Blog

You’re likely focused on engaging your patrons, but what about empowering them as well? Since patrons know better than anyone else (including library staff!) what they want, we have three suggestions for ways to provide your patrons with the means, knowledge and skills to take advantage of the wealth of resources your library has to offer them.

If you’re going to extend your library’s reading program beyond the summer, you’re going to need even more engaging challenges to keep the excitement going. To help, we’ve come up with 20 fun ideas that you can easily implement. Read on to get inspired!

How would you finish this sentence? “My library ________.” Librarians who visited the Demco Software booth at the 2018 Public Library Association conference answered this question and took it one step further, expanding on the ways their libraries engage and make a positive difference in their communities. Read on for a sampling of the many ways libraries across the country are connecting with and supporting their communities, and prepare to be inspired!

Connecting the dots between cognitive health and the programs you offer can help reinforce the value your library brings to your community. Read these programming tips submitted by librarians to gain more ideas for driving health initiatives in your own library.

ALA’s “2018 State of America’s Libraries” report details current trends in libraries and the public’s perception of them. Keep reading to find three actionable insights we’ve identified based on those trends to help your library engage your community like never before.

Though you invest a substantial amount of passion, time and effort into your programming, your community members might be missing out simply because they don’t know what they’re missing! To help address this, we’ve collected five tips to help you increase your community’s library awareness. Read on for ideas to help you plan your library outreach and increase your community engagement.

Your library has long focused on engaging your community, which means you’re uniquely situated to contribute to this effort to promote health literacy. Read on for more insight into how libraries like yours are doing their part and for inspiration about how you can join in on this important work.

Uncertainty around sources of funding may have your library worried about spending money on new tools, including — and perhaps especially — software. Read on for three creative ways to extend your library budget for these integral tools that can help you boost circulation and event attendance, expand your services and manage your resources.

Find fun ways to bring patrons into your library to celebrate Children’s Book Week, including ideas for intergenerational and interactive programming and tips for keeping the fun going year-round.

Health literacy is a hot topic right now, and public libraries are embracing this as an opportunity to offer a unique value to their communities. Start with this list of reputable resources that can help your library improve your community’s health and health literacy.

Have you been thinking about how you can best serve your adult population with their health needs? Learn from Marghi Merzenich of Posit Science about where brain health fits in when talking about overall health, as well as the importance of living a brain-healthy lifestyle now.

You’re committed to offering your community quality programs, and you’re working hard to engage with your patrons. How can you ensure that your efforts are paying off? By using the right tools for the job at hand. Read on for more insight into tools and strategies that will help your library programs thrive.

To help drive awareness and improve their community members’ brain health, Sterling Heights Public Library had a big idea — a yearlong Exercise Your Brain initiative, consisting of a collection of health and wellness programs designed to enhance and promote brain health.