Adult Services Roundtable, July 21

Topic: Bringing in Older Teens, Young Adults, and Young Families

Attendees:

Kelly, Homewood

Brooke, BPL

Tywanna, E. Ensley

Joi, Homewood

Laura, SR

Weston, BPL

Fontaine, Books-By-Mail

Maura, Trussville

Holly, VH

Tamara, IR

Cara, CP

Tara Gearhart

Shannon, HV

 

Two of the most compelling reasons this demographic doesn't come to the library is lack of interest (no interesting programming maybe?) and competition from other things (hectic life of a young adult!) For this and many other reasons, our libraries need to carve out time, money and resources to young adults, whether they are older teens transitioning to adulthood, college students, or young families.  Homewood Library, historically, has had a wonderful Teens Department - with its very active Teen Advisory Board and many ongoing activities. JOI, their teen (the oldest which falls into our group) librarian, spoke to why they have such success: 

• Treat them with respect
• Service projects needed for school or elsewhere
• Anime Club, Graphic Novel Club
• Food programs like Boba Tea Making,etc.
• Skills in marketing to young adults (NOT Facebook!)

The point is to condition them to love the library and they will follow with attendance as new adults.  WESTON also echoed this and emphasized that Bards & Brews is successful because it is conducted for the most part outside the library environment. Any effort to reach the demographic where they are in the community is appreciated. That could be in a local bookstore, coffee shop, community center or bar. He also talked about "gamifying" events, like earning points or earning badges to qualify for prizes - these things are common to this age group and might be a good way to move events along. Bards & Brews was coordinated with Pride Month, as were many events to hit another demographic.

We talked briefly about libraries also having a "Junior Board" in order to plan and focus activities for 19-29 age group - getting them to plan events for their own age group may have more success. And Junior Boards look great on anyone's resume! It's all about building relationships!

MAURA talked about the unmitigated success of their Bob's Burger Trivia Night - another pop culture phenomenon. They've also had Birmingham Sushi come to do a program to great success. Our discussion drifted to getting people to show up for costly programs. Most all libraries, if having registration for a program, conduct due diligence by sending emails or calling those registered. There are still no-shows however. I like the idea of including, "if you don't confirm, we will cancel," especially if there is a lengthy wait list. We all agreed that ideally a small registration fee does encourage attendance but it also keeps so many people from being able to attend - so it's not recommended. (Several people admitted that they have a list of those that no-show often in order to keep those people in check.)

TAMARA mentioned good attendance to adult Dungeons & Dragons, Role Playing Games and Magic the Gathering events. At Hoover, we have someone from in the community run the RPG's and it has kind of a cult following. This doesn't have to cost anything but can also be done by someone who is more qualified than library staff.

 

We talked a little about the best times to schedule these kinds of programs.  For the younger ages, we agreed anytime after 3:30 pm is great, but with working adults, ideally 6 pm is a good time.

FONTAINE and others hit us with some great ideas for programming for this particular demographic -

• Buying a home or financing for a home
• What to do to become a homeowner
• Home decorating trends (Home Depot?)
• Wedding planning (finances & trends)
• Date Night! or try speed dating...
• "Flipping for a profit" - includes houses, furniture, anything!
• How to have a successful Side Hustle without an MLM
• Adulting 101
• Basics of Good Nutrition (any kind of cooking instruction is also good)
• Organizing photos
• Taking care of your car
• Renters: what you should know (insurance, leasing in B'ham, etc.)
• Bike Repair 101 (Redemptive Cycles will help!)
• UAB scholarships, dorm living, application process
• Knife skills
•  Mixology, anything with alcohol!
• Trick or Trunt events for young families
• Young Professionals events or mixers for networking

Bring these ideas and more to our next ASRT meeting - it is our annual ADULT PROGRAM SWAP!!!!  September 15th at 10 am via Zoom. Bring your ideas and an open mind!

 

 

 

For anyone not able to attend, here is a copy of the video. We started the video after we had already begun the meeting so I hope not much was missed!