPL will kick off African American History Month with “A Celebration of August Wilson.” A company of stage and film actors will share stories and memories of working with the playwright, who won two Pulitzer Prizes for Drama for The Pittsburgh Cycle, a series of ten plays, each set in a different decade, depicting the comedy and tragedy of the twenty-first-century African American experience.

The library partnered with the Frank Talk Multi-Media Network to present an afternoon of events, including “Out of Africa,” an exhibit that features African art and textiles; a screening of a documentary that looks at the Newark Museum’s “African Narratives” permanent collection, providing insight into African symbolism and art; and a reading by Dr. Gretna Wilkinson, creative writing teacher at the Red Bank Regional High School Visual and Performing Arts Academy, who will read selections from her recently published book of poetry, Opening the Drawer. Patrons are also invited to taste African food.

Finally, the library’s adult book discussion group, Readin’ on the River, will discuss Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston.

Find out more about African American History Month, including related resources and more programming ideas.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Investor Education Foundation and the American Library Association recently announced that grants had been awarded to sixteen libraries as part of the Smart investing@your library initiative. The grants can be used to “to implement a variety of programs designed to increase patrons’ access to and understanding of financial information. … Participating libraries will use a variety of technologies and outreach strategies to connect library users to the best financial education and information available. These strategies include online learning, seminars, one-on-one clinics, storytelling, performances and staff training.”

Although this year’s Financial Wellness Month is just about over, I thought you might be inspired by the partnerships and programming the winning libraries have created, perhaps incorporating them into your plans for next year:

• Ada County (Idaho) Free Library District will offer an array of programs and electronic services through its LYNX! consortium libraries to meet the financial education needs of Generation Y residents (ages 18–32). The University of Idaho Extension and other state agencies will collaborate on a variety of project components, including finance book clubs for young professionals and a personal finance portal designed for mobile telephones and tablet computers.

• Albany County (Wyo.) Public Library is partnering with faculty from the University of Wyoming and a local technical college to provide Laramie residents with a better understanding of personal finances and tools to make optimal financial decisions. Workshops will emphasize finance basics, preparing to invest, retirement planning, and student loan debt management.

• Boone County (Ky.) Public Library and the Brighton Center, a social services agency reaching 84,000 clients in northern Kentucky, are collaborating to improve the financial literacy and fiscal health of families in the region. The project will challenge families to evaluate and improve their financial health through a series of interactive learning experiences.

• Brooklyn (N.Y.) Public Library will offer a combination of workshops, seminars, individual counseling sessions, and virtual investment clubs for adults and teens in the library ’s service area. The Bedford-Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation (the nation’s first community development corporation), the Coalition for Debtor Education, and Mind Your Money (an organization devoted to the financial literacy of teens and pre-teens) will assist with public programs and one-on-one counseling.

• Dakota County (Minn.) Library’s initiative, “Dollars by the Decade,” will promote financial literacy education as a lifelong process addressing the evolving needs of residents in various life stages. Recognizing that individuals will come to the program with different levels of knowledge and interests, the program will use print, digital and in-person workshops to teach personal finance fundamentals such as budgeting, saving, spending, credit, and financial protection.

• Delaware County (Pa.) Library System is partnering with the Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Delaware Valley and various Pennsylvania state agencies to improve the financial literacy and capability of low- to moderate-income families in the region. Educational experiences will help participants manage budgets and debt and plan for future needs.

• Fairfield (Conn.) Public Library will build on its award-winning job assistance program and offer a series of practical personal finance workshops for adults aimed at expanding investing capability with a combination of direct instruction and team-based learning.

• Genesee District Library in Flint, Michigan, will collaborate with Central Michigan University and the regional chamber of commerce to establish a “family financial freedom” education initiative with programming and services for K–12 students, current college students, recent graduates, and African-American women, among others.

• Greenville County (S.C.) Library System and its partners will pursue a multifaceted project designed to turn personal finance assumptions into changed attitudes, changed attitudes into changed behaviors, and changed behaviors into changed habits. Workshops on the psychology of spending, a public information campaign anchored by a dedicated project website, and help with tax preparation are just a few of the strategies planned to help female heads of household overcome obstacles and achieve their money goals.

• Jackson (Mich.) District Library is partnering with United Way and other community agencies to deliver financial education resources in the county and improve communications about finances among low- and moderate-income households. Participants will develop a financial plan, increase their knowledge about money management and investing, and gain better access to learning resources with support from a personal finance help desk service and classes based on the FDIC Money Smart curriculum.

• Niles (Ill.) Public Library District will work with university and government partners in the region to help adults ages fifty and older get prepared to make capable decisions in the years immediately preceding and during retirement. Topics will include a better understanding of Social Security, retirement preparedness, predatory financial practices, and investment fraud.

• Pioneer Library System in Norman, Oklahoma, will partner with the Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Central Oklahoma, Citizen Pottawatomi Nation, Chickasaw Nation, and employers in the hometowns of its ten member libraries to offer “fiscally fit boot camps” to employees.

• Richland County (S.C.) Public Library will combine traditional educational activities (workshops, story times, and outreach presentations) with creative and engaging experiences for families. The library will partner with Lunch Money, a children’s band that “brings indie-rock to family audiences,” to write a children’s song about money, earning, and saving for the future, and to schedule performances for young children. The library will work with Columbia College and local schools to engage teens in creating performances and games that teach younger children financial basics. The library’s African-American History and Cultural Events Committee will work with partner organizations to sponsor and promote a series of family-focused financial literacy events on topics ranging from home ownership and saving for college to the basics of investing.

• Seekonk (Mass.) Public Library and its partners will assist women ages twenty-five and over as they master financial basics, craft long-term financial plans, and acquire the saving and investing skills to put these plans into practice. Instructional programs will be organized around themes and will be supplemented by a series of networking events to add a social dimension to the program and allow participants to learn from each other. Guest speakers will address fiscal fitness for women. Business school faculty from Johnson & Wales University and staff from Money Management International (a nonprofit consumer credit counseling agency) will lead the seminars.

• The State Library of Iowa in Des Moines, in partnership with Iowa State University Extension and Ames Public Library, will expand a successful, mixed-methods (online and face-to-face), library-based financial education model to eighteen underserved rural communities across Iowa. The online courses will each last six weeks and will be segmented according to three generational cohorts: Starting Out (Generation X), Building Up (trailing Baby Boomers), and Making it Last (retirees). A capstone, face-to-face event in each location will follow the online learning and bring the local libraries into lasting partnership with community organizations.

• York County (Pa.) Library System will partner with seventeen high schools and seven urban elementary schools to improve the financial literacy and capability of students and parents by connecting them with the personal finance resources available through county libraries. The project will seek to teach York County high school juniors and seniors how to build a financial plan for post–high school success, and will equip parents of high school juniors and seniors with financial literacy tools to guide their teenagers ’ financial planning. Younger children will learn about spending, saving, and borrowing, and their parents will learn financial literacy tools to reinforce their own financial knowledge and help them positively influence their children’s future money management skills.

Here’s a great example of a long-running partnership between a public library and a university. Since 1993, the Monroe County (Ind.) Public Library has partnered with Indiana University’s Asian Culture Center to celebrate the Lunar New Year in Bloomington. The holiday is observed in a number of Asian countries, including China, Korea, and Japan. This year is the year of the dragon.

The library’s programming included an educational skit performed by Indiana University students from the Asian Cultural Center and the Asian American Association that explained the history of the Lunar New Year and the twelve zodiac animals. The event also featured Asian music perfomed by two students. Following the performances, Asian food was served, children were invited to create dragon masks with craft materials, and calligraphy lessons were offered. More than 300 people attended this year’s events, including students and library patrons.

Editor’s note: Inspired by this month’s feature article, Meeting Needs and Making a Difference: Outcomes Based Planning and Evaluation, Johannah Genett, Senior Programming Librarian at Hennepin County (Minn.) Library, wrote to share some recent programs and their evaluations at her library. Here’s the second of two blog posts; read her first blog post on workshops her library offered last fall.

In December 2011, Hennepin County (Minn.) Library (HCL) offered two unique programs: the “Talk & Taste” series and “An Interview with Scott Sigler, Paperless Author.”

“Talk & Taste” featured a series of talks and food tastings about sustainable agriculture. The series was offered in partnership with the Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture. Each program featured two speakers and a food tasting with a restaurant that uses locally sourced food. Topics included farmstays (farm vacations), raising farm animals humanely, urban gardens and soil contaminants, the University of Minnesota’s student organic farm, the Minnesota farm-to-school food program, and how to buy and find local food. Restaurant partners were facilitated by Gastro Non Grata, a group who organizes music and food events around the Twin Cities. Gastro Non Grata brought in restaurant partners The Modern Cafe, Haute Dish, and Golden’s Deli, which served sampling ranging from boudin blanc, to chipotle-infused chili, to homemade jerky.

Approximately sixty-five people attended the program, and an additional fifty people participated in the food tasting. Of those who attended, 96 percent indicated that they learned something new about agriculture, 67 percent planned to check out related library materials, and 89 percent were more likely to attend future library programs. Attendance statistics were not as high as anticipated due to the unpopularity of having the series on December weekend afternoons. HCL is planning a program for this spring featuring Twin Cities food writers including print and online reviewers.

“An Interview with Scott Sigler: Paperless Author” was hosted at an unusual location: the Bryant Lake Bowl, a theater/restaurant/bowling alley (the program occurred in the theater). This program was coordinated by HCL’s Generation X/Y work group, which is tasked with proposing and describing useful and engaging services for adults aged 20–40. The group hoped to reach those who might not attend a program in the library setting. Patrons could order food and drinks from their theater seat. A pioneer in electronic publishing, sci-fi/horror writer Sigler wrote the world’s first podcast-only novel, EarthCore. The program featured a live interview and Q&A session with Sigler. The event was advertised as “Free with your library card.” Library staff had a laptop available to sign up attendees for library cards, and no one was turned away.

Approximately fifty patrons attended. Evaluations indicated that the program was well-received. A variety of age groups attended: 14 percent were 18–25, 23 percent were 26–35, 36 percent were 36–45, 9 percent were 46–55, and 18 percent were 55+. The author’s popularity drew fans from all over Minnesota and even North Dakota. The author’s ability to complement HCL’s advertising efforts assisted in the attendance level. This program indicated that patrons are responsive to alternative-format authors. This influenced HCL’s decision to offer a food writers program in the spring.

Editor’s note: Inspired by this month’s feature article, Meeting Needs and Making a Difference: Outcomes Based Planning and Evaluation, Johannah Genett, Senior Programming Librarian at Hennepin County (Minn.) Library, wrote to share some recent programs and their evaluations at her library. Here’s the first of two blog posts; read the second blog post on some successful talk programs held in December.

In fall 2011, Hennepin County Library (HCL), Minneapolis, offered a variety of workshops on science, theater, and creative writing focused on providing patrons the opportunity to get hands-on experience. To keep the group size intimate, workshops were limited to twenty attendees, who were encouraged to register online.

Library Laboratory was a series of art, technology, and engineering workshops for adults. The two-hour workshops for adults featured an introduction by a guest artist and included materials and technology patrons could use in their project. Offered in collaboration with the Science Museum of Minnesota’s Learning Technologies Center, which provided the instructor and supplies, the workshops included Misfit Toys for Adults (deconstructing and rebuilding unwanted and noisy moving toys), Sensitive Machines (building a machine that responds to light and sound sensors), Glowing Clothing (LED embedded clothing and shoes), Shadow Puppet Animation (created with stop motion animation), and Folded Structures (re-creating crystal or sea shell structures that are sometimes used by architects). Seventy-five people attended five programs.

Evaluations indicated that 96 percent of attendees knew more about technology and science after attending the program, 56 percent planned to check out related library materials, and 98 percent were more likely to attend another program at the library. This program appealed to a wide age range: 32 percent were ages 18–25, 14 percent were ages 25–35, 24 percent were ages 35–45, 14 percent were ages 45–55, and 16 percent were 55+. Selected comments included “Thank you so much! I didn’t think I could ‘do’ technology”; “Outstanding program! More of these type of programs”; “More adult hands on programs would be great”; and “fun, relaxed, very, very valuable to me! Thank you!” HCL plans to continue the Library Laboratory brand with new topics such as bike maintenance and homemade cleansers and soaps.

In collaboration with the Guthrie Theater, which provided instructors and supplies, HCL offered twenty-five workshops with separate programs for children, teens, and adults. Topics included how to tell a story, acting games for beginners, introduction to Shakespeare, and stage combat. More than two hundred patrons attended.

Evaluations indicated that 98 percent of adults and teens and 89 percent of children knew more about theater and acting after attending, 62 percent of teens and adults and 42 percent of children planned to check out related library materials, and 56 percent of teens and adults and 92 percent of kids tried acting at the program. Selected comments included “This was a lot of fun! I was hesitant about being embarrassed and not ‘very good’ but we all felt empowered to say ‘yes’ and try new things”; “This is a very good opportunity for beginners to get a feel for acting”; and “I loved moving around and the twists with books! Thank you!” HCL plans to continue this collaboration with a fresh slate of workshops in summer 2012.

First Pages was a series of twenty-three writing workshops offered in collaboration with the Loft Literary Center, the nation’s largest and most comprehensive literary center, which provided instructors. Classes were offered to a variety of ages. Topics for adults included capturing life-changing experiences, creative writing for the business writer, poetry, creative writing for book lovers, getting published, time-management for authors who are parents, writing for children, editing, and memoirs. Teen classes included flash fiction and poetry. A character creation class for children was also offered. One hundred and thirty-six patrons attended.

Evaluations revealed that 100 percent of teens and adults received encouragement to continue their writing, and that 83 percent of children were more excited about writing after attending. Ninety-five percent of teens and adults learned a new tool to improve their writing skills or process, and 92 percent of children learned something new that will improve their writing. Sixty-two percent of teens and adults and 25 percent of children planned to check out related library materials. Selected comments included “Thanks! I’m appreciative of the time and effort to come alongside aspiring, but novice writers” and “I really liked how [the instructor] talked about the characters and was supportive.” HCL plans to continue this collaboration with a fresh slate of workshops in spring 2012. New workshops for adults will include selecting a literary agent, overcoming writer’s block, and tapping your journal for ideas. Teen and children programs will include careers in writing, fan fiction, and spoken word poetry. Additional advertising will be pursued to strengthen attendance.

The American Library Association (ALA) Public Programs Office, the Tribeca Film Institute (TFI), and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) are pleased to announce America’s Music: A Film History of Our Popular Music from Blues to Bluegrass to Broadway, a six-week series of public programs featuring documentary film screenings and scholar-led discussions of twentieth-century American popular music. Libraries and non-profit organizations related to music and music history may apply online by March 14 to receive a $2,500 grant to support the program series.

The program for libraries and other non-profit organizations is offered though collaboration with TFI and NEH, in consultation with the Society for American Music (SAM). America’s Music will introduce genres of twentieth-century American popular music that are deeply connected to the history, culture, and geography of the United States. Older and younger Americans alike will have the chance to recognize how the cultural landscape that they take for granted today has been influenced by the development of the popular musical forms discussed in this series. The six sessions focus on these uniquely American musical genres: blues and gospel, Broadway, jazz, bluegrass and country, rock ’n’ roll, mambo, and hip hop.

Applicants for America’s Music: A Film History of Our popular Music from Blues to Bluegrass to Broadway must register their institution at Grants.gov. Prospective applicants are advised to register as soon as possible, as the process can take up to two weeks to complete.

Fifty libraries and non-profit organizations will be selected to participate in the national initiative and receive a programming grant of $2,500; a full set of the DVDs for the series, including public performance rights; and programming and promotional support materials and resources from ALA and TFI for the duration of the project. The selected sites will be required to designate an appropriate project scholar, who will act as a moderator for the project. All programs must be open to the public. Applications that incorporate local partnerships and supplemental programming are strongly encouraged.

“Calendar in the Sky” is a NASA-funded project led by the UC Berkeley Center for Science Education at the Space Sciences Laboratory to engage the American public in NASA science (space exploration, astronomy, planetary and Earth sciences, etc.) via the broad interest in Maya culture.

This project emphasizes the interplay of science and culture embodied by Maya calendars and addresses misconceptions about the Maya. It also uses NASA resources to inform the public about the astronomical basis of the Maya calendar system and dispels misconceptions about the year 2012.

We are providing free professional development trainings for informal educators to:

• increase their familiarity with “Calendar in the Sky” topics and resources;
• learn about and share best practices in public programming for Latinos in informal settings;
• get ideas for an informal education event or program around astronomy, Maya culture, and the year 2012; and
• create opportunities for networking between participants (especially with Latino community members), allowing for future interactions and/or collaborations.

These trainings are intended for informal educators from a broad range of venues: museums, science centers, community leaders, parks, astronomical societies, Latino cultural organizations, libraries, etc. During the workshop, participants will interact with experts in NASA science and Maya astronomy and culture.

These two-day workshops will be held as follows:

• Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum, Chicago, IL, January 27–28, 2012 (apply by January 16, 2012)
• Miami Science Museum, Miami, FL, February 9–10, 2012 (apply by January 20, 2012)
• Arizona Science Center, Phoenix, AZ, February 24–25, 2012 (apply by February 3, 2012)
• Space Center Houston, Houston, TX, March 9–10, 2012 (apply by February 17, 2012)

Lunch and snacks will be provided. The workshops are free of charge, and we are accepting participants by application. Travel funding is not available, and we will be giving preference to local applicants. Apply for a workshop.

This month, EDSITEment remembers Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., explores President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, offers lessons for teaching civics through stories, celebrates the Chinese New Year, looks back at 1968, and takes a trip through the looking glass.

Martin Luther King Jr.

On the third Monday of January, Americans celebrate the life and achievement of one of our most respected citizens—Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. King was a leading force in the drive for civil rights in the United States, and he showed through words and actions that non-violent, persistent activism can achieve tremendous results by appealing to the moral conscience of Americans. “I Have a Dream: Celebrating the Vision of Martin Luther King Jr.” has a number of resources, activities, and lesson plans to help teachers, students, parents, and caregivers understand the impact Dr. King had—and continues to have—upon our country and the global efforts towards peace and civil rights.

Also read about the dedication of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial and find more lesson plans related to Dr. King.

The Emancipation Proclamation

While the Civil War began as a war to restore the Union, not to end slavery, by 1862 President Abraham Lincoln came to believe that he could save the Union only by broadening the goals of the war. The Emancipation Proclamation is generally regarded as marking this sharp change in the goals of Lincoln’s war policy. Under his authority as the Commander in Chief, President Lincoln proclaimed the emancipation, or freeing, of the enslaved African Americans living in the states of the Confederacy that were in rebellion.

The Proclamation was, in the words of Frederick Douglass, “the first step on the part of the nation in its departure from the thralldom of the ages.” Through examination of the original document, related writings of Lincoln, and little-known, first-person accounts of African Americans during the war, “The Emancipation Proclamation: Freedom’s First Steps” explores the obstacles and alternatives we faced in making the journey toward “a more perfect Union.”

Ten Stories that Teach Civics

How can we produce citizens who are thoughtfully and knowledgeably attached to our country, devoted to its ideals, and eager to live an active civic life? Studying our documents and learning our history can surely help. But stories are even better. Over the course of this year, EDSITEment will be showcasing a series of innovative lessons that use classic American short stories to teach civics in “The Meaning of America: A New Approach to Civic Education.”

“The Meaning of America” is a new curriculum for civic education developed by Leon R. Kass, M.D., Addie Clark Harding Professor Emeritus in the Committee on Social Thought and the College at the University of Chicago, and Amy A. Kass, Senior Lecturer Emeritus College of the University of Chicago. It is based on the anthology What So Proudly We Hail: The American Soul in Story, Speech, and Song, which takes a literary approach to making citizens—one centering on stories and supplemented by great public speeches and patriotic songs.

Chinese New Year

The Year of the Dragon arrives on January 23. Occupying the fifth position in the lineup of “Animals of the Chinese Zodiac,” the Dragon is the mightiest of the signs … a symbol of power and strength as well as good luck! Also check out “Lions, Dragons, and Nian: Animals of the Chinese New Year” to find out why dragons are included in Chinese New Year parades and more.

The 1968 Exhibit

As we usher in 2012, we ask: Is America likely to repeat events that transpired back in 1968, a turning point for a generation coming of age and a nation at war? Travel back through this NEH-funded 1968 timeline to find out more about the relentless, culture-shifting, life-changing, and memory-stamping events of that year.

Alice in Wonderland

“Oh dear! Oh dear! Don’t be late!” Take “A Trip to Wonderland: The Nursery Alice,” back to Victorian “Childhood Through the Looking Glass,” and then “Size up Alice!” with EDSITEment’s updated Alice in Wonderland collection.

January is Financial Awareness Month, so what better time to highlight the New York Public Library’s (NYPL) financial literacy programs for all types of audiences, including entrepreneurs, college students, those looking into mutual funds, children, those looking for tax tips, home buyers, and retirees. Some of NYPL’s Money Matters programs include:

• Business Start-up Resources and Services: Entrepreneurs will have access to a variety of resources for business planning, market research, expanding, research, and assistance.
• Tax Talks: H&R Block will be hosting information on why it is important to file taxes, necessary forms, and much more. With tax season approaching, it is a good idea to get started early!
• Home Buyer Workshop: Participants will receive information on budgeting, using credit, obtaining a mortgage, shopping for a home, the appraisal and inspection process, the mortgage closing, and life as a homeowner. Those that participate in this workshop may qualify for federal, state, or local government or private mortgage programs.
• Investment Choices: What Is Right for Me?: This program is designed to help future investors focus on their goals, recognize potential risks and rewards of different investments, teach basic information about different asset types, and help match individual goals to investment choices.
• Planning for Retirement and College: Participants will learn a variety of tax-advantaged accounts that individuals can set up to help them acquire the nest egg necessary for retirement and college-bound children.
• Raising Financially Responsible Children: This seminar will discuss the importance of raising financially responsible children. Tips and ways to teach children about money will be emphasized. Attendees will discover age-appropriate ways to help children earn and appreciate their allowance, develop good saving and investing habits, know the difference between wants and needs, become disciplined shoppers, and more.
• Financial Empowerment Day: There will be a variety of classes focused on mortgages, investments, the financial future of your parents, starting your own business, retirement planning, social security, and more. Certified financial planners will also be available for private sessions. In addition, resources to assist with personal finances will be demonstrated by staff. There will also be financial information from organizations such as the Securities & Exchange Commission, the Social Security Administration, SCORE, and the Better Business Bureau.

These programs and others are of NYPL’s Financial Literacy Central at the Science, Industry, and Business Library (SIBL). Patrons can also set up free appointments with financial advisers, receive free credit crisis coaching, get help with filing their taxes, and access financial databases.

The library is also offering the New York StartUP! 2012 Business Plan Competition for New York–based startup entrepreneurs, with cash prizes totaling more than $30,000. The third annual New York StartUp! gives aspiring entrepreneurs the opportunity to gain practical insights about starting and growing a business while learning about the comprehensive small business resources at SIBL.

Lists are an end-of-year staple, so it’s time Programming Librarian offered some of its own. I decided to compile the year’s top ten most-read feature articles and blog posts, fully expecting most (if not all) of them to be from 2011. I was delighted to discover, however, that you are still finding the wealth of information we offer on the site even if it hasn’t been highlighted on the home page in quite a while. Three of the features, and four of the blog posts, were from 2009 or 2010.

I wasn’t surprised by the topics represented in the top ten lists, however. In this economy, it seems obvious that librarians would be searching for ways to advocate for their libraries, develop programs on a budget, and receive free programming kits. And, of course, until the Twilight frenzy finally wears off, vampires will be a hot topic.

Without further ado, here are our most-read feature articles for 2011:

• Boost Survey Results with Carefully Crafted Questions

• Collaboration @ Your School Library
• Copyright Tips for Programming Librarians: Public Performance Rights
• Copyright Tips for Programming Librarians: Storytimes
• Film Programming That’s Off the Wall
• Get in the Loop!: How Library Students Can Use Programming Librarian
• Getting the Word Out: A Crash Course in Program Marketing
• The Language of Collaboration: Connecting Zoos, Libraries, and Poetry for Environmental Awareness
• Making the Case for Library Programming
• Programming on a (Long, Colorful) Shoestring

And our top ten most-read blog posts:

• Apply Now for a Free Moon Viewing Kit
• Are the Programs Your Library Offers the Programs Your Community Wants?
• Create Your Own Space Exhibitions (with Help from NASA)
• Going for the Jugular: Programming and Vampires
• Launch Your Library into Space Science!
• New for December [2010] at EDSITEment
• Q&A with Beth Prindle, Curator of John Adams Unbound
• Share Your National Library Week Programming Ideas
• Sneak Preview of Not In Our Town Documentary at ALA Annual
• Teen Read Week Photo Contest Launched

Thank you to all of you who continue to visit our site. Have a wonderful new year full of interesting, innovative, and well-attended programs!

The year is nearly over, but I couldn’t let it pass without taking the opportunity to thank all of the people who contributed such wonderful features to Programming Librarian in 2011:

• Jo Anderson Cavinta, Diversity Coordinator for the King County (Wash.) Library System (Partnering to Serve Immigrants and ESL Learners)
• Patti Van Tuyl, Senior Program Officer, Special Initiatives, for the National Endowment for the Humanities (Talking About the Civil War and Emancipation)
• Paul Kauppila, Reference/Instruction Librarian at Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library, San Jose State University (Programming with Grant Funds in the Academic Library: Lessons Learned)
• Reginald Harris, Poetry in the Branches Coordinator for Poets House (The Language of Collaboration: Connecting Zoos, Libraries, and Poetry for Environmental Awareness)
• Colleen Leddy, Director of Stair Public Library in Morenci, Michigan (Programming on a [Long, Colorful] Shoestring)
• Julie McDaniel, a Librarian at Urbana University’s Swedenborg Memorial Library in Urbana, Ohio (Getting the Word Out: A Crash Course in Program Marketing)
• Andrea Lapsley, Director of Development, University Libraries, Colorado State University, Fort Collins (Navigating the World of Publishers for Author Programs)
• Annie Tully, Coordinator of One Book, One Chicago at the Chicago Public Library (All Together Now: One Book, One Community Programs)
• Paul Smith, Communications Specialist for the Kansas City Public Library (Film Programming That’s Off the Wall)
• Kathy Dempsey, Editor of Marketing Library Services newsletter and Marketing Consultant at Libraries Are Essential (Boost Survey Results with Carefully Crafted Questions)
• Adam Davis, Director, Project on Civic Reflection (Libraries and Democratic Life: Promoting Civic Engagement)
• Carrie Russell, Director, Program on Public Access to Information, for the ALA Office for Information Technology Policy and author of Complete Copyright: An Everyday Guide For Librarians (Copyright Tips for Programming Librarians: Storytimes)

I also must thank our blog contributors, who rescued you, dear reader, from having to read blog posts written only by me twice a week: Nancy Alima Ali, John Amundsen, Angela Thullen Baker, Catherine Bayles, Michael Cherry, Christopher Czajka, Jennifer Dominiak, Jeana Elizondo, Christina Endres, Tracy Englert, Jennifer Habley, Scott Hairston, Larry Halverson, Daniela Hudson, Barbara Jones, Jillian Kalonick, Carole Kiehl, Stephanie Kuenn, Keliann LaConte, Andrea Lapsley, Cheryl Malden, Amy Schlumpf Manion, Elizabeth Markel, Marsha McDevitt-Stredney, Megan McFarlane, Libby McInerny, Gay Mohrbacher, Lauren Mueller, Shelley NiTuama, Susan Opasik, Jennifer Peterson, Dan Rude, Amy Sargent, Daniella Scalice, Stephanie Shipp, Charles Wilt, and Steve Zalusky.

We’d love to see your name on our lists for 2012! Visit our contribute page to find out how you can see share on Programming Librarian, or email me to find out more.