ASRT Meeting Minutes
Monday, September 15, 2025
Topic: Adult Program Swap!
Attendees:
Ellen, Avondale
Molly, Titusville
Kiera, Titusville
Rebecca, Trussville
Reba, Titusville
Ashley, Gardendale
Romellia, Titusville
Laura, Springville Road
Lynn, West End
Leslie, Homewood
Sarah, Center Point
Christian, Trussville
Mary, Homewood
Holly, Homewood
Shannon, Hoover
NEXT MEETING: Monday, November 17, 10 am @ Birmingham Public Library downtown - Digital resources & tour
Link to full video meeting: https://us06web.zoom.us/rec/share/A4uUtVvNd97-fp9jP7SQ7KbtyCik2Hxi5QOO3KpmHyzuBA-G4MalFCHSvjYsdVbT.TgJ1c45nuON1e6Wu?startTime=1757948347000
(1.22.27)
Link to OneDrive Documents mentioned: Shannon ASRT program swap ideas.docx
Don't hesitate to approach people/patrons/friends about the opportunity to either teach a class, lead a discussion or prepare something more formal at your library! Lots of patrons have interesting hobbies and can bring them to your patrons - and Mary reminded us that our coworkers are also a valuable resource too.
Shawn shared about her ongoing group "Having the Prime of Our Lives" and her efforts to develop interesting programs for them. In February, she did a "BiblioBash"
- book match game,
- classic book titles (mix & match),
- made book page roses,
- custom bookmarks,
- goodie bags with personalized stuff to leave with.
- guessing games for book covers,
- "judging" a book by the cover,
- book trivia,
- book garland out of book pages.
Mary from Homewood did a book themed event for kids "Beyond the Book" that focused on food mentioned in books, serving the kids inexpensive items - this could be adapted for teens or adults - or plan something for parents to introduce them to children's book titles.
I mentioned my wish to have a Senior Prom for elders with music, dancing, perhaps lessons in line dancing or something. This could be done after hours or during the day (you know us elders like it early!!) 360 degree camera, photo backdrop, etc. Another library had a pre-school prom too!! Titusville did a senior prom!! It was very labor intensive but worth it. Reba caters to her VIPs and went all out - she had LIVE music! Another variation is to do a prom for your homeschool groups. Titusville also had a Senior Pageant with 5 participants and it was very well received but did require lots of work. Great community building and lots of fun - their platform was "brains and beauty"! They did interviews, performances, etc. A smaller library could take this idea and make it work for them.
Shawn saw something online called "Taste the Movie" where you show a movie and provide a taste as the movie moves along to match. For example if you showed Matilda, you could serve chocolate bonbons, cake, etc. An adult variety might use a movie like "Like Water for Chocolate" and serve all kinds of chocolate.
Speaking of movies, my favorite thing to plan is Movie + Craft - we've done four events where we show a movie and participants watch and do a craft while watching. It is labor intensive but worth it. Check Swank.com if your library has an active subscription - this database tells you which movies are allowed to be shown in public libraries and also gives programming ideas paired with movies too. You can browse "Ideas" for more information - even if you don't have a subscription. Tenth anniversary of Hamilton anyone??? December is 250th anniversary of Jane Austen's birthday, so get ready for some fun Regency program ideas!!
Mary has transitioned to the Circ dept at Homewood and is now doing adult programming. One fun thing she is doing is highlighting their Library of Things (LOT) through programming. For instance, they are having the Homewood ACE Hardware come talk about home repairs, etc. (high impact/low cost home improvement) and she will also feature Library of Things items that are available to the public. Other items in LOT might lend themselves well to finding people to do a program and promote this collection.
Laura at SR mentioned Sarah Neely from Smart Living Skills - she does adult programming on home organization (sarah@smartlivingskills.com, 205-504-6670).
Discussed possibly finding a female auto mechanic that could develop programs showing teens/adults the basics of car repair - breaking some stereotypes and making these things more accessible (what we can still do on our cars without a mechanic like changing tires, checking oil, etc.!) Both Homewood and Hoover have had very successful bicycle repair & maintenance programs using Redemptive Cycles (Hoover even did a bike collection drive for them too!)
Discussed options for bringing yoga to the library - some yoga schools require community service and it might work to bring them in to teach at the library. This might be a free/low cost option as well. (I have at least three names and contacts for yoga on my handout. Frannie James Yoga does my chair yoga lessons at Hoover and at other libraries.)
Develop relationships with professionals and warm them up to the idea of bringing their work/personal passion to your library - people love to share they just have never thought to do it in a public forum. Works great for community building - they will post on their socials and promote it themselves. Also develop relationships with nonprofits...
Center Pt library recently partnered with Grace Klein to bring a one-day drive-through food pantry. It was a lot of work but very successful. This was a first time thing for a library around here but working with GK, it was a success - an awesome way to serve the community.
Speaking of nonprofits, Reba mentioned that they have a monthly program working with Bundles of Hope to give books to the kids each month. The kids now come to the library ready to check out books. She said, "become an advocate for what your population needs." Very true! Making a meaningful impact is what programming in our community is all about.
Hoover is adding weekly "sound baths" with Dr. Lindsey Smith of SynapticHarbor.com in January of 2026. Dr. Smith has worked with several local libraries to do these programs and she pairs them with "mini" brain lectures. She provides all the supplies. We are registering up to 20 people for each weekly session. Each session is $75. They have been well attended and a different kind of program! (She also does a lot of promotion herself through her site and social media.)
Lynn worked with United Ability to make bird feeders with cheerios and pipe cleaners. Ellen shared some of her favorite arts & crafts items like "bookish stained glass" - lots of great in-library crafts which are always a staple and very popular no matter the size of the library. Speaking of crafts, Trussville has had several successful Craft Supply Swaps which I then did at Hoover to great fanfare. Swaps seem to be all the rage. Some, like a clothing swap, might be very labor and space intensive, but O'Neal library does that well. Others, like a craft supply swap, just need time to organize and collect. Coat swaps, art swap, puzzle or game swaps - all can work at your library. (Trussville's swap gives vouchers to anyone donating so they can come to the supply swap early to get first pickings!) Hoover tried an ornament swap around the holidays but it was ill timed with a very popular children's program and didn't have great attendance but it's still a great idea.
There is a new store called the Craft Room opening on W. Oxmoor in Homewood that will be a "community hub for sustainable creativity" providing a cozy cafe with secondhand crafting. Might be worth checking out if you plan programs and need supplies on the cheap! Their email is hello@thecraftroom.co (just .co not com).
Holly shared a bunch of great ideas:
- mason jar crafts,
- marbled flower pots,
- magnets,
- card making,
- pumpkin painting,
- jute rope wreath making,
- sun catchers,
- DIY mugs,
- Pinterest will give you tons of ideas
- or ProgrammingLibrarian.org
Hoover had a very successful program with the Volunteer Lawyers Assn in Birmingham. They've been to several area libraries and hope to do more. If your library is interested, contact Megan Cheek at mcheek@volunteerlawyersbham.org. This is free civil legal advice or referrals for your community.
Trussville had September Reed come in to do yarn pumpkins which can be an easy but nice looking craft. Her contact information is below. She does all kind of programming in area libraries and is easy to work with.
UAB Lung Health Center does a great program on Anti-Vaping that would interest parents, and hopefully, teens. Ours wasn't well attended but the information is needed in the community. Crystal Stevens was a great presenter, ctstephens@uabmc.edu.
Hoover has invited Vallean Jackson, the author of a self-healing through journaling book. She's been great to work with and has already been at a couple of libraries. Hoover is tying it to the new year/new you along with vision boards which are very, very popular January program. authorvalleanj@gmail.com
Hoover did a great Paint Your Partner program combined with after-hours cocktails - some very serious fun was had! Several couples used the opportunity as a date night (and some misguided souls thought they were actually going to paint ON their partner, goodness!)
For the winter, a library could do Warm Up Wednesdays and offer hot beverages perhaps with a community talk or a brain teaser. A local coffee shop might want to get in on helping with something like this.
Don't forget the intergenerational ideas too: in January, they have International Lego Day which might be a great way to get families involved. There is a Yellowhammer LUG (Local Users Group), yellowhammerlug@gmail.com, (850.803.9888) - Melissa Chanslor, Builder-in-Chief (President) - they have done exhibitions of their setups and they are quite a spectacle! Perhaps a Lego swap to coincide?
At Hoover, we are doing a Sourdough Clinic where I have a friend/chef leading the discussion on upkeep for sourdough starter plus recipes and everything. It will be a chance to highlight our cookbook collection too. Plus, everyone will leave with the dry ingredients for starter in a mason jar! I found this idea on Programming Librarian (here's the article).
Center Point has been doing a Spice of the Month club, as well as Avondale library. Seems to be very, very popular with patrons. Staff takes time to bag up bulk quantities, recipes are included along with maybe the history of the spice. Not sure if it would work for a bigger library but this is such a wonderful idea! Could maybe work with teas or something similar too. Patrons wait to see what is posted on Facebook about the upcoming spice and come to pick them up.
We had a short discussion about the explosion of Mahjong and the need for teachers. If anyone knows teachers, please share contacts. O'Neal has a teacher that introduces the concepts but not outright classes. Hoover is having lessons for a lucky 8 people using volunteers from the community to teach. Seems to be very popular right now!
Ideas were solicited for Christmas programs, perhaps a Wrap & Yap? People could hang out together and wrap gifts. Hoover does provide a table where we provide wrapping paper and accessories if patrons want to wrap them on site. Others plan cookie swaps. At Hoover, I teamed up with the Youth department on a Yule Book Flood, officially called Jolabokaflod. It's based on the Icelandic tradition of giving books to loved ones the night before Christmas. We planned it as a "cozy" event with cozy crafts and activities. I took over the library plaza area and set up three couches with comfy blankets and pillows and a big screen tv tuned into a roaring fire. I also provided hot beverages and cookies and two adult crafts. It was a huge success - so I'm doing it again this year just for the adults! We also included what was essentially a "blind date with a book" element to the event too that proved to be popular.
Shawn shared her plans for Holiday Hoppers - the idea is to hop around the globe and explore different cultures - there are new foods and traditions from other countries. There is usually an icebreaker activity with, like, the 12 Days of Christmas, along with rebus puzzles and it ends with "global bites" catered by KFC (because that is a huge tradition at Christmas time in Japan!) and wassail, churros, gingerbread and more. They also get to learn about the different cultures and customs! What a great idea!!!
How many of you are using AI to generate ideas or program titles? I will be from now on!!!
Shawn was seeking more ideas for her senior group, planning ahead. Anything specific to seniors like fraud avoidance, dealing with grief and depression, help with finances, all have been successful but it's hard to get the group to give input for what to do next! Also a good angle would be to have tech classes specifically tailored for seniors too. Perhaps something on self-defense or disaster preparedness would work. And don't forget the Alabama Cooperative Extension Service - it's not just agricultural programs either. Homewood had something called "Masters of Memory" that was very well attended - about strengthening your memory for all ages.
Alabamahistory.net (Alabama Humanities Alliance) has lots of program ideas for bringing history topics to the public and their funding was cut but their lecture series is back up and running. One library had a speaker come talk about the Tuskegee Airmen and that was popular. (Dr. Lisa Bradden, I believe.)
More ideas:
- Jan Mattingly "The Science Lady", Dynamic Education Adventures, science programs for teens or adults
- Ivy Brook Apiary - will bring bees and honey / contact: ivybrookaplary@outlook.com also on Facebook @ www.facebook.com/ivybrrokaplary. Looking to book them in Spring/Summer 2024
- Live Well Alabama - AL Extension Service - lots of ideas for bringing them to the library.
- Dr. Andy Coleman @ Urban Turtle Project, atcoleman80@gmail.com - great for all ages.
- Mandy Trott, Astrologer, contact: ecstaticastrology@gmail.com, works with libraries.
- Jessica Watts from Houseplant Collective, 256-283-5157, jessica@houseplantcollective.com
- Joe Hobby, comedy writer and storyteller (adults and teens) contact: 205-568-2559, mylifeasahobby.blogspot.com
- September Reed, artist, (recent program creating yarn pumpkins) zentangle & henna programs at various libraries, www.whimmmsy.com
