by Hadley Ford, River Forest Public Library

For several years, the River Forest Public Library (http://www.riverforestlibrary.org) has participated in a week-long program in April called TV Tune Out Week, in conjunction with the group "Collaboration for Early Childhood Care and Education". This year we decided to celebrate National Library Week and TV Tune Out Week together. Under the leadership of our Children’s Outreach & Program Coordinator, Ellen Cutter, the River Forest Library was able to lead a community-wide program involving local schools, libraries and businesses in River Forest, Forest Park and Oak Park.

To ensure a high level of community buy-in to the program Ellen met with staff at the Oak Park (www.oppl.org) and Forest Park Libraries (www.fppl.org), teachers and librarians from local schools, and with staff at local businesses. Megan Flaherty from the River Forest Library staff, created a blog, www.tvtuneoutweek.wordpress.com. Oak Park staff member Sharon Grimm created digital programs and posters that enabled on demand printing of materials without spending a lot on costs upfront.

Michael and Ryan Fitch, and Carter and Sydney Rayburn participated in TV Tune Out Week this year with their families.

Each community got involved in different ways. The River Forest Library offered a musical kickoff from “Mr. Dave and the Space Cadets”, storytime at local café Blue Max Coffee, tours of the local police and fire departments (co-staffed by librarians), a Food for Fines week, a science program featuring NASA Solar System Ambassador John Vittallo, and a banner event on April 16th called Librarypalooza, an indoor fair for the community.

Librarypalooza featured an ice cream bar, library bowling, crafting, live music from one of our librarians, a premium cheese tasting co-sponsored by Whole Foods Market, games, and storytelling for all ages.  There was a raffle for patrons who showed their fine-free River Forest cards or who got a new card during the evening. Both Forest Park and Oak Park Libraries offered events for all ages throughout the week as well, including yoga, journaling, dance, crafting, and author visits.

To publicize the week of festivities, library staff reached out to the schools, local newspapers, and made personal contacts within the library community. Both River Forest Library staff member Ellen Cutter and Oak Park Library staff member Debby Preiser were interviewed by the Wednesday Journal and Pioneer Press. The blog was a great reference point for patrons to see what was going on during the week.  Having all three neighboring communities involved gave the programs extra attention as well.

Joining TV Tune Out Week with National Library Week allowed us to focus our energies on one larger range of activities rather than spread ourselves thin over the course of two separate weeks. This year's National Library Week successfu, and we hope to again have high levels of participation if we decide to combine the themes in future years. For more information about what our area libraries did during the week, check out the blog at www.tvtuneoutweek.wordpress.com.

Comments or questions about this article can be emailed to Hadley Ford at hadley.ford@riverforestlibrary.org.  

Published April 21, 2010 in vol. 4, iss. 8 [View]