Subject: Final Project Proposal
February 22, 2010
Re: 2010 Summer Reading Program for Adults at Cyrenius H. Booth Library, Newtown,
No Man is an Island
I. Statement of Purpose:
Cyrenius H. Booth Library has a very successful summer reading program for children ages 6-10 years and a less well attended program for young adults ages 11-13 years. Currently there is no summer reading program of any kind for adults. I would like to propose that an Adult Summer Reading Program be instituted at the library, with a series of events beginning Monday, June 21st 2010 and running through Friday August 18th 2010 . The program is designed to coordinate, and in many cases overlap in a positive way, with the Children’s Summer Reading Program and the Young Adult Summer Reading Program by creating opportunities for intergenerational collaboration as well as community outreach on both a local and a global level.
II. Goals and Objectives:
Goals: For some people summer can be a great time to catch up on reading. Often there is more time to read for pleasure and it’s also a great time to try some new authors or new genres. For others there is more free time to attend some fun free programs at the library, perhaps try a new craft or recipe, get involved with a community project or meet some new people in town. There are three primary goals for the first ever Cyrenius H. Adult Summer Reading Program::
1.) Provide positive publicity for the library and get people thinking about the library as a cultural and community center.
2.) Give our community members the opportunity to have some fun, attend some quality programs, and cross paths with some new acquaintances.
3.) Collaborate with The Newtown Rotary Club on an outreach project to support relief efforts for Haiti.
Objectives: To attract 25 nonusers to the library by offering exciting events that are not necessarily literary based and to provide opportunities for intergenerational programming, an objective of our library’s long range plan.
III. Plan of Activities:
The 2010 Collaborative Adult Summer Library Program’s theme will be Water Your Mind - READ. At the Cyrenius H. Booth Library we will tweak the theme and focus on island culture and use the title No Man is an Island. Our theme will celebrate island culture focusing on the Caribbean Islands as well as the Hawaiian Islands. The Cyrenius H. Booth Library Children’s Summer Reading Program will be using Let’s Make a Splash and the focus will be on sea animals, so the programs will have some overlap and be able to share some programming. The Cyrenius H. Booth Library YA Summer Reading Program will not be using a theme, but we will also share some events with them when appropriate.
Length of Series: The Cyrenius H. Booth Library Adult Summer Reading Program will run for eight weeks with a special program/event each week and a drawing every Friday.
Drawing: To be eligible for the drawing participants will read a book, fill out a prize entry form and then put the form in a special theme related box. Readers can enter as many times as they like. The prize entry form will give readers the option of reviewing books they’ve read. Favorite titles will become part of a display, What We Read This Summer, highlighting both patron and staff favorites. This type of display is a great way to create a simple but informative Reader’s Advisory. Prizes will be goods and services donated by local businesses [free haircut, free manicure, free appetizers at a local restaurant, discount on swimming pool admission pass, discount to Lake Compounce, free kayak lessons, vouchers for books from The Book Nook (The Friends of the Cyrenius H. Booth Library run a used book store), fresh fruit from local market etc.].
Fund Raiser and Community Outreach: Eight to Eight for Haiti
A Readathon for Earthquake Relief in Haiti
On Sunday, July 18th from 8 am to 8 pm the Cyrenius H. Booth Library will host a readathon for Haiti. Organized like Relay for Life, we will have ‘readers’ in the library at two or three different stations reading for Haiti. The readers will solicit sponsor dollars either by hours read or a flat fee. All money will be funneled through the Newtown Rotary’s Haitian Relief Fund. This will be an opportunity for intergenerational cooperation, as we are hoping parents will come and read with their children. This program will be supervised by Children’s Librarian Alana Bennison and Adult Program Coordinator Kim Weber who will be volunteering. We will also use college-aged pages to help. No Library dollars will be spent on this program.
Display: It would be great to use a small boat or kayak as a display to promote the Adult Summer Reading Program. Books displayed in the boat will cover a wide range of topics, including but not limited to island themes. A display featuring staff favorites from the last six months has been successful in the past and if we did it again, I think it would be very popular.
Budget: The Friends of the Cyrenius H. Booth Library have contributed $1000 for the Summer of 2010 Adult Reading Program. $750 has been allocated from the regular Adult Program budget.
Promotion: Press releases will be sent to the Newtown Bee, Voices, and the Danbury News Times. E-blasts with the schedule of events will be sent out in early June via Constant Contact. The front page of the C.H. Booth Library Website (www.chboothlibrary.org) will feature the programs with signups available online when appropriate. All programs and events will be posted on LibraryInsight, the Cyrenius H. Booth Library’s public calendar. Flyers will be created in-house for library bulletin boards and distribution at the schools. Parents will be given the opportunity to sign up for the adult reading program when they sign up their children for the children‘s summer reading program. Bookmarks with a schedule of events will be placed in all books checked out two weeks prior to the June 21st kickoff. The program will also be discussed at the May staff meeting so staff will know about all of the events and will be able to share all of the information with patrons. Word-of-mouth is often the best advertising method.
IV. Timeline for Preparation:
By April 15th - All programs will be booked. Contracts signed and returned to performer(s). Copies to the bookkeeper. List of any special requirements for room set up to custodian.
By May 15th - Al press releases written, flyers made, and drafts to the webpage created. Staff will be asked to share their new favorite titles for the display. Purchase a few extra copies of the big favorites if possible.
By May 30th - June 15th - Solicitations to local businesses for prizes. Interlibrary loan copies of Waiting for Snow in Havana and Three Cups of Tea (both versions). 20 copies of each have already been reserved through the Connecticut Humanities Council.
June 1 - Posters distributed in library and to schools. Display of books in a boat goes up in the library.
V. Schedule of Events:
Adult and Family Events
Monday June 21st - Friday August 13th 2010
Monday, June 21 at 7PM - Kickoff for the Adult Summer Reading Program
Stories from the Islands with Rona Leventhal
$400 (reduced price due to block booking with the Children’s Department)
Monday, June 28 - time to be determined
Kahana Hula with Tiare Kahana
$150 - intergenerational event
Monday, July 12 at 7 pm
Waiting for Snow in Havana - Author Talk with Carlos Eire
OR book discussion and lecture with Professor Julie Stern -free
Sunday, July 18 from 8 am to 8 pm
Eight to Eight for Haiti - A 12 hour readathon at C.H. Booth Library
A community outreach program in conjunction with the Newtown Rotary Club
Monday, July 19 at 7pm
Celebrating Art of the Islands - Alma Kearns
Provided free of charge - Docent from the New Britain Museum of Art
Monday, July 26 at 1 pm
Cuban Cooking Demonstration with Two Steps Café chef Tom Devine,
Supply fee -$15 limited to 20 participants
Monday, August 1 at 1pm
Intergenerational discussion of Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortensen
Liz Arneth - moderator - free
Friday, August 13 at 7pm
Reggae Night at Dickinson Park with River City Slim and the Zydecoe Hogs
Big prize drawings for all of the YA and Adult participants
Co-sponsored with Newtown Parks and Recreation Department -$200
VI. Project Advisors:
This has been, and will continue to be a collaborative effort with help from professionals and community leaders, both in and outside of the library. Children’s Librarian Alana Bennison has provided the model of running a successful reading program, offering great advice on how to tailor this series for adult participants. Library Director Janet Woycik, YA Librarian Margaret Brown, Library Volunteer and Book Discussion Leader Julie Stern, Museum Docent Alma Kearns, Rotarian and Newtown Savings Bank President Brian Amey, and Parks and Recreation Director Amy Mangold have all helped with the planning of the this exciting project, and will continue to be key players in the months ahead.
VII. Narrative Summary: What I Expect to Learn
From this project I hope to learn how to run a successful Summer Reading Series for Adults. I am looking forward to coordinating efforts with the Newtown Parks and Recreation Department for a fun and entertaining town concert with River City Slim and the Zydecoe Hogs. I am also very excited to partner with the Newtown Rotary Club for the Outreach Program, Eight to Eight for Haiti. I think everyone is going to appreciate the opportunity to raise some money for such an important cause. I also feel that by collaborating with the Rotary Club we can be confident that the money the readers earn will go to a reliable and legitimate agency.
Annotated Biography:
Eire, Carlos. Waiting for Snow in Havanana, New York: The Free Press, 2003.
A memoir of growing up in Havana, Cuba in the sixties during Fidel Castro’s rise to power, this a beautifully written and very discussable book with themes that will appeal to a diverse audience.
Findlay, Diane and Patti Sinclair. Water Your Mind READ 2010 Collaborative Summer Library Program Adult Manual : CSLP, 2010.
This manual provides a nice framework for planning a summer reading program including preparation, promotion, program suggestions as well as resources, samples and templates for bookmarks, and book logs.
Luau and Cultural Dance Entertainment with Tihane Kahana, http://kahanahula.com/.
Tihane Kahana’s website provides a biography, description of the hula program and photographs that may be used for publicity.
Mortensen, Greg and David Oliver Relin. Three Cups of Tea: one Man’s Mission to Promote Peace one School at a Time. New York City: Penguin, 2007.
This popular book tells mountain climber, Greg Mortensen’s story as a one man peace creating mission trip and his inspired project of bringing schools to Afghanistan. A discussable book with wide appeal for a multi-generational group.
Mortensen, Greg and David Oliver Relin. Adapted By Sarah Thomson. One Man’s Journey to Change the World, One Child At A Time(The Young Reader‘s Edition). New York: Penguin Young Reader’s Group: New York City, 2009.
The junior version of Greg Mortensen’s widely popular book by the same name. This edition has a good study guide and discussion questions.
River City Slim and the Zydecoe Hogs, http://www.zydecohogs.net/hogsched.html
The website for the Zydecoe Hogs. Includes a press kit with photos of the band and bios for publicity
Rona Tales with Rona Leventhal, http://www.ronatales.com/
Rona Leventhal, Interactive Educator, Creative Movement & Drama professional’s website provides information on the performer and has photos which may be used for publicity purposes.
Three Cups of Tea Website, http://www.threecupsoftea.com/
Biographical information on the author and his mission work in Afghanistan plus good study guides for leading the book discussion.
Two Steps Downtown Grill,
http://www.ciaocafetwosteps.com/twosteps/twosteps_cookingclasses.html
Good information on the restaurant and some photographs that may be used for publicity purposes.