Programming Picks: Summer is Coming!

Submitted by Cleo Joyce

Summer reading is just around the corner! At HQ, we have been busy getting promotional items ready, sorting through t-shirts (coming your way soon!), and building programs in Beanstack. Beanstack summer programs are now ready to test and we need your help!

Test versions of the summer reading incentive program are now available for staff to register, log, test, and try to break Beanstack. You should find the programs on your landing page when you log into Beanstack with your staff credentials. If you haven't already, I would suggest setting up test profiles for the different age groups (preschool/0-5, elementary, teen, and adult) so you can register and play with each summer program. 

Test versions of the incentive program will be available for staff to test through May 24. Summer reading will officially launch on May 25. Early registration will open on May 1.

If you encounter any problems or see typos or other errors, please bring them to my attention via email: joycec@forsythpl.org.

Patrons will use Beanstack this summer to log reading, complete activities, and enter tickets into grand prize drawings. Frontline staff will be using Beanstack to register patrons for summer reading and help patrons claim prizes. The best way to be ready to answer patron questions is to play in Beanstack and get as familiar as possible. Public Services info and youth staff should also check their email for a message with links to Beanstack training resources. 

There are not a lot of changes to the structure of the summer incentive program this year. The biggest change is we will offer 100 point prizes to adults. Kids and teens will still earn prizes at 100, 250, and 500 points. All ages will earn a ticket into the grand prize drawings at every 500 points, up to 5,000 points. 

We will also have a staff summer reading program with incentive prizes (and grand prizes this year!), so stay tuned!