Building Great Programs for Patrons in Their 20s and 30s

Presented by Katie LaMantia & Emily VinciOctober 21, 2015

Before we get started…

Happy Back to the Future Day!

Officially established October 2013 and gaining momentum ever since.

Let’s start with a question...

Does your library currently have programs that cater specifically to the

20s-30s demographic?

Getting Started❖Defining the Demographic❖Defining your Mission and Goals❖Reaching all genders and programming themes

Who are Millennials/New Adults?❖ Wide range of life experiences and current situations: graduations,

establishing careers, marriages, births, relocations, etc.

❖ Comfortable with technology

❖ An established social scene

❖ Developed means of exploring their interests

❖ Want a social element to their activities

❖ Born after Gen X

❖ Broadly defined as reaching young adulthood around the year 2000

Traditional Library ProgrammingKids

Teens

Adults/Seniors

Mission and GoalsWe want…❖ patrons of all ages to see the library as a place for

them in the community. ❖ all patrons to view the library as relevant to their

lifestyle.❖ to provide social opportunities as well as

opportunities for personal growth and fulfillment.

Reaching all gendersInclude a variety of programming to appeal to many interests:

● Crafting

● Gaming

● Movie Night

● Home Brewing

● DIY Home Repairs

● Financial Planning

Themes to considerPop Culture/Entertainment

• Oscar Night • Karaoke

Education/Personal Growth

• Money Smart Week• Fitness Fair

DIY/Crafts

• UnValentine’s Day• CrafterWork

NextGen Programs❖The Nostalgia Factor❖DIY and Crafting ❖Education and Personal Development❖Getting Out of the Library❖Strategic Timing❖Series

The Nostalgia FactorDon’t discount the power of nostalgia.

Basing programs on the pop culture of this demographic’s childhood is a great way to appeal to and

involve a wide variety of people.

Nostalgia/Pop Culture Resources●Buzzfeed

●Huffington Post

●Reddit

●Jezebel

●Tumblr

●Pinterest

*Patron and staff interest*

90s Halloween Throwback★ Pumpkin painting

★ DIY dirt cups

★ Goosebumps★ Fruit Roll-Ups, Gushers,

Fruit-by-the-Foot

★ Trick-or-Treating candy assortment

80s Halloween Throwback to the Future

★ Watching Back to the

Future II

★ 80s board games

★ Making scrunchies

★ Trick-or-Treating candy game

Preschool for Adults ★ Fingerpainting

★ Shrinkydinks

★ Playdoh

★ Legos

★ Coloring books

★ Spirographs

★ Juice boxes, animal crackers, pudding cups

Preschool for Adults

Say cheese!

B(ring) Y(our) O(wn) G(ame or system)

★ After-school snack assortment

★ Participants brought a variety of board games as well as game systems and video games

DIY and CraftingThere’s virtually no end to

the different kinds of crafting and/or DIY programs

that you can hold. These kinds of programs are great for providing a fun, creative atmosphere that encourages participants to share and get

to know one another.

CrafterWork ★ Relaxed, social atmosphere

★ Patrons were free to bring their own crafts to work on

★ We also provided various craft supplies

UnValentine’s Day★ Combined crafting -

making unValentines and worry dolls

★ And activities - a piñata and smashing candy hearts

DIY Terrarium Workshop ★ Educational, but

messy, crafty and fun

★ Incorporate into DIY/Crafting or office decor

★ Participants were able to leave with a finished product at no cost to them

Education and Personal DevelopmentOpportunities for education and personal development are important for patrons of all ages. Creating programming for patrons in their 20s and 30s, however, does bring with it different kinds of education and personal development programming that can be as broad or as specific as fits your community and the people in it.

Kombucha★ Instructor-led information

session about the health benefits of kombucha and how to brew it at home

★ Demonstration of the process while allowing for tons of questions and participant interaction

★ Due to interest, we opened this program to anyone 18+

Money Smart Week

★ First time renter

★ First time homebuyer

★ Deciphering financial information

Adult Milestones

Fitness Fair and Self- Defense Class

★ Partner with local fitness centers

★ New Year’s resolution for healthy living and exercise

★ Community event

Getting out of the libraryIn addition to meeting our patrons where they are in terms of social media and digital outreach, we also

need to meet them where they are in the community. If the members of this demographic are not spending a lot of their time at the library, we can’t necessarily expect them to come to us for programming. Instead,

we take the programs to them.

Strategic TimingWork, family, friends take precedence

Experiment with days/times- gauge your community, ask for feedback from your patrons

Try after-hours programming, like a Saturday night

Community PartnershipsAnother plus to holding your programs outside of

the library is the strengthened community partnerships that can come as a result of doing so.

Whether you’re holding Trivia Night at a local pub or teaming up with a local winery to hold a tour a

tasting, opportunities abound to create programming that benefits your patrons, your

program, and local businesses.

Lynfred Winery

Tour & TastingNovember 2013

Junk Food and Wine PairingJune 2014

Lynfred Winery

Beer MarketTour & TastingJune 2015

Cupcake Decorating at Michaels Arts & Crafts★ Held on a weeknight at a

local craft store

★ Taught by an employee of the store

★ We purchased cupcakes and supplies

★ Participants got to leave with a finished product

Are You Afraid of the Dark?★Fall Night

★Bonfire

★Storyteller

★Creepy walk in the woods

★Crafts

★S’mores and hot cider

Camp NextGen★ Summer afternoon

★ Storyteller

★ Board games

★ Crafts

★ Snacks!

★ Scavenger hunt

★ Outdoor games

SeriesCreating a programming series enables you to provide consistent, reliable programs with a set date and location. Participants know when and

where to expect these programs and are thus likely to keep coming back. Having an established

audience for your series programs can be particularly helpful for promoting your stand-alone

programs.

Trivia❖ Partner with a local restaurant

or bar

❖ Create trivia answer sheets

❖ Write trivia questions- use a trivia board game, online generator, etc.

Trivia can be done in many different ways, here’s how we run ours:❖ 6 rounds, 5 questions in each

round

❖ Round 1- each question is worth 1 point, Round 2- 2 points, etc.

❖ Bonus Round- wager total

Young(ish) Adult Book Club❖ Bi-monthly❖ Books available 1 month

prior to program❖ Alternate genres❖ Incorporate other events-

viewing film adaptations

Questions?

What interests and hobbies do you have that would make a good 20s/30s program?

- Share your thoughts in the chat

Now a question for you…

Marketing, results, and outcomes

❖Marketing & promotion❖Budget❖Measuring outcomes

MarketingHow will you reach this demographic?

Promoting your programs through your standard library newsletter and website is a start, but consider also where your demographic spends a good deal of

their time online - social media.

BrandingCreating branding for your 20s and 30s programming isn’t absolutely necessary - especially if you’re planning to hold these kinds of programs only sporadically, but it can be helpful in distinguishing your programs as unique and set apart from the rest of the library programs.

Social MediaFacebook Group vs. Page● Group allows all members to

contribute● Posts show up as

notifications vs. not all page posts showing up in a person’s newsfeed

● Being added to a group by an administrator vs. “liking” a page

Other social media to consider: Goodreads, Instagram, Pinterest

➔ contact information

➔ links to social media

➔ feed from library calendar with upcoming programs

➔ link to sign up for constant contact newsletter

➔ information about community partners

Website & Direct Email Newsletter

➔ pulled from patron database based on set age parameters (20 - 39)➔ sent during the fourth week of the month advertising the next month’s events and

programs➔ all-patron library newsletters are sent during the 1st and 3rd weeks, and we did

not want to overload people with library promotion

Working with your budget❏ Pulling from multiple budgets

❏ Pooling resources

❏ Cultivating staff talent

❏ In our case, success of NextGen programming, shown through statistics and monetary tracking led to creation of new budget line for next Fiscal Year

Measuring OutcomesHow will you measure the success of your programs? What outcomes are you hoping to see as a result of

your 20s and 30s programming?

Statistics and Breakdowns❖Sign in sheet

➢ Name

➢ Age

➢ How did you hear about this program?

➢ Email

❖Post-program surveys

Post-program Sample Survey

Program breakdowns and results Keep track of time and money spent: planning, marketing, setup, length of event, etc.Communicate back to management the results of program, age breakdownsDon’t discount the power of qualitative comments

Lessons Learned and Positive Outcomes

Out of the demographic“Because the goal of this programming group is to provide unique programming for people in the 20-39 age group, we prefer not to have anyone outside of this age range, including young children, attend our events. If you feel you have special circumstances and would like us to reconsider, please let us know.”

● With support from management, this was the policy we initially enforced

● Not dissimilar from YS and Teen having strict age restrictions on their programs

● As the programs have grown, however, we continue to target 20s and 30s demographic, but do not enforce an age policy.

● Collaboration with other programmers in the library

Adults Facing Social Challenges From our very first program, we have had participation turnout from patrons on the Autism spectrum and others who face social challenges. After receiving feedback from parents of adults on the spectrum, we researched the needs of these adults in our community and reached out to organizations in the communtiy to see what needs we could fill.

NextGen AFSC Launched in December 2014 Programs held once a month

and attended by at least one professional from one of our community partners

Partners include Alexian Brothers Autism Spectrum and Developmental Disorders Resource Center, Harper College Career Skills Institute, and Northwest Special Recreation Association

NextGen AFSC Casual, low-stress Emphasis on social

interaction in a space that feels safe

Programs have included crafts, board/video games, a genre discussion, drawing class, green screen workshop and a dating rules/etiquette information session

Staff Involvement

- New to the Area- Social Opportunities- Post-College Life

Transition from Teens to Adults

Teens aging out of teen services want to continue attending programs with members of their peer group.

Final Thoughts● Numbers don’t always matter, especially in the

beginning. This is a great opportunity to try new things and see what sticks.

● Some programs will fail, and you might for awhile like you’re constantly having to tweak things and readjust.

● Patron feedback can be hugely helpful in deciding what direct to steer in next.

A Year of Programming for Millennials and More

Amy J. Alessio, Katie LaMantia, and Emily Vinci

American Library Association

Additional ResourcesFacebook Groups:

• Millennial Programming Ideas• ALA Think Tank• Programming Librarian Interest Group

Anythink Libraries, Colorado https://www.anythinklibraries.org/ Sacramento Public Library’s alt+library http://altlibrary.com/

Contact InformationKatie LaMantia Emily Vinciklamantia@stdl.org evinci@stdl.org

schaumburglibrary.org/nextgen facebook.com/groups/nextgenschaumburg/nextgen@stdl.org

Questions?

Thank you for attending!

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