No Need For Schedules

Passive Programming for Teens Presented at NYLA/YSS 2014 by Ken Petrilli, Teen Services Librarian, New Rochelle

Public Library!What is Passive Programming?

Interesting question; The Texas State Library describes it thusly:

“Passive programming promotes the library and its materials and services without providing a formal program at a specific time or date.”

Dry, but more or less accurate; I like to think of it more as

“Programming that doesn’t’t require four months of lead time because we might need to book the local Custard Pie Appreciation Consortium into the meeting room that day and a 300 page grant to pay for the robot and then we wring our hands in desperation anyway when 9 kids register but only two actually show up and they were only interested in the chips & soda anyway.”

Passive programming essentially sits at the intersection of programming and collection development. When we create a book display based on “Doctor Who” and include props and interactive elements, that’s passive programming. When we keep a collection of board games handy so the afternoon crowd can crank up a game of Monopoly, that’s also passive programming.

You just attended a program. AND YOU DIDN’T EVEN KNOW IT.

Why Passive Programming?

★It allows teens to engage with the library on their own time

★Because not every teen is comfortable about, or wants to sign up for traditional programs

★It can turn peripheral users into regular users

★Because you’re short on time, money, staff and everything else we’re usually short on

★Because it might lead to more traditional participation and/or programs down the road.

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If only there was something fun in the library to distract me from my homework…

Passive Programming Ideas

Plain as Paper:

Questions: Ask teens about anything—pop culture, books, TV, movies, school, dream jobs, whatever. Put up butcher/poster paper and have them share their answers.

Vote!: Have teens vote for book awards, the new paint color in the department, new furniture, or what new manga series/books/DVD’s to purchase next. Take the suggestions seriously.

Shelf talkers: Write little recommendations for favorite reads or favorite movies in the teen area and display them on the shelf near the item. Better yet, have the teens do it. Better yet, make totally overwrought recommendations and see what your teens can come up with to match.

Origami: 1) Print instructions. 2) Leave paper. 3) Watch teens fold away. 4) Display the creations.

Crosswords/Sudoku: Give teens puzzles. Heck, everybody loves puzzles!

Art stuff: Provide a corner for teens to get out creative energy. Leave a cup of colored pencils or crayons or markers and paper, etc. out to use.

Reviews: Hand out or leave out forms for kids to review a book and then post the reviews on the side of your desk or on the wall or bulletin board.

Blackout poetry: Use library discards and allow teens to make their own blackout poetry.

!On The Hunt

QR scavenger hunt: Leave clues around the teen area in the form of QR codes.

Traditional scavenger hunts, photo scavenger hunts.

QR book displays: Link to book trailers (not hard to find these days!). Then push your teens to make their own and link those.

QR book reviews: Link to book reviews on your library’s blog/Facebook/Goodreads/whathaveyou with a QR code on the book jacket or book jacket display.

Hide something in your library: The “Where’s Waldo” program! You could link this to any manner of theme, event, holiday, etc.

!Ooh! Look! Stuff!

Magnetic poetry: If you don’t have metal bookshelves or walls, invest in a whiteboard.

Board games: EVERYONE loves board games. Even the kids who will sneer at them the first day and ask “What is this, the sixties??!!”

Program in a box: Create a series of “programs in a box” that can be checked out from the ref/service desk for teens. Possibilities are numerous and possibly endless. (MAKE magazine’s Maker Shed was, at one point, working on kits just like this for libraries.)

The Craft Station: Sort of like the above, only more out in the open; it could be a multi-craft area, or a single craft could change on a regular basis.

!And there are WAY more; check Pinterest – many a folk has whole boards dedicated to passive programming ideas…

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Programming the Passive Programming

★Passive for the participant – not necessarily for you.

★Start small. Gauge reactions and continue to build.

★Advance planning is smart; keep a list of your favorite ideas.

★How many at a time? How long?

★Keep it fresh!

★Yes, you still need to publicize!

!Challenges

★There will be failure. But you already knew that…

★You are NOT in control!

★Be prepared to lose stuff, and if you’re not cool with that, modify

★Behavioral issues can be a serious factor

★To Tech or not to Tech?

!Outcomes

Passive programming by its nature isn’t easily quantifiable. There is not an easy way to gather concrete statistics for much of what is going on. These programs are far more about engagement.

★Keep your eyes open

★Count what you can

★Remember, you are NOT in control!

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Resources !There’s only one book I know of on passive programming, and it covers programs for all age groups: !Wichman, Emily T. Librarian's Guide to Passive Programming: Easy and Affordable Activities for All Ages. Santa Barbara, CA: Libraries Unlimited, An Imprint of ABC-CLIO, LLC, 2012. Print. !!These are some of the better online articles & posts. Search for “Library Passive Programming and you’ll find an awful lot of stuff: !Jensen, Kelly, and Jackie Parker. "Reaching Teens Subversively through Passive Programming." Programming Librarian. American Library Association Public Programs Office, n.d. Web. 02 Apr. 2014. <http://www.programminglibrarian.org/library/planning/reaching-teens-passive-programming.html#.UzyiAV6iBis>. !Youngblood, Lisa. "Passive Programming." No Limits: Read! Young Adult Reading Club and Programming Manual. Texas State Library Library Development Division, n.d. Web. 02 Apr. 2014. <https://www.tsl.texas.gov/ld/pubs/yareadingclub/passive.html>. !Johnson, Abby. "Passive, Not Aggressive." Abby The Librarian. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Apr. 2014. <http://www.abbythelibrarian.com/2009/08/passive-not-aggressive.html>. !"UnProgramming: Passive Programming." North Central Kansas Libraries System. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Apr. 2014. <http://nckls.mykansaslibrary.org/programming/unprogramming-passive-program-ideas/>.

Ken Petrilli is the Teen Services Librarian at the New Rochelle Public Library in New York, and is also a musician, pop culture junkie and all-around nerd, as well as a member of the 2015 Alex Awards

Committee. Hit him up heres: nrplteens@wlsmail.org

twitter.com/klp671