Defining the Demographic Learning your Community
Defining your Mission and Goals Reaching all Genders and Programming Themes
Who are Millennials/New Adults? Wide range of life experiences and current situations:
graduations, establishing careers, marriages, births, relocations, etc.
Comfortable with technology An established social scene Developed means of exploring their interests Want a social element to their activities Born after Gen X Broadly defined as reaching young adulthood around
the year 2000
Learning your Community What is the demographic breakdown? How many of your library’s current cardholders
are in their 20s and 30s? Where do people in their 20s and 30s
socialize?
Mission and Goals We want… patrons of all ages to see the library as a place for them in
the community. all patrons to view the library as relevant to their lifestyle. to provide social opportunities as well as opportunities for
personal growth and fulfillment.
Strategic Timing Work, family, friends take precedence
Experiment with days/times- gauge your community, ask
for feedback from your patrons
Try after-hours programming, like a Saturday night
Include a variety of programming to appeal to many interests: Crafting Gaming Movie Night Home Brewing DIY Home Repairs Financial Planning
Reaching All Genders
Pop Culture/Entertainment Oscar Night Karaoke
Education/Personal Growth Money Smart Week Fitness Fair
DIY/Crafts UnValentine’s Day CrafterWork
Themes to Consider
The Nostalgia Factor DIY and Crafting
Education and Personal Development Getting Out of the Library
Strategic Timing Series
The Nostalgia Factor Don’t discount the power of nostalgia.
Basing programs on the pop culture of this demographic’s childhood is a great way to appeal to and involve a wide
variety of people.
Nostalgia/Pop Culture Resources What’s trending? Buzzfeed Huffington Post Reddit Jezebel Tumblr Pinterest Entertainment Weekly
*Patron and staff interest*
90s Halloween Throwback Pumpkin painting
DIY dirt cups
Goosebumps Fruit Roll-Ups,
Gushers, Fruit-by-the-Foot
Trick-or-Treating candy assortment
80s Halloween Throwback to the Future
Watching Back to the
Future II
80s board games Making scrunchies Trick-or-Treating candy
game
Preschool for Adults Fingerpainting
Shrinkydinks Playdoh Legos Coloring books Spirographs Juice boxes,
animal crackers, pudding cups
B(ring) Y(our) O(wn) G(ame or system)
After-school snack assortment
Participants brought a variety of board games as well as game systems and video games
DIY and Crafting There’s virtually no end to the
different kinds of crafting and/or DIY programs that you
can hold. These kinds of programs are great for
providing a fun, creative atmosphere that encourages participants to share and get
to know one another.
UnValentine’s Day Combined crafting -
making unValentines and worry dolls
And activities - a piñata and smashing candy hearts
DIY Terrarium Workshop Educational, but
messy, crafty and fun Incorporate into
DIY/Crafting or office decor
Participants were able to leave with a finished product at no cost to them
Education and Personal Development Opportunities for education
and personal development are important for patrons of all ages. Creating programming for patrons in their 20s and 30s, however, does bring with it different kinds of education and personal development programming that can be as broad or as specific as fits your community and the people in it.
Kombucha Instructor-led information session about the health benefits of kombucha and how to brew it at home
Demonstration of the process while allowing for tons of questions and participant interaction
Due to interest, we opened this program to anyone 18+
Money Smart Week
First time renter First time homebuyer Deciphering financial
information
Adult Milestones
Fitness Fair and Self- Defense Class Partner with local
fitness centers New Year’s
resolution for healthy living and exercise
Community event
In addition to meeting our patrons where they are in terms of social media and digital outreach, we also need to meet them
where they are in the community. If the members of this demographic are not spending a lot of their time at the library, we can’t necessarily expect them to
come to us for programming.
Instead, we take the programs to them.
Community Partnerships Another plus to holding your programs outside of the library is the strengthened community partnerships that
can come as a result of doing so. Whether you’re holding Trivia Night at a local pub or teaming up with a
local winery to hold a tour a tasting, opportunities abound to create programming that benefits your
patrons, your program, and local businesses.
Cupcake Decorating at Michaels Arts & Crafts
Held on a weeknight at a local craft store
Taught by an employee of the store
We purchased cupcakes and supplies
Participants got to leave with a finished product
Are You Afraid of the Dark? Fall Night Bonfire Storyteller Creepy walk in the
woods Crafts S’mores and hot cider
Series Creating a programming series enables you to provide
consistent, reliable programs with a set date and location. Participants know when and where to expect
these programs and are thus likely to keep coming back. Having an established audience for your series
programs can be particularly helpful for promoting your stand-alone programs.
Trivia Partner with a local
restaurant or bar Create trivia answer
sheets Write trivia questions-
use a trivia board game, online generator, etc.
Trivia can be done in many different ways. Here’s how we run ours:
6 rounds, 5 questions in
each round Round 1- each question is
worth 1 point, Round 2- 2 points, etc.
Bonus Round- wager total
Young(ish) Adult Book Club Bi-monthly Books available 1 month prior
to program Alternate genres Incorporate other events-
viewing film adaptations
What interests and hobbies do you have that would make a good 20s/30s program?
- Share your thoughts in the chat
Now a question for you…
Marketing How will you reach this demographic?
Promoting your programs through your standard library newsletter and website is a start, but consider also where
your demographic spends a good deal of their time…online.
Branding Creating branding for your
20s and 30s programming isn’t absolutely necessary, especially if you’re planning to hold these kinds of programs sporadically, but it can be helpful in distinguishing your programs as unique and set apart from the rest of the library’s programs.
Social Media Facebook Group vs. Page Group allows all members to
contribute Posts show up as notifications
vs. not all page posts showing up in a person’s newsfeed
Being added to a group by an administrator vs. “liking” a page Other social media to
consider: Goodreads, Instagram, Pinterest
➔ contact information ➔ links to social media ➔ feed from library
calendar with upcoming programs
➔ link to sign up for constant contact newsletter
➔ information about community partners
Website & Direct Email Newsletter
➔ pulled from patron database based on set age parameters (20 - 39) ➔ sent during the fourth week of the month advertising the next month’s events and
programs ➔ all-patron library newsletters are sent during the 1st and 3rd weeks, and we did
not want to overload people with library promotion
Working with your budget
Pulling from multiple budgets
Pooling resources
Cultivating staff talent
In our case, success of NextGen programming, shown
through statistics and monetary tracking led to creation
of new budget line for next Fiscal Year
Measuring Outcomes How will you measure the success of your programs?
What outcomes are you hoping to see as a result of your 20s and 30s programming?
Statistics and Breakdowns
Sign in sheet Name Age How did you hear about this program? Email
Post-program surveys
Program breakdowns and results Keep track of time and money spent: planning,
marketing, setup, length of event, etc. Communicate back to management the results
of program, age breakdowns Don’t discount the power of qualitative
comments
Out of the demographic “Because the goal of this programming group is to provide unique
programming for people in the 20-39 age group, we prefer not to have anyone outside of this age range, including young children, attend our events. If you feel you have special circumstances and would like us to reconsider, please let us know.”
With support from management, this was the policy we initially enforced
Not dissimilar from YS and Teen having strict age restrictions on their programs
As the programs have grown, however, we continue to target 20s and 30s demographic, but do not enforce an age policy.
Collaboration with other programmers in the library
Adults Facing Social Challenges From our very first program, we have had participation
turnout from patrons on the Autism spectrum and others who face social challenges.
After receiving feedback from parents of adults on the
spectrum, we researched the needs of these adults in our community and reached out to organizations in the communtiy to see what needs we could fill.
NextGen AFSC Launched in December 2014 Programs held once a month
and attended by at least one professional from one of our community partners
Partners include Alexian Brothers Autism Spectrum and Developmental Disorders Resource Center, Harper College Career Skills Institute, and Northwest Special Recreation Association
NextGen AFSC Casual, low-stress Emphasis on social
interaction in a space that feels safe
Programs have included crafts, board/video games, a genre discussion, drawing class, green screen workshop and a dating rules/etiquette information session
Transition from Teens to Adults
Teens aging out of teen services want to continue attending programs with members of their peer group.
Final Thoughts Numbers don’t always matter, especially in the
beginning. This is a great opportunity to try new things and see what sticks.
Some programs will fail, and you might for awhile like you’re constantly having to tweak things and readjust.
Patron feedback can be hugely helpful in deciding in what direction to steer next.
Facebook Groups Millennial Programming Ideas ALA Think Tank Programming Library Interest Group
Anything Libraries, Colorado https://www.anythinklibraries.org/
Sacramento’s Public Library’s alt+library http://altlibrary.com/
Contact Information Katie LaMantia Emily Vinci [email protected] [email protected] schaumburglibrary.org/nextgen facebook.com/groups/nextgenschaumburg/ [email protected]
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