Hello everyone and welcome to today's
webcast 5 reasons why winter is
the next summer brought to you by
Library Journal and sponsored by
Zoobean. My name is Rebecca Jozwiak
and before I hand it over to your
moderator I just have a few
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Without any further ado,
I would like to pass the baton
over to your moderator Felix,
Brandon Lloyd Co,
founder and CEO of Zoobean. Felix take it away.
Thank you. Rebecca thanks for using
my middle name to my mom would
be happy, Felix Brandon Lloyd.
I am Felix Lloyd there on the left.
And I'm joining by my my colleague
back you hate back you. Hi everybody,
how is everyone doing today?
We are both here zuben and I'm going
to give one slide to give quick
background as you may have heard
of our service being stack or if
your individual school you may know
of our newer service being bright.
We are deeply passionate about
reading challenges and it's taken us.
Some time to figure that out,
we've been around for about 5 years
and really in the last 3 years I've
understood more what that means
and where that leads us in 2018.
We did a winter reading challenge
for the first time what time
is our sponsor around 2019.
We did it again again with Mark
Cuban as a sponsor this year,
Penguin Random House,
the publisher.
Is sponsoring a challenge in
there I will talk a bit at the
end about what that involves but
we appreciate their support.
It includes Max broadly air as
one of the authors that will come
out and visit some of the winning
schools or libraries and some other
cool news to follow that said,
I'm going to lead into introducing
the rest of the team.
There's an important thing I missed out here,
though Rebecca here.
Becky it want to help moderate
the group chat and it looks like
there's a little bit happening over
there already so please continue.
We want you to share ideas,
about reading challenges about
winter and I'll try to.
Lead into that a bit more,
but Becky over there paying attention.
She'll call out questions.
She sees are important points there
and in the Q&A and in the mean time
I want to introduce our speakers.
More importantly than us.
Some of our clients.
Sarah April Lashaun, Hey,
Sarah, how you doing?
Doing great
glad to be here.
Thanks Sarah and could you tell
the group of the basics of euro
listed right there assistant
director Suffolk Public Library.
I'm going to ask you this question that
you know it's coming So what is your?
Favorite books of all time.
Is such an impossible question for librarian?
So I'll just say I've been
reading a lot of romance lately?
So maybe not. My favorite of all time,
but my favorite recently is the
kids question by cell info N.
OK, I do not know that I don't
rely romance. That's awesome.
It's also in April, there with you.
I am April April guys you guys
may see is the early childhood.
Senior librarian itself with Public Library.
April how 'bout you favorite books. Well
my hair book of all time is to
kill a mockingbird by Harper Lee.
But my favorite book.
I read this year is the poet
X by Elizabeth OS Tomato. I
know these books,
I know these boxes are good
works Alright Goodnight, Anna,
Sean how 'bout you push on how you doing?
I'm just fine. Hello Sean,
same question you guys are Shawn's
Youth Services librarian at the
Maryland State Library for the blind
and physically handicapped will talk
more about her in her role shortly
but what about your favorite book. Was
a former school librarian?
I love this book for read aloud
and it's a picture book is called?
Martina the beautiful cockroach is a
Cuban folk tale and then the story.
There's this beautiful cockroach
write her grandmother gives her
some solid advice of how to find
the reputable suitor for her by by
giving her the advice of spilling
coffee on the suitors shoes.
She would find the true love of her life
so you gotta read the book is very fun.
And exciting in the kids love it.
I love it. I don't know
I never heard of that and you
know picture books without world.
That's awesome. That's awesome well.
But thank you guys for sharing and attendees.
You'll hear more from from all
three of the ladies there shortly.
But if you have a second you know
really trying to get this to an
egg only please share with us.
The basics, especially the Top line.
We wanted to know if you're
from a school library,
which are role is that hope was better
understand you know who's here and maybe
point some of our points more sharply
in the direction of your role and what?
Will be of interest so if you
can share your school libraries?
What you do where you are that's great
and if you're bold and don't worry too
much about we won't hold you to it.
Let us know your favorite book and we'll
call it out picture book growing up book.
I think for me.
It's a book called blindness
by kind assistance.
Oleszyce already flying this.
I have a MSN fiction writing in a former
life and it changed about Jose Saramago.
You wanna double prize,
but it changed my whole perspective
on what writing could be that's it.
Today's go is to talk more about
winter reading and reading challenges.
We're going to start with my giving
one or 2 initial descriptions of
what we mean by reading challenge is
sort of level set an initial except
over the course of the presentation.
Allshare 5 tips.
But I'm not a librarian by back on a teacher.
I was Washington,
DC's teacher of the year in a former
life before beginning doing this
try to bring that perspective,
but a lot of my stuff will be
informed by data that we've seen.
In the beans that platform over
the last 2 years,
will then mix it up with
Suffolk Public Library Seren.
April sharing more about their library
and their success I'll share now,
that there are two time winner reading champ.
They both won in 2018 and 2019 and
this amazing things that they'll share
and Sean will likewise share her
library had great success in their
first year last year with challenge.
If you look at the gold at the
Top again me being a teacher.
This is how we used to write.
Our objective for the day,
but we really want more than
anything is for you to walk away.
From this web and our web cast
with an idea of what even are the
type of things you should consider
when you're thinking about a winter
reading challenge or any reading
challenge and then evaluate if you
want to do on this year and of course.
Of course, being staff.
We want to be Top of mind,
but really this is not intended
to be a sales presentation.
We want to make sure it's one
that is valuable for you to walk
away with actionable items,
so you can take these learnings
and apply them to
paper. Another software a homemade solution.
Whatever makes sense.
Starting with the definition of
a reading challenge and I share
this to speak the same languages.
Maybe like obviously feelings.
We know what a reading challenges.
But I want to boldly state that in the
Top right there that reading law is not.
Or reading challenge that is tracking
your reading the one right below
it and Marie Reed Elementary,
which is one of our clients
in DC Washington DC,
a public school that is a reading
challenge because it's put tracking
toward a theme in their case.
The theme is a Panther that's their
their mascot and is put it in a
particular time for a particular
group that is what a challenge
does it take tracking reading or
activities and put it in the context
of a theme for particular group.
Over a period of time course.
Now we're talking about winter
specifically and that challenge
structure versus tracking just
tracking can help better achieve
peoples reading goals and hope the
library or school get better data.
That's the goal what it is,
and the reason for doing it.
That said,
I've there a couple fundamental questions.
I'm not going to go through in detail
here will kind of pick them up with tips.
But the questions you have to ask
with each reading challenge is when.
Who?
What and how right when you going
to run it with audiences were
grade levels with ages?
Which would type of reader
would be or participate?
How will it work or what will
you track and how you work from
prizes to marketing the training.
Those are the major questions
in the tips will break out was
that beginning with tip number 0.
Point here,
I'm going to get to know more
next if you can take a moment
in backyard and all people are
participating much in the chapter.
Please let me know it.
Looks like some cool things happening
over there an likewise in a Q&A.
So, please stop me if there's anything.
We need to call out will get the Q&A.
Shortly with suffer but if you're
running a reading challenge by
my definition about your own,
please share.
I think the group here wants to know that's
why they're here if it's a winter challenge.
All the better,
but share?
How do you track?
What grade levels do you
or what ages do you apply?
And why and how does it work the
more sharing the better and will
of course feature subject an MBA
pH along the way my first tip and
then I'll get out the way here.
A data driven tip.
The reason why we think January
is a great month to run a winter
reading challenge in 2016, we notice.
This data,
and we notice that on our platform.
The number of minutes went up
drastically in January versus December.
But you don't think December is
great a month for people to do it,
partly because of New Year's
resolution season we sink.
This picture over here is showing
that reading is the number 5
resolution for most Americans
coming into the New Year in 2018.
We ran a winter reading challenge
for the first time and look at
that huge uptick in January,
about putting more focus in it,
and not what happened last year,
interesting enough.
It carried over into February.
So the tip.
Here is the month of January is
likely better than December to
start when reading challenge will
talk about some things that happen.
During January later and February
can be an opportunity to continue
building on what you do in January.
And leverage,
especially New Year's resolution
season end in some parts of the
country it being cold and salts,
perhaps not having as much outside time
that said let's get to April and Sarah Apron,
Sarah again.
Thank you for doing this again.
This library has won 2 years in a row.
Anile Winter Reading Challenge.
They can talk about what that
means and how they did it.
Sharon April,
please you have the floor.
Thank you. Felix this is Sarah
starting us off and you can
go right into the next slide.
So we wanted to share a little
bit of our Upson Downs of
reading challenges in Suffolk.
It's been a bit of a love
hate relationship for us,
but ultimately the winter reading
program has given new life to
reading challenges in our city and
we wanted to start a sharing a little
bit about our community first so
we're in the SE corner of Virginia,
a part of the Hampton Roads area,
or flanked by more populous urban
areas on one end and rural farm
communities on the other and
septic is the fastest growing
community in the area, though,
we are strongly rooted in a proud historic.
Agricultural community
were known for peanuts,
so if you've heard of us you probably
heard of us in terms of Mister Peanut.
It's also the largest city in
Virginia in terms of land area
so in our 430 square miles.
We have more affluent suburban areas
more densely populated downtown and
roll farmland throughout so Why is
that important well all that means
that we serve a lot of different
people with different needs spread
out over a large area and the
community is rapidly changing yet.
I'm still has a small town feel,
and you'll see why that sense of
community is so important when
it comes to reading challenges.
Next slide please.
So as mentioned before our relationship
with reading challenges has been
well challenging stuff like like
most library systems had been doing
a summer reading challenge for
ever since the beginning of time.
That's what libraries do right.
But the popularity was really up and
down and when I join the library 6 years ago.
Participation was extremely low and it
just kept dropping year after year,
our guess is that people were
busy pulled in a lot of directions
over the summer and no matter what
prize we offered it just wasn't
motivating enough for people to
care about logging their reading.
So we have tried countless approaches
and ultimately, we have to face facts.
We couldn't back up the reading
challenges with data.
There are reasons.
We all claim that we do them like
preventing summer slide.
But we didn't have any data in
the back that up.
So where we really making a difference.
Also in parts of our community.
We had a pretty low parent
involvement and we really thought
a child's ability to participate.
At least the way we were doing it
and their success often hinged on
an adult being able to sign them
up help them track reading just
keeping them motivated.
And really reading challenges
were a resource hog for us,
the amount of money and people resources.
It took to set things up purchase prices
just wasn't justified by the outcomes.
So we did the unthinkable and
actually eliminate it all reading
challenges right before 2018.
We went a whole summer with
no reading challenges at
all, and we survived, but next slide.
We have washed her hands
of reading challenges.
Uh and then beans that came along and
had to turn everything on its head with
their first winter reading challenge.
We decided that this was a low stakes way for
us to test the waters again be inspected.
Most of the work for us basically
set everything up and so it really
required very few resources on our end
and it made sense at the time because
we were also looking for ways to
highlight reading in our library again.
We have gone through a re branding effort
and had really been about reorienting
ourselves and talking about learning
is more than just reading books.
But we needed to remind our community
that we did still care about
reading so we just aren't to.
Back in the reading challenges
and something really clicked.
This new approach that wasn't just
about individual goals and prizes,
but rather was about community struck
a chord in Suffolk and energize
our town around reading again.
So April is going to talk about
what we actually did next slide.
So hi everyone, this is April.
Ann like Sarah said.
Our first year,
accepting the winter reading challenge.
We weren't sure what kind of participation.
We would get from the community.
So we actually kept our expectations
pretty low but set high goals that
we weren't even sure was attainable.
We branded are reading program as Suffolk
reads which is a common brand here at FPL.
We set our first to your
goal in 2018 as 3000 books.
We track titles of all formats,
including.
Books e-books audiobooks the magazine.
We promoted the winter reading
program in every way possible.
There was absolutely no way a community
member was unaware of the program.
The big appeal for our community was
that the library could win money to
support our collection and program,
the community was here for it.
We offered many button made in house
on our button maker using the being
stacked provided images for each title.
That was read.
Up to 8 titles.
We went by the honor system for
the buttons and they quickly became
like Pokémon Gotta catch 'em all
title logged also entered the
reader into our Grand Prize,
drawing for an experiential price package
sample prizes included a family family.
Combo Pack for a one year membership
to the zoo and children's museum.
Something really unexpected actually
happened our first year when an
anonymous donor offered an additional
$1000 donation to our friends group.
If we not only met but exceeded
our goal like I said,
We were concerned that 3000
books was a stretch,
but that first year we
ended up reaching 8000.
In our second year,
participating we use the same
structure but we increased our roles
goal to 8000 books because after all,
they did that the year before.
And we no longer have the anonymous donor,
but our community continuously
checked in to make sure we
were on track to win that
Mark Cuban money again.
Our community hit and slightly
exceeded our goal pro tip.
We found that logging our in-house.
Storytime groups and involving
schools daycares and senior
facilities were keys to our success.
We even offered a prize the Top
performing classroom books years.
Alright next slide this is Sara again,
um we just have a few tips about what
we think really made it take cough
in Suffolk and why went to reading
really worked well for us and the
first one is marketing being affected.
A lot of the heavy lifting
by creating graphics.
Some social media content press releases,
so we put our enerji and I would
advise you to do the same in the
building off of that content and
just think about how to keep up the
momentum throughout the month or
however long you do it off for updates.
There's a widget on the beam stack page.
But I think you can do even in house
version of this with the display
like a thermometer where you show?
How many books your community has
red and people paid really close
attention to that number was going
up so think about how you can build
the excitement in anticipation.
We created short videos for social
media when we hit milestones.
We had city officials share
their favorite books,
you on the previous slides are vice
mayor with one of his favorite books.
We did guess the book quotes
social media posts.
We had staff share their favorite reads.
So just get creative be consistent
think about keeping the momentum
up the entire month.
Also really focus on the community
aspect ultimately ultimately what
we've learned is that people at
least in our community don't care
much about individual prices.
There is no way that we could afford
something big enough that would
inspire people to participate.
But people are motivated by a community goal.
The idea that they were competing against.
Other cities as well as reading to
help the library win something just
really caught on like fire here and
as April mentioned our first year,
the community.
Even got so excited a group group of
anonymous donors banded together.
And offered additional funds to the
library if we went beyond our goal
and that really got people reading.
I had one parent.
Tell me that every time,
her son read a book he declare
another dollar for the library.
So play up the community aspect.
Find out what your community cares
about and then focus on that
they might surprise you.
Our next tip of the Titan to
programming if you can build on what
you're already doing and that really
keeps the challenge in front the
front and center in peoples minds,
so in 2019.
We had a huge tech initiative
that we were launching so we tide
in our winter reading program.
The friends donated $1000 Tord Tord.
The gadget for the library
to be unveiled at our
big tech event.
If we met our community reading
goal so people read to win us.
The gadget and we were able to
purchase a drone for the librarian
launch it at our big technology fair.
But I think the biggest secret to our
success is just to make it as easy
as possible for people to participate
so of course, we use being stack.
But we have a lot of people that don't
want to do it on line no worries.
We have a bookmark that when
people check out books.
We slide it in there,
it has space for them to write down 5 books.
They can give it back to
us will log it for them.
We have paper versions of the log.
They don't want to do that.
We have people that don't want their
name attached to anything they
don't want us to create an account
for them or anything that's fine,
we set up a Jane Doe account.
For those where we can log peoples,
reading anonymously as April
mentioned we count story time reads.
We set up a program for day
cares in schools to participate.
We set up listening stations in our library,
so people could sit in and listen to part
of an audio book and help us log that title.
We had signs at all of our book drops
reminding people to log their reading.
We trained all of our staff to be a little
pushy and offered to record peoples
books for them as they returned them.
We had regions where people of
all ages read picture books.
To log those we just wanted to capture
as much of the reading happening
in our community as possible so
get creative think of ways that you
can log what reading is happening.
OK, you can go to the next slide feeling.
This is April again, so what's next
for Suffolk trees well in 2018.
We tripled our goal in 2019.
We doubled it and actually looks mentioned.
We both years were recognized that winning
library through being sack this year.
We're headed for the 3 peat.
We have set goal at a flight increase
of 9000 titles and have plans to
offer similar price packages to the
first year and of course, the button.
We also plan to offer opportunities
for our community to come into
the library for read ends and
independent reading stations,
will offer poetry readings.
An short story readings on the fly and
this actually will flow very nicely
with our twenty twenty initiative,
which is see you at the library,
which will encourage our community
to read diverse books.
We will also have programs with Penguins
aplenty this year to celebrate the
partnership with Penguin Random House.
Something really awesome that I
want to mention about being faxed
winter reading challenge is that
it inspired the way that we run our
summer reading challenge here in
Suffolk since we saw how much are
community liked working together
for a common goal in summer 2018.
We brought reading back to our
summer programming and kept that
momentum built from winter reading
by setting a community goal with more
more experiential prize packages.
We set our goal for that summer
at 8000 books,
hoping that our community could
read 1000 books.
A week and our community ended up reading
and logging 18,000 titles that summer.
We kept up stretch for that
structure for 2019 and again.
Our community exceeded it schools.
It turns out that our community just
really likes being a community of readers.
One more note about summer.
While we offered similar grand
prize packages for our readers.
We also offered.
Community Prize,
the way that being sack was for winter
reading what you're seeing with the
big colorful powder that is ROK color run.
We called it the color blast
is how we ended our summer.
Carnaval basically everyone
that participated in summer.
Reading got to come to the Carnival
and throw the colorful powder it
made for great marketing and photos
it was overall just fantastic.
Basically be infects winter reading
challenge really shaped our
view of reading challenges.
We realized that it was far better
to focus on being a community of
readers that an individual prices.
That's all we
have you bring? Yeah, hope so.
I certainly have some so guys.
I I didn't say this before, but please.
Now it is so much great activity
happening in a group chat and I'm
trying to make sure that I focused.
Indiana this in April and Sarah
so I'm not reading it as much.
But Becky please.
I know you're moderating over there.
Let us know anything that is
interesting to share and people if
you're not looking in a group chat.
Please open up.
That window and check it out participate,
Please send in questions
you may have right now.
For for Sarah in April for example,
Saryn April 1 question.
I have for you based on just what
you describe what do you think?
Is the?
It's I know you bought some
similarities over the summer and
winter and they worked in both places.
But what do you think different
about winter versus summer
or the same but which?
How would you compare this seasons?
It differently.
What you saying
we see a different kind of participation
in winter and I think that it's
because there's less competition
for people's attention in summer.
At least around here where a tourist area.
Lots of people are traveling
were also agriculture.
So it's farming time for people.
It's really busy so that people are being
pulled in a lot of different directions.
January February February around here,
there's not a lot going on so it
created some excitement at the
time of year where there wasn't
much going on so that's what we
speculate is why it sort of took.
I'm not sure we would have had the same,
that if we tried.
This new approach straight
out the door in summer.
That makes sense so the
winter almost was a better.
Yeah, incubator for the Reading
Challenge as it was less.
Competition then during the summer,
you could put those practices in
place when it's a machine that makes
sense and let me see if there's any
questions from the group here. Yes.
Guys so yeah, I have some questions for us.
Here, a couple people in the chat or
asking about the logging methods.
So did you guys? What was your?
What was the idea that you had behind
choosing books versus minutes to
log and then they also were curious
if there are individuals in your
system who log a combination of books
and minutes or if that's something
that's different for different ages.
That's the great debate of
reading challenges right.
We just do titles and when
I started 6 years ago,
I stated minutes for kids and
then titles for other ages and the
reason it was sort of a slow change.
But simplicity that we really think
when you're doing a reading challenge.
You need to be able to explain it to your
customers and like 2 sentence is tops.
An also not give your staff a
lot of variables to think about.
So it's just easy to say lock
titles and we know there's all
sorts of complications with that
with how kids read and adults read
and it does come up in Grand Prize
drawings because our kids.
Obviously are reading a lot
more titles and adults.
But ultimately just for simplicity
in our ability to market it.
We stuck with titles and just
to piggyback off of that we did
realize because our little guys
were doing so much better.
We do have age group categories for
winners now but they're still pretty broad.
And I started our thousand books before
kindergarten program and doing titles,
there already doing that for that
program so it segues very nice into
them double dipping if you will in
both programs if we keep it titles.
I
like to let them double dip,
too gone going back.
Yeah, so I had two more questions and
some that are Chris I did this similar so
someone in the chat asked how long did
the Winter Reading Challenge run for?
Just as a double chocolate January. So we
always just do it.
The length of the month of January.
Again, it makes it really easy
to explain people don't have to
remember certain days just January.
Perfect and then I have 3,
slightly related questions about prizes.
So we have a question about what
types of prizes. Did you offer?
How did families with children
respond to the reading for prizes
option so did they find that more
reluctant readers were motivated by
the prizes or how did that affect how
the prizes help effect that and then?
What was there any conflict with
your community disappointment?
How would you have to handle
that community disappointment if
someone you know if they didn't
win that big community prize.
So what were you prepared to work
with or what were you prepared
to answer if that community
prize hadn't been ret reached.
So uhm. This may be an unpopular opinion.
This is Sarah but if it were up to me.
We would just get rid of prizes completely.
I don't think they're very motivating people.
So we've gotten rid of the original price.
The individual prices.
Those Grand Prize.
Those grand prizes because
only one person there.
One person for each category is getting them.
I'm not sure on a daily basis,
there that motivating for elected readers.
It was just sort of an extra something
to add excitement to market to it.
Let's see what were the other Oh
handling disappointment I think one
year we had a very dedicated adult
who was upset that they didn't win,
but I think no matter what you do.
That's a possibility and so you can
just be empathetic and we're sorry and
we hope you continue to participate
and think that year, a really awesome.
3 year old who reads like everything?
Why, then,
you can't really be mad at 3 year old.
So I think that's the possibility
anytime and you know, we get complaints.
Just working in public spaces.
So we're pretty adept at navigating
those conversations.
I feel like I didn't answer
the whole question now.
I think you did
it. I think you did,
good and and will come back so guys.
This this can't just keep up
this energean the questions.
Becky thanks think I never
ask your favorite book.
So you have to be ready to come in
with that in a moment I'm going
to move us on just 'cause we
have a time that we're tracking
toward a little bit over now and
I want to make sure that we get.
To Lashaun,
but let's say some of those questions.
Becky if you can make sure
that we perhaps repeat.
Some of those questions to Sean as
well as it's very similar and also
very different and will keep it moving.
I'm going to make my apportions go fast or 2,
so you can hear from librarians
and your colleagues and what
they're doing in a real world.
I'm going to again look at the
data for this to more chips.
Remember I said that when you look at
a reading challenge April and Sarah.
Thank you and come back again, please here.
But more but that was awesome.
For me, I learned a lot, so, so thank you.
As always for your your help conversation.
What I have here guys is that you
remember I said that with reading
challenges there's a question of
women who so something that we want
to emphasize outside of a school
setting even in a school setting
and I want to make sure that this
web and our web cast is not solely
Public Library focus.
We invite at Pasadena Independent
School District in Texas to
participate but of course, is right,
doing it in service time for them,
but they were excellent as
in school participation.
We can share more about that as
well to the degree that you have.
Age is a closer community include
all of them.
Where there's everybody in the school.
Everybody in community.
And when I want to point out
is 2 things here in the data.
One is a lot of our clients choose not
to collect specific ages for adults.
They would just say 18 plus
so when you look at the group.
This is on one of our servers.
Our company has 4 different servers.
We have clients.
This is looking at the server
where we have the most clients.
You can see that there was a pretty
healthy number of participants
that were adults and I want to
really call that out,
but here is what in math language
is the mode. I think again.
We had a lot of folks.
It didn't indicate an age.
But for clients that did collect ages.
When I want to focus in on
and looking at these ages.
Besides children, ages is right here.
This group be the parents with
kids and that is what we see
during the summer as well.
We see 30 something mom's not
messing up mention Ustadz as
well can be active 'cause.
It participating with their
kids so please make sure you're
giving an opportunity for Mom.
Dad on uncle to participate as well,
but notice before we get into the 20s or the
50s know the group that we got into here.
This is seniors and we don't see
that as much during the summer.
There's something that's happening during
the winter may not be surprising to you,
that let our next mode,
ages that aren't likely parents be seniors,
and I think that's really interesting
and exciting and something we
know from a summer reading report.
This is recently from GAIL Borden Public
Library that they shared with us.
Instead we could share publicly,
but notice that digital is most popular
with the group that's what this question
is asking and it often leads to people,
finishing more quickly as I said,
I'm going to move through
my slides for briskly.
So, please forgive of that was too fast
here another couple of data points.
Lots of numbers on the slide.
This shows how much logging happened each
day of January on one of our servers,
the most popular one or the most
populous one.
And I want to call out two
important data points,
one look at this date
January 16th notice to hop.
I don't know how well you
can see these numbers,
but that goes from twenty thousand books
to 50,000 with books on January 16th.
The number for minutes goes
down in those 2 days.
What we notice with book
logging first minute logging.
Is that there's more variation?
This may be intended as Sarah
note in April noted in the song
the speaker logging minutes.
But we see on average,
an 18% jump between days or with minutes.
You only see a 4% jump,
so there may be something that
suggests that minute logging is more
habitual and more consistent was book.
Logging is tone,
though this may not be good or
bad to big jumps on certain days
by the way that was a Wednesday.
January 21st was Martin King Day,
so I'm going to point.
YouTube,
the 2 numbers at the bottom this is
the average 20,600 was the average
number of books each day 735 thousand
or the average number of minutes
each day on Martin Luther King Day.
You will have a depth similar to what
we see around 4th of July during the summer.
You can decide to try to do something
about that dip introduce some new thing,
but you probably have to accept
their reading challenges get
the most energy early on,
and you kind of sustained in
the end of that average only.
4 days after Martin freaking day.
Did books and minutes surpassed the
average where between 8:00 and 12
days before Martin freaking day.
Did they surpass bookstore minutes.
One average so just to note.
There's a marking they dip for
both log types.
That's worth calling out and I'll
move on from that again trying to
move a bit more risky that said,
Lashaun are you there.
Yes, I am can you hear me well well?
Yes, I can hear you well and
thanks again for sharing?
I am going to turn it over to you.
OK hello everyone again.
I'm leshon I'm a former school teacher
3rd and 4th grade and school library
media specialists for 18 years.
I was in the education system
so I've definitely earned
my stripes and my Gray hair,
but for the last 2 years.
I've been at LBPH and I must say it
has been an exciting learning curve.
In me because I never really worked
with the visually impaired community.
It has opened my understanding
and lightning me.
Of the needs in advocating for my community.
So is nothing but rewarding
since being here at LBPH.
So let's talk a little bit about my library.
So we are part of the National Library
service for the blind in print disabled.
There is a talking book service
in every state all of our
services are free to our patrons.
An we provide everything for them from
the books and assessable formats.
Braille large print and audio
as well as all the equipment.
We are currently going under
a name change right now.
We will be aligning ourselves with
NLS so the library for the blind,
the Maryland State Library.
The blind will become the blonde
in print disabled.
We will be LBPD.
Almost sounds like we are crying
finding and keeping but but we
are all about books so.
Yes,
we are aligning ourselves to have the same
terminology across the country to service.
Those who cannot re standard print
so a little bit about our patrons.
I'm a little bit different.
I'm not a Public Library.
I'm a state agency and so 68% of
our patrons are actually seniors.
And 20% of our patrons are ages 21 to 60
and only about 12% are actually students.
So we have a different dynamic
here at LBPH so the next slide.
So what are some of the services
that we provide for our patrons
will again those assessable book
materials in Braille audio form audio
formats in large print actually
Maryland has one of the largest
Porsche collections in the country.
We also offer services because
as our patrons are seniors.
Many of them at one point in
time had the vision,
but lost the vision over the
course of time different due to
different reasons and causes so
we do try to offer services to
help them become more independent.
Teaching them how to use assistive
technology and also on the screen.
You see that there is a a little
player there on the lower right hand
corner that is out digital talking
book machine and this is what we
shipped to all of our patrons and
there's actual book that comes on
a cartridge that slides right into
that machine and they can enjoy
that they also can download all
books on the service. We call Bard.
Bard is a Braille and audio reading
download and they can take their book
anywhere they go they do actually.
Read quite often because they are
forced to rely on mobility or other
people carry taking them to different places.
They usually have a book on them
and they're usually reading so
we offer that service to them.
So we also connect with the National
Federation of the blind news line news line.
They can go in and actually read
newspapers and magazines and this
was a benefit for us for a winter
reading challenge because news
line contacted us and they said,
can out patrons log.
The minister,
reading off a news line for the Winter
Reading Challenge and I said absolutely yes.
Please let them log it and we
want that participation so that
was an excellent resource for us.
OK next lot.
OK do the slide changed their Rico.
Thank you alright so let's talk
about the winter reading challenge.
It was a challenge for us
again working with 68% seniors.
Technology is something specially Internet,
they're not going to do it.
So we had to think of a way that
we could connect without patrons
get them involved and just.
Have them participate,
and so another challenge for us is
that only 5% of our patrons actually
walking through our location.
So the way they connect with us is
through the telephone or through email.
And that was our number one way
of targeting our approach for
this winter reading challenge.
We had to connect with them
on the reference desk.
So, in our prior reading challenges
we have very low participation.
We we on average.
We only averaged about 20 participants
out of 8000 to 9000 patrons.
That's very low because we
knew our readers are reading.
But they are not going to log so we had
to come up with a way to do that for them.
So when Zuben came to us and said
well how many minutes do you think
you're going to actually be able to?
Uh for Phil for the challenge and
looking at our prior experience,
I said Oh we only going to be
able to do 20,000 at best.
But I told out Patriots a little white lie.
I told him you know what we're
going for 50,000 minutes.
Red and that's what we push for we
felt as though we went a little high.
We so short at least we would reach
20,000 and be in the running a little
bit and just to get our name out there,
so again I approach we had to.
Restom,
where they were,
and that reward amount when we looked at
the active readers what our readers do.
They call Lynn sauce all the time
that's the way they communicate
so when they called in.
We knew the ones that called and
quite often who are very avid readers,
which is commonly mentioned to them
You know what we're having this winter.
Reading challenge will be great if you
would participate and they would always say,
well, what do I have to do?
What don't you don't have
to do anything but read it?
We can take care of the rest of it if
you want us to and so that's what we did.
We just target that reference does we
reached out to some of our great partners.
The National Federation of the
blind is house here in Baltimore,
their headquarters.
We went to the president.
We told him about the challenge
and they went to their
community that chapter meetings.
And they registered patrons
for us for the challenge,
then we looked at a high concentration
of youth where they could be in the
state and so we partner with the
Maryland School for the blind and I
partnered with the school librarian.
There she got.
Her teachers involved.
They registered their classes,
they had on campus incentives such as
pizza parties and things of that nature
just to get the kids interested in it,
and suggest get behind the cause an
even one of one of the students from
the school called me and he said.
You know what my teacher said wait.
We're reading for this winter challenge.
I need some help on login my minutes.
I said, not a problem, he said.
Both you know, we have to log.
I said yes.
How often are you on their social media,
he said.
Well, that's kind of different I said.
Well, not really only takes 2
minutes log and he said, OK,
I think I can do this so we just
work with all of our community
partners wherever they were,
and we just utilized.
Getting that word out,
we did you social media that was important,
but the most important thing for
us where I'll listservs every list
serves in the community that we were
connected with with our partners.
We blasted this out on those listeners
because our patrons will read that
compared to going online or using
Facebook or Twitter or whatever.
Those other social media outlets are so
we put it out there on the Listserv.
OK, now all of that work resulted in us,
reaching well over 20,000.
Even reaching over 50,000 minutes.
We're at 200, almost 240.
One 1000 minutes and I was just
so proud of our patrons.
We had about 128.
Of course, that have registered but 97
really were active continuously reading
being connected with us all times,
calling and saying how we doing?
Where are we where are we?
And I had a patron who came in,
she's a volunteer here,
she would come in and download her books
and so you know what I have to keep reading.
I'm going to keep reading 'cause.
I gotta get behind this.
We gotta reach.
Our goal so we did it and I'm just so
proud of them so these were our results in.
It took a lot of hard work,
but we got there,
So what were some keys to
our success next slide.
So the 2 words,
I would say that are the keys to our
success is purpose and connection.
We did have our partners offer
some small incentives to kind
of like appreciate the readers.
But the real thing here was just
connecting with people who sometimes
have no other outlet one and 5
adults who are over the age of 50 are
living alone their children are gone,
sometimes their spouses are deceased
and libraries have been proven.
To be a way for them to connect
to the community and be able to be
engaged with a good book is good for
their overall mental health and so.
Allowing our patrons to connect
with us was important we trained
every library staff here to know
how to log a book for our patrons
so if they called us.
We took care of that for them.
We did not give a paper copy because
we need something in assessable format.
So everything had to be electronic
or through the telephone email.
We created some dummy accounts of Jane.
Doe accounts and we register
patrons and we log the minutes
we allow them to leave there.
Recordings or their logins on our voicemail
and we also log that for them because
that's the way they usually connect with us.
They leave us messages all the time
so giving that persistent consistent.
I'm sorry feedback pudding that out.
On our promotion,
letting them know where we were
consistently was a driving force to
keep them reading and the community
just wanted to get behind the
cause and that was the purpose.
NLS is branding is that all may read.
And reading is for everyone and I would
just want to just leave this with everyone.
There are pockets of people in
your community that would want
to join in and we want to really.
Really grab them and bring them
in and this was a way to do that.
That was this was just a blessing
to our community and they would just
wanted out library to be out there,
so people would know that people
with visual impairments read too.
Thank you. Sean less outstanding
inspiring and informative for me
and I'm sure the audience is well.
Becky before I don't want my
questions out there is there.
Other questions in the chat that you
want to put out their first flies.
I give anything out.
Uh so I'm just going to re ask some
one of the questions that I asked
for the suffix ladies as well.
When it comes to you know prizes
and login could you feel that there
was anything any extra organ or
any actual participation because of
offering any kind of a prize or an
incentive and then how did you work
with the logging types that you used?
OK and questions for me, I'm sorry,
the offensive, the instances.
We're not driving for squad
patrons and quite often told us
we don't care about the prizes.
We just want the recognition for our library.
We want people to know that we read too.
In that which you all do for us is
important so that community goal was
what drove them not the incentives.
And I'm sorry I didn't hear your second
part of the wrong type.
She asked about the logging the
choice of minutes first books in your
case. We just kind of made a simple
and so we didn't go with the books.
We just went went straight minutes
because that could fit youth as
well as the adult so we just
went straight minutes for us.
Yeah, it's interesting
uh I've heard the equity.
Point before when it comes to minutes
particular kids in schools and it was
an important here by Addison Richmond.
I want to call out more condimental schools.
You want to know more about the school
experience and will try to focus
in on that and Allison in schools.
You should check out being bright because
that's a free service for individual
school where the challenges are just
ready made and not as customizable,
but it should be helpful,
but when it comes to this question around.
The log site, it's interesting
Sarah hearing in April hearing,
you describe the simplicity.
I hadn't thought of that of
this tiny spider e-books now,
what we often hear on the minute
side is what you just began to
describe a bit Lashaun Equity and
you got to as well so in April.
We're children's books.
You can read a whole book and before
Bucks 3 books in a evening in 30 minutes?
Where is For middle schoolers
teens and adults.
It may take some time so minutes of the
house for equitable distribution list
on I had one question for you before
we close out here with the final section.
It was there and this would also
have a question with Sarah in April
was that particular type of user
that was more likely to use online
versus the god of the picture.
Those that are less like that makes sense,
but is there. Asia you having by that.
That's an online user any particular file?
Yeah.
Yes, actually parents were more
likely to use the application
that or the Web sites along we had
lots of the parents would do it,
but our seniors. Some of them?
Are you know technology savvy,
but mostly I had a lot of parents
doing the logging. Yeah, yeah,
definitely since that's
interesting I'm a parent and dumb.
Yeah, what why it well, I'm going to
move on this so we can wrap of time.
But I'm interested in just from
my perspective of being on the
software side unpacking that Morathi
she's around why that may be,
but that's interesting guys were coming
up with the last few minutes here.
So I'm going to move quickly
through tips form.
5 again Allison and others.
We've been trying to answer I know
Sarah and April going back and tried
to answer questions at whatever stuff
will show on now that you may have
a moment if you can prove the Q&A.
List and see if there's anything
there that you might want to
contribute to it that was a question.
Directed to you,
please folks continue to put in questions.
I want to in here with two slides.
This wanted to do more data driven
but I took out the data 'cause
I couldn't get pure numbers.
The Sean April,
Sarah have already made this point.
But something that we saw with men are
reading. This data, driven is doing.
The summer and this number is
not validated yet so I know it's
harder for us to pull the data
and I have one of our guys doing
your but didn't get quite beer.
About 70% of the reading challenges.
We see have prizes associated with them.
During the Winter Reading
Challenge individual prices,
meaning you get a pride of different
points during the winter reading challenge
less than 15% seemed to have that,
but they did not seem to be any measurable
change in the type of logging that happen.
Of course more logging happened
on the summer,
more engagement more people.
But just calling out with already
been stated here.
The data seem to back that up.
It was clearly a lot more prizes
offered during the summer card because
libraries had budget forward sponsors
forward and just for and is able to do
in the winter and we had the community prize.
This year with him and Random House,
mass broadly are here.
If you may know him as the author of the last
kids on Earth amongst other amazing books.
Key is one of the authors.
We want to soon announce the 2nd
that Penguin Random House is having
joined a challenge this year.
He'll be sharing.
It sharing the news and coming out so
school library to visit and celebrate
with your community your families.
His books and his experience.
You can see 2 cool images
there from Facebook as well.
Love library could actually
shared part of their donation.
Which other parts of the community?
I'm going to move forward again in
the interest of time and I'm going
to end with this for tip #5 unless
data driven point in the others,
but a sort of comment insulin for
us that we really want to emphasize
everything we've talked about up to
this point is about the structure
of the program things
you can do in our software.
This is really outside of it.
We provide as Sarah in April
mentioned a few times,
but a lot of tool for you to use bookmarks.
Press release training material
for staff that's very important
staff buying it being easy.
We've seen it.
That's the single most important to
nominator between success and not success.
No matter how you design everything else.
This is especially true for schools in
the school situation school atmosphere
again principle by in by their teachers
by in simplicity and understanding
it but then getting the word out.
I call it out.
Suffolk here for I get alerts
whenever our name is mentioned
in news and we just got so many
alerts over the last 2 years about.
Stuff like being in the news
newspaper news TV here.
This is a reader.
You may not be able to see that what
I pulled her from Twitter is one of
the most popular feast last summer
on the show on that's one of your
readers who says she's spending
the day raining as many books as
possible to support your library,
which backed up with you,
said you can see here at school that
use a snow day and signs on the
school Library of door around where
they are having kids read together.
Where they were in the challenge and
here's another library key memorial
which also have done really well
and the challenge in the past 2
years on TV around their challenge.
So really all channels,
especially within your own community.
The teams already made.
These points and I want to spend
the last few minutes here.
Turning it back over to all
the librarians on the line.
Becky any other points that we didn't
cover from the chat anything there.
This interesting this year weather
is a question or not that.
That we want to you want to get to.
Yeah, so this question
came in a little while ago,
it's more of a comment one of the
readers remarked that they had done
a summer reading program last year
where they challenge the kids to read
more than the librarian and she said.
It went really, really well in the beginning,
but then it sort of fizzled out so
I think my question for our panel.
How do you guys keep that excitement
going throughout the entire T of
your programs whether that be a
winter program or a summer program.
This is Sarah and Suffolk social
media for us building content
that goes throughout the entire month has
been really vital like I said those videos.
We also this was first summer,
but it was inspired by winter we?
With the community goal had a community
experience that they could win an the
first year they got to slime library staff.
If we met our community goal.
So just be anticipation of that and we had
updates and profiles of the different staff.
They could slime and that sort
of thing to keep the excitement
going help keep things up.
It definitely drops off
after a certain point,
so you just have to plan out
your month or your 2 months with
different sort of content that
will catch peoples attention.
Yeah.
Show anything on that we've
been thinking about whether we
should announce something big.
After Martin King Day or
even thought about it.
The challenge only be 2
or 3 weeks but I think.
It's still you still see a lot of active now.
If I go back to those numbers
from before you see a lot of
activity for the last 2 days so
I think no matter when it ends.
That message starts to work in the
last few days weather 3 months for
one month is it's almost over.
It's almost over.
Here we are in the thermometer
thermostat all that really.
Becomes more effective when you
get to the last and if that salt
middle that's hardest to Maine,
same excitement around I think.
I'd be interested.
I did see that comment as well.
Becky about the losing interest.
I'd be interested in their perspective
one and why that is an and so one.
Any other important points,
we're down to the last minute to sell here.
Did you just have one more a good?
Question someone asked April and Sarah?
Can you provide an explanation
or example of how you tide.
The Reading Challenge with the programs.
You are already offering how do
you keep that consistency between
everything that you're going
but everything that's going on?
That's a great question I think.
We probably did it best last year or we
had a big tech initiative that we launched
in January and so we had a lot of tech
programming happening at the same time,
so we sort of made our winter,
Reading Challenge Tech themed.
I mean, very loosely tech themed but our
friends offered an additional price.
If we met our reading goal of buying
a tech gadget for the library and so.
Our patrons were reading for
the winter reading challenge,
but also it was an opportunity for
us to promote our big tech event all
of our tech programming going on and
they were helping us win something for
that initiative so it wasn't tightly
linked together but it helped us sort
of cross promote before those things
with between those 2 initiatives
and we since we met our goal.
The friends thought a drone for the library,
which was really awesome.
And we got to celebrate at the end
of the Witcher reading program
and launch it are big tech events.
And we also had a link in our online
calendar for events that were related to
reading that linked back to our winter
reading landing page on the website.
So we were constantly reminding
people that we had the renter reading
program going on and here's how
you register through being stack.
Thank you guys are something y'all that I
wonder why I stopped asking my questions
when they're interested so favorably.
But I didn't want to call
out your use of buttons,
especially again for Allison in any
schools on the line because it's
interesting you didn't associate
that with the prize but you gave
out even this past year right.
These individual buttons that readers
would receive based on their achieving
a certain level is that how it worked.
Basically, it's just if you read a title
you can come get a button up to 8 buttons.
But we don't even really police it.
It sort of started as a thing as
we were transitioning from all the
way from all the little prizes for
those people that cared about it.
They could come grab a button and
it's just sort of caught on like
April says it's like Pokémon,
so we left it going.
That's great well, yeah, I just call it.
I know which schools it's interesting
because we saw that with another tool
that had lanyards with buttons and it
was very effective in terms of this
visual validation around reading.
I'm going to wrap up guys with
his final story around our name.
Zuben is the name of the company.
Anybody's been around probably
heard me say this before.
That's my son and daughter.
My wife's to Co found at the company.
The companies renamed after my son,
who's name is cash is beast column shoe
being don't tell my daughter the name
of the company was named after him.
We don't want to have to do
another one of these anytime soon.
But that said the three values of the
company our love is represented by
the heart inclusion is represented
by the different shapes in our own
story's interracial interface family.
An awesomeness that is why the
heart is bursting.
So I hope you got from this
web cast today is above all,
we have awesome clients.
Both to spend this time with us and
teach us and push us and to do the work.
You do outside of anything
that involves being stats.
The same is true for all of
you who attended today.
As a next step again of course,
he wants you to take interest
in being stacking go to website
request pricing overview.
If you're an existing client.
Please go to that link at the
second there and there's also a
call out when you go to our website
and sign up for winter reading
2020 will get you started with the
toolkit will give you all the steps.
It is much lower weight than summer.
But a good way is Suffolk described of
perhaps incubating and getting people
accustomed to using this type of Repose.
Before summer and then of course,
you've got me.
You've got Becky,
her email there's Rebecca.
With a KNAHREBEKHA zuben comma,
you can just write hello who
being calm and we're here,
Speaking of which Rebecca Ji gotta be quiet,
but sums up.
Thank
you so much of Felix and Becky and of course,
Lashon Hara in April for sharing.
The amazing programs that
you're doing in your libraries.
I can see how much activities
going on the group chat San for
all of you out there as attendees.
I'm afraid there is no way to download it.
But I hope you sell my note in there.
If you just click anywhere on your
screen select all it will select
everything but just go ahead and paste
that into your Google Doc or word.
Doc and you will get the group chat along
with everything else that you can happily.
Delete I hope you do that before I wrap
up here for good because once I press
stop your screen will go blank so get
that done before that happens and of course.
Thank you for attending this webcast like
all of our web tasks will be archived an you
should receive an email in about 24 hours.
With a link to download your certificate
if you forget to grab that before you
go to for a list of all upcoming an
past web casts you can visit the events
and PD section at libraryjournal.com.
At this particular web cast is also an
slj.com so if you want to go back and
re watch it or if you miss anything.
Feel free to do so and just thanks again.
Everyone and hope to see you
next time take care.