Theater

Passive Power: Engage Children and Families with Self-Directed Activities

Ideas for passive dinosaur programs abound! You'll leave this session inspired to add fun, self-directed activities for children to your library's summer offerings.

Ally Copper is the children's services coordinator at the Franklin-Springboro Public Library where she has worked for 10 years. Her passions are planning programs, leading storytimes, and drinking coffee.

 

Room 1

Summer Programming Roundtable: Ideas, Opportunities, and Solutions

Join fellow library programmers working with children, teens, and adults for an interactive discussion focused on planning and strengthening summer programming. The session will include conversation around ideas for developing engaging summer programs across age groups. Participants will be encouraged to share successes, troubleshoot challenges, and explore new opportunities to enhance the summer experience for their communities.

 

Room 2

Passion for Programming: Make the Magic!

Whether you work with children, teens, or adults, library programming should be a joy and reflect what you love to do. Programs also should reflect the needs of the community you serve. When both of these happen at the same time, it is a bit of library magic. What happens when programs don't work out? How do you redirect? How do you find the magic again? Come learn about how to make the magic happen, find it when it gets lost, and some great programming ideas in the process.

Tess Catlin has been working as a Librarian in both academic and public libraries for over sixteen years. She has spent just over fourteen of those years working in reference and doing adult programming at the Hamilton Lane Library. She runs a variety of passive and in person programs which make each day unlike the last. When not at the library, she does community theater with her family and that keeps her running both on and off the stage.

 

Room 3

Adult Programming But Make It Creepy

You don't have to wait until October to do spooky programming. We will explore how adult services can tap into horror, folklore, paranormal, and the macabre to build fun programs, community partnerships, increased attendance, and repeat engagement. Drawing from tried and tested programs such as cemetery walks, horror book club, haunted libraries, cryptid talks, death cafes, and more, this session will share practical ideas for creepy programming that is respectful, inclusive, and budget conscious. Attendees will leave with ideas they can use year round. Join us to lean into curiosity, storytelling, and research with a focus on the fascination of the strange and unusual.

Jenn Coffill is an Adult Services Programmer at the Chillicothe & Ross County Public Library, where she specializes in creative and community centered programming. Her work often blends a love of literature, local history, folklore and hands on learning, with a special fondness for spooky and unusual. Jenn has developed and hosted programs including cemetery walks, horror book club, haunted library, intro to tarot, cryptid programs, paranormal talks, as well as large scale outreach through Halloween festivals and community partnerships. She is passionate about creating inclusive, low pressure spaces for adults to explore curiosity and experience connection.

 

Room 4

Chaos Crafting with Teens

Learn how to engage teens and ignite their creativity through low to no structured craft programming.

Amber Pulley has been presenting library programs for children and teens for over 20 years. She is currently a Youth Librarian at the Monfort Heights Branch of Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Libraries.