Submitted by Joanie Goforth
Spring is in the air and patrons have been able to enjoy some fantastic library programs recently! Here is a sampling of recaps from programming that took place systemwide between March 12–March 19.
Fairy Fun patrons customized fairy doors and
participated in a story stroll scavenger hunt
Fairy Fun attendees crafted their own wings and fairy wands
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| A family from Turkey was among the bookmobile's visitors at First Baptist Cumming |
Summer VolunTEEN Information Session at Hampton Park Library
26 children, 19 adults
"I was thrilled to see so many teens and families turn up to learn more about our VolunTEEN program. We had teens from all over the county join us, so I made sure to explain which details (and important dates) were the same across all library branches and which details were specific to our branch. Niranjan, one of our past VolunTEENS, volunteered to
share a bit about his experience in the program, which was a fantastic addition to our session. After the presentation, many teens and parents introduced themselves, and Kayla and I both received some great questions about the program and the specifics of our application process. It was great to see so many teens excited about applying for the VolunTEEN program. A standout moment for me was when Niranjan shared with us how beneficial the VolunTEEN program has been for him, highlighting the various ways it has prepared him and given him confidence to tackle ambitious academic and extracurricular opportunities at school and beyond. It's such a joy to hear about the positive impact these programs are making!” –hosted by Chase Truran
Find Your Family: Genealogy Research Basics at Sharon Forks Library
26 adults
"The first hour of the program was a general discussion of genealogy, including how important it is to get with older relatives to gather and retain their memories. The presenter referenced a study that showed that families who connect with their genealogy have a feeling of control over their lives, their identity, and a sense of resilience and security, showing that families continue even after hardship (such as war). The website familysearch.org is supported by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in their efforts to have the world's largest digitized genealogy database with both documents and images being stored. The program is free to users. The presenter mentioned that they are affiliated with Gwinnett Public Libraries and are working on an arrangement with FCPL. Several attendees asked that FCPL become affiliated with familysearch.org after the program. After the formal presentation, volunteers worked with attendees to navigate the site and set up an account to build their family tree. Many of the attendees brought their own laptops or tablets to participate, and we provided laptops for attendees that did not.” –hosted by Brooke Rose
Bookmobile Visit and Library Services Presentation at First Baptist Cumming
3 children, 41 adults (program attendees and bookmobile visitors)
“What a wonderful time we had on our visit to First Baptist Cumming! The bookmobile was open for visitors before we went inside to do our presentation. We had visitors from Spanish-speaking countries, Turkey, and Brazil. They were beyond thrilled to see our bookmobile, get a library card, and check out books! It was so touching to see adults and children wide-eyed and excited about getting books. Following the bookmobile visits, we went inside and did a library services presentation to two different groups. Kandy had prepared an amazing slideshow about library services. I spoke in English, then Kandy translated in Spanish. The presentation generated many questions. Some of the participants had to be reassured that the library services were free. Many of them downloaded the Libby app with our help. One of the ladies there checked out our English language learner's kit! Everyone there was so grateful for our help and for the presentation.” –contributed by Jeanine Thompson
Fairy Fun at Cumming Library
18 children, 15 adults
“Fairy fun was had today at the library! I started the program with a short fairy-themed story time. We danced with scarves to "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies”, then read the book Backyard Fairies by Phoebe Wahl. While I was reading I would ask the kids if they could spy the fairies in the book. The kids were excited to point out and try finding the fairies on the pages. We then sang "Have You Ever Seen a Fairy" to the tune of "Have you Ever Seen a Lassie", read Do Fairies Bring the Spring? by Liza Gardner Walsh, then sang the song "Fairies in the Yard" to the tune of "the Farmer in the Dell". While singing, we did the actions the fairies in the yard were doing like, flying, twirling, jumping, and skipping. Our final book was Twinkle Makes a Wish by Katharine Holabird. After story time, the kids did different fairy related activities decorating their own wings, fairy doors, and wands. I created a scavenger hunt tasking the children to find items set up in the story stroll outside. The kids were excited to make their own wings and decorated some fantastic creations.” –hosted by Signe Madson
Adult MakerDay: Cupcake Liner Flowers at Post Road Library
5 adults
"Five crafters joined us to make cupcake liner flowers today. I did a demonstration of the basic process that they would use, then encouraged them to experiment with color combinations and different ways to cut the papers. They spent a long time playing with color combinations and selecting their cupcake liners. The room was very quiet while they worked, and when I said something to one of the crafters about the quiet, she said that she was in her ‘zen crafting mode.’ We talked a little bit about the freezing temperatures that were coming in the next day and joked that they wouldn't need to worry about these flowers wilting like the ones that have started growing in their gardens. One patron said she might even spray hers with essential oils, possibly lavender, so they smell as pretty as they looked. Another patron worked to make versions of a number of different kinds of real flowers. She said she was creating her own flower shop. She also commented that she was going to do this project at home with her kids. She thought they would really enjoy it and liked that it didn't take expensive materials, saying that she knows that she has cupcake liners at home already.” –hosted by Melissa Reed
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