And the Best Dressed Children's Room winner is.....

First runner up is the Norfolk Public Library...but

Seekonk Public Library is the winner!
We'll drop the donated Blockbuster size Spiderman window/wall display off to you tomorrow.

Norfolk we have something for you but it's just not as dramatic. But we think you'll be pleased.

Thanks to all who submitted the photos. We hope it was fun for you as it was for us.

Got a Kick-off Event Planned?

If you have any SRP Kick-Off Events planned within the next few days or weeks, Celeste Bruno, MBLC Communication Specialist would like to hear about them. She'll be writing an article for the MBLC Notes newsletter featuring kickoff events around state. Perhaps she'll include yours. *smile* To send her your Kick-Off event schedule and photos, send your email to celeste.bruno AT state.ma.us

And the Best Dressed Children's Room Award goes to...

If you think your library has the coolest, wildest, safariest *smile* looking space this year, email me your best (3) photos by Friday, July 11th for a chance to win a self-adhesive 4 x6 ft. Spiderman window display. Enter for your chance to win this Blockbuster-size superhero for either your library or as a prize for your summer reading participants.

In your email, please include your phone and name of your library. If your space isn't in the children's area, please describe where your photo was taken. Judges will be members of SEMLS office staff who will notify the contest winner by Wednesday, July 23rd at 1:00 p.m. To view pictures of submitted photos, you may visit flickr at http://tinyurl.com/5w8yqc.


Note: Picture shown is actually smaller than the object appears. No lie!

A Librarian Friendly Press Toolkit is here!

Just in case you haven't finished your school visits, we do have some materials to bring with you to the classroom to help announce the summer reading program. If you click here, you'll find a colorful flier to pass along to faculty and even parents.

So go ahead and make copies! I'm sure your teachers could use a letter filled with great talking points to get their students to read over the summer.

Have you changed your template today?

Woo hoo! Today was the unveiling of the new Wild Reads Themed ReadsinMa.org page! And with that unveiling comes the announcement of what plans the MBLC has in promoting our summer reading 2008 campaign.

This summer our ads will appear online in six of our major newspapers--The Berkshire Eagle, The Boston Globe, Cape Cod Times, Daily Hampshire Gazette, Springfield Republican & The Worcester Telegram. At this very moment, two radio stations are running a 30 second ad on Bostons' KISS 108 AM and Berkshires' WBRK 1340 AM. To listen to the recordings, visit our summer reading wiki.

Thanks goes out to both Celeste Bruno (our MBLC PR guru) & Buyer Advertising for such colorful imagery.

P.S. This might be a good time for one to change their templates to reflect the 2008 themes as seen in the Brookline example. To find out how to change your template(s), sign up for a upcoming workshop OR you can subscribe to our ReadsinMa.org listserv for assistance. Here you'll find handy instructions like this offered by the Seekonk Public Library a ReadsinMa.org participant on managing your program.

How Many Pandas Does it Take to Run A Wild Reads Program?

In a few more days, everyone will be in full swing with their summer reading program. Yikes! If you are still deciding on what activities you will be using to engage kids and parents, here's an idea. Why not pose a fact-finding question that will send families on a safari or scavenger hunt? How might you ask? One of our librarian-friendly Cambridge-based organizations, TERC--an educational research and development non-profit designed some really cool 11x17 inch posters to generate a little buzz in your library. These "Can You Guess?" series posters are free to download from the TERC website but you can get these along with the answers if you like by join the Mixing in Math listserv. These 10 free animal facts posters will go perfect in any program! Why not kick off your raffle or information scavenger hunt by having your kids guess the answer? Or why not use the poster in your next library display as you celebrate the theme?

You can visit the Mixing in Math series to explore what other fun program ideas you can use for your program. And if you're feeling really creative, you can even contribute an idea to TERC. They are just dying to hear your ideas. In fact, the Mixing in Math series is designed to promote the M-word *smile* for kids in an informal afterschool setting. Fun is the theme every year with Mixing in Math activities! And the fun is just beginning because thanks to a grant from the National Science Foundation, TERC is not only able to hear your ideas but can help to produce such useful printed materials for programs that you have in mind. Just imagine...your fun M-word idea/activity can be a part of a NSF funded grant project. (I don't know about you but I will most certainly take part in this opportunity once summer is over. Details of a fall program will be forthcoming).

However, if you have ideas now that you would like to share write them down and get them ready for a future swap and share program. Or if you are currently hog-tied and can't offer any suggestions feel free to use what TERC currently offers. Just be sure to share your success with others at your next Summer Reading roundtable. Or if you can't wait until then, you can always leave a message here on our blog. *-)

Who to give credit too....

My word! I forgot to provide the wording on how to thank our sponsors:

Wild Reads at Your Library and X-pect the Un-X-pected is sponsored by your local library, the Massachusetts Regional Library Systems and the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners.

or if space is a premium on your brochure or flier, you can use our standard graphic instead:




(To download this graphic just right click on it and save a copy to your desktop).

And let's thank Janet Eckert Western Region's Youth Consultant who created our wonderful librarian & public coupon page. You'll also find examples of such collaboration across the region on our statewide wiki. We are looking for a few good children & teen bibliographies and teen craft ideas to supplement our manual. If you have any or bibs or craft ideas, feel free to post them. Please contact your regional consultants for the username and password.