Reprinted with Permission of Voice of Youth Advocates, ©2009

How to Get Nearly 1,000 Teens into Your Library in Five Days or Less
Finals Week at Hinsdale Public Library

by Lynn Elam, Tiffany Auxier, and Becca Boland

A cornerstone of leadership and success is recognizing and then capitalizing on opportunities. An innovative service often begins with someone making an observation and having an idea.  So it was at Hinsdale Public Library in Hinsdale, Illinois, where librarians asked themselves, “Where did all these teenagers come from?”  Alone, in groups, at the computers, sitting in almost every chair in the library were students with books and papers intent on their work. We suddenly understand that it was finals week!

This realization gave us inspiration for the Hinsdale Public Library High School Finals Service.  Now entering its fourth year, Finals Service has become a signature program for area students. In a community of 18,000 people, Finals Service draws hundreds of high school students into the library over a course of five days. The twice-yearly program takes place at the end of each semester and draws busy teens whose lives are so filled with school, jobs, extracurricular activities, and more that we rarely see them in the library.

THE PROPOSAL
 
To formalize what was already happening, library youth and young adult services staff drafted a proposal that provided:

• Rationale and scope of service:  Finals Service is an effective means of providing outreach to teens and promoting the library as a destination.  Balancing the study needs of students with other library services during this period requires cooperation from all departments.
• Time frame for service. Exam schedules from area schools need to be coordinated with the library program as well as deciding on the number of days and hours the program should be offered.
• Use of space. Quiet spaces and group work areas are needed, requiring consideration of patrons not participating in the program.
• Partnering opportunities. Hinsdale Public Library collaborated with staff of the local youth center to offer overflow paces and supervision on days that anticipated use would be greatest.
• Monitoring. The use of monitors is essential to provide a quality study experience and to ensure that other patrons are not negatively impacted.
• Budget.  The program’s success hinged on a strong promotional campaign that included paid advertising; funds for supplies such as note cards, pencils, erasers, snacks and beverages; and a take-away item that would keep the program in the minds of the participants.
• Buy In. In order for the program to launch and run successfully, staff needed the support and word-of-mouth marketing from trustees, teachers, parents and community members. 

PUBLICITY AND ADVERTISING
 
Publicity and promotion are important for a successful Finals Service program. The library competes for attention with many community activities.  The advertising campaign was built around the concept of library as destination, the place to be and be seen during finals week.  Advertising also promoted the program to parents.  What began with in-house posters, fliers, and paid advertising in the school and local newspapers has evolved into a multimedia community campaign that includes trailers on local cable television, messages on the school district’s electronic mailing list, library and community blogs and Facebook and Twitter postings.

A giveaway has been a successful advertising piece.  One thousand highlighter pens are given to students throughout the week as a useful and tangible reminder of the Finals Service program.  Imprinted with the library’s logo, Web site, and IM address, the popular pens send a message that the library lives and functions in the electronic world where students spend much of their time.

A final advertising piece that has worked successfully at the Library is the give-away item. Staff selected a combo pen-highlighter with the Library's logo, website and IM address.  Program planners specifically chose not to include the street address and phone number of the Library, but rather to send a message that the Library lives and functions in the electronic world where students spend so much of their time. The give-away was thought to be the useful and tangible piece of the program that would go home and be a reminder of the Finals Service. 1,000 of these were purchased and given to students who came to the Library during the week. Four years into the program, these giveaways are now a featured item regularly requested and immediately associated with Finals Service.

IMPLEMENTING THE SERVICE

The Young Adult Librarian chaired an interdepartmental committee, which under the guidance of the Library Director reviewed the behavior policy, planned a structured but flexible environment, and rallied the staff to embrace the program, crucial for its success. Staff members are familiar with working with young children, adults, seniors, and middle school students, but they did not often see high school students.
After obtaining the school schedule and choosing program dates, the library’s two public meeting rooms were reserved for student use only.  Every Finals Service is monitored by members of the youth, young adult, adult reference, and circulation departments. Snacks and beverages are ordered through a warehouse store to be refilled by the monitors throughout the day. Signs announcing the program are posted in the library and at local businesses two weeks before Finals Service. The signs are a reminder to teens of program dates and times but also notify other patrons in case they wish to change their plans. During the program, more signage designates locations available for group study, tells how to sign up for study rooms, and identifies areas that are to remain silent work spaces.

Monitor stations are equipped with a laptop computer, a statistics sheet, and information detailing their responsibilities and expectations of the students. The computer is used for communication with other staff via instant messenger, e-mail, and the staff blog. Supplies for student use, including index cards, dry-erase boards, and staplers, are also available.

The program runs itself. The students socialize with friends and classmates when they need a break, but rely on each other mostly for help and advice in their studies. Staff members replenish snacks, fetch garbage cans, explain the importance of this program to those unsettled by the increased activity level, tend to the high demand for wireless access and give reminders to keep the shoes on. Staff didn't anticipate students Sharpie-ing up a puzzle; running out of favorite snacks; Cheez-It crumbs on keyboards; WiFi not playing nicely with patron's Macs; and students in pajamas preferring to sit under instead of at study tables.  Each experience helped when planning the next round.  Overall students are happy to be welcomed and treated with respect, and the library and its patrons benefit from seeing heavy use by this important population. 

ASSESSMENT / EVALUATION

The work is not complete when Finals Service ends.  With four to six months between sessions, evaluation is critical to strengthen what worked, and to tweak or discard what did not. Statistics were used to evaluate space, budget, and staffing needs, including numbers of students, reference questions, technological assistance, and crowd control. Monitors noted the popularity of snacks, number of highlighters taken, busy versus slow times, and comments from all library users. Feedback from public service staff identified the need for more bodies at service desks during busy times.  Information is complied and shared with the departments, the director, and the board of trustees.   As the program became a regular activity, negative patron comments trailed off. There are more tallies under "What a great thing to do for the students" than there are "I have no place to sit. Why are you doing this?"  Staff spend more time straightening up and talking to students than policing the area. Another measure of success is that participation by students from other local schools and neighboring towns have increased.

After the successful first session, the young adult librarian wrote a letter to the principal at  Hinsdale Central High School informing him of the program, the number of students served, and how proud he could be of their behavior. As a result, the principal has been instrumental in talking to parents, school support organizations, and the school board about the program and about developing a foundation for future partnerships.

Students are so comfortable here that they have come in with local takeout and do not want to leave at closing.  Although we still have to remind them that the aroma of French fries is not conducive to the environment and that staff cannot stay the night, we know that they are viewing us as a destination during this time. Finals Service and the library have become linked in their minds as something that contributes positively to their lives and their successes. It's a powerful association that we believe will remain with them as they go to college, return home for breaks, and start building their careers.  

GROWING THE PROGRAM  

Parents and community leaders talk about the Finals Service program almost as often as summer reading program.  As our teens move away from story times, crafting, and other youth programming, Finals Service fills a need for those looking for a place to study, to collaborate with peers, to have high-speed connectivity and the resources necessary to successfully meet their academic challenges.  Next steps include extending library hours during Finals Service; hiring teachers and tutors for drop-in assistance; encouraging businesses to sponsor the program by supplying pizza or other local fare; tracking student success and promoting achievements in the library; and extending the program to include college students who are home for Thanksgiving break and preparing for semester exams. Our Finals Service reinforces the idea that the library is about education and shows clear and measurable outcomes to the community. During finals week, the library becomes a highly focused user environment committed to the success of its students.
 
We saw an opportunity, we capitalized on it and the community has received a tangible benefit. That's good public service.

FEEDBACK

From the Students:
“I need help in earth sciences, but I also help others with their math. When I am helping others, I am also reviewing my own material, so it helps me,”
“I like to study alone at home, but I also like to come here because you get so many different viewpoints”
"Are there more Krispies treats? Yay!"

From the Patrons:
A grandfather checking in on a student said this reminded him of his college library.
A senior said that she was "glad we were doing this and it's a nice idea."
"What the hell is this?" (Someone upset that the seating area by the newspapers was fill of students.)

From the Staff:
"I was impressed with how comfortable the teens were and how accommodating and laid back all the staff were."

SIDEBAR TABLE

Community: Hinsdale Public Library serves a population of 18,000 in a bedroom community twenty miles west of Chicago and operates with a yearly budget of 2.3 million.
   
Planning/Set-Up: Approximately twenty-two hours of staff time is spent planning, including scheduling staff,  ordering and obtaining snacks and beverages, PR and Marketing activities, and setting up the meeting rooms.
 
Attendance: Spring 2007, 304; Winter 2008, 700; Spring 2008, 697; Winter 2009, 976; Spring 2009, 717.
 
Budget for One Semester: $300 - Snacks, drinks, and ice; $700 for  public relations and marketing.

Spaces Used: Large meeting room, capacity 75; story time room, capacity 30; 2 study rooms in youth services, capacity 4 per room; 2 study rooms in adult service, capacity 4 per room; all study tables, nooks, and crannies in the library; patio (spring only) containing 5 tables with 4 chairs each.
 
Staff Time: More than 200 hours of staff time is contributed to Finals Service among all of the departments spanning five days.         
 
Evaluating/Cleaning Up: Approximately 15 hours of staff time is spent after Finals Service obtaining feedback from library staff, compiling statistics, breaking down boxes, and cleaning up public spaces.

 

Lynn Elam is the Executive Director of the Hinsdale Public Library in Hinsdale Illinois, where Tiffany Auxier is the Assistant Director and Head of Youth and Young adult Services and Becca Boland is the Youth and Young Adult Librarian.

Published November 4, 2009 in vol. 3, iss. 21 [View]