Great....one last (almost) thing to think about.

I know many of you are finishing up the last traces of your Summer Reading Program but for those of you who finished running your program or perhaps it was your program running you, you can at least start filling out our summer reading evaluation form. It isn't due until September 12 2008, just shy of a month from now but I'm sure this will give you sometime to fill it out. It be posted on our SEMLS homepage for you to find until the deadline but you will receive another reminder about in the days to come. And speaking of the days to come, in a few more months we'll start sending out the order forms once we finalize plans for our Starship Adventure & Find Out What's Out There 2009 summer reading programs. We're going to try to keep the ordering schedule in October but I have to tell you it may be November folks. Either way, the order form will be made available in plenty of time to receive your 2009 orders for next year. In the meantime, you can see both manuals, children or teens that we will be using to celebrate our space and personal exploration themes. The state of Tennessee did an EXCELLENT job in compiling really cool activities, games and lists. You can start downloading any of their materials now if you'd like. We are going to have SO much fun next year during the International Year of Astronomy!

Big-E Tickets are ready for the asking!

For those of you who are looking for a prize without entering a contest, you may be in luck. 8-) Each year, my colleague Janet Eckert from the Western Region lassos complimentary tickets from the statewide Country Fair otherwise known as the BIG E for summer reading participating libraries. The West Springfield event held each fall in September brings in famous country, pop and rock musicians to present along with the year-round agricultural related events, i.e. traditional horse and dog shows, cooking and photography competitions, and wine testings.

If you're interested in receive a pair of $15 complimentary tickets to offset the price of you or your patron's trip to the Big E during the week of September 12-18 2008, please respond via email to me at vbeenebeaversATsemls.org or by phone at 508.923.3531 by Friday, August 8th. Since I only have 20 pairs, it's a first come first serve basis. Get 'em while their available!

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.