Assessment
Programs will be assessed by visitor count comparisons before, during, and after each event. We'll also have quick exit surveys available for patrons from note cards to colored chips dropped in bowls with labels for options like good, needs improvement, and bad. This kinds of options for both quick and detailed feedback that we can use to edit our upcoming programs as needed to encourage more patron visits. Simply having those options for feedback available should also help our standing with the community because it will be obvious that we are trying to better our programs for there use.
Conclusion
Creating a program for any public space from scratch is never easy. Leaders must build their programs with an eye to what the community needs and wants, as well as knowing what can work and what probably won't work. Any program created needs to have the ability to adapt to changing needs of the community as well as the changing availability of staff. For example, I created the October face painting event with an eye towards reaching out to the community college theatre program and working with their make-up teacher. This is based on my own, personal experience in theatre arts as well as collaboration techniques learned over time. Creating these relationships means that each side gets something to help them. In the case of face painting, the library gets a fun program for kids while the students in the community college get practice working on their skills and the teacher gets both an assignment for her students and something to report back to her faculty head for future notes in her CV. Should this teacher leave, then the program may not be able to continue and adjustments will need to be made for the future.
Overall, I have learned a great deal from this assignment, especially with regards to just how much is needed. I only scratched the surface of the kinds of programs that can be offered and how often the library needs to provide them. Storytimes did not seem like a huge task before this course. Originally, I had thought that librarians grabbed a few books on a similar theme and went from there, but knowing the planning that goes into these kinds of programs, especially when they are offered multiple times a week, seems daunting. One has to wonder about repetition over time and the effects of that repetition on regular visitors. I definitely have much more respect for children's librarians than I had before (and I already respected them quite a bit before this).
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