National Library Week Book Raffle

In case you didn't already know, this week is National Library Week. According to the ALA Fact Sheet National Library Week is a week to "celebrate the contributions of our nation's libraries and librarians and to promote library use and support."

This celebration is a great occasion to do some passive programming at your library. Because passive programs are self directed and available for patrons at any time, they maximize impact with a minimum of staff time and resources. For some great passive programing examples check out this roundup by the ladies at Jbrary. I also have a passive programming Pinterest board, where you can see many more passive programming ideas I've collected from my favorite library related blogs.

Our passive program for National Library Week is kind of a simplified and shortened version of the Back to School Backpack Raffle we do every fall at my library. For our "National Library Week Book Raffle" kids can fill out entry slips for each visit to the library during the week. At the end of the week I will draw the winners and they will get a free book of their choice from my summer reading giveaway stash.

What I like about this program (besides the simplicity of it) is that it promotes books and encourages library use. It is also an opportunity to get a free "for keeps" book in a child's hand. This is something I strive to do as much as possible, because access to books is the first step to becoming a reader.

For more information about National Library Week see the ALA Press Kit. How is your library celebrating?