Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Library Program: End of Summer Party & Book Auction

Our teen volunteers work hard all summer and deserve an awesome end-of-summer party! My teen volunteer coordinator, Amanda, made cupcakes, I ordered a pretzel party tray from the Philly Pretzel Factory, I got chips and drinks, and we set it all up!


In addition to being the volunteer party, this event was also our Summer Reading party. I invited anyone who'd completed our library's summer reading program so far (read and review 5 books) to come to the party, too. 


As each teen entered, they were given a number of raffle tickets. Each teen got one ticket just for volunteering and then two tickets for each book read and reviewed. There were a few teens who only got one ticket, one teen who got 53 (!!), and teens all over the place in  between.


What were the tickets for? Why, our first ever Book Auction, of course! Throughout the year I've been hoarding saving books that I've won from giveaways, ARCs that I no longer need, and even a few books I've purchased and had signed by the author. I had something like 90 books to give away! Last week a few of the teens bundled the books in groups that made sense to them. We had 20 bundles of 4 books each, one anime-related prize, and 7 or 8 autographed books. 

 They only look like coffee cans, but actually, these are bundles and bundles of books to give away!

More book bundles, and even an anime bundle!

These books were autographed, so were auctioned off individually.


After everyone had a chance to distribute their tickets and get some snacks, Amanda and I started pulling names. We took turns so the process would move along. Some people won lots of prizes, and unfortunately some didn't win anything, but everyone had a great time! After each auction we combined all the tickets into one large basket, which I then used for door prizes. I had some ARCs in less-than-stellar condition that the kids had been fighting over, some tote bags, I found a few library shirts in my closet, things like that. After all of that I put out all the assorted swag I've acquired over the past year (well, the swag I wanted to share, anyway!) and just let the teens have at it. This way everyone got to take something home.


We had board games, cards, and the Wii set up, and duct tape, beads, and lanyard stuff on a table in case anyone was feeling crafty. Most kids were content to sit and chat, though. Oh! And everyone who actually completed summer reading also got a little goody bag with candy and some toys, and a certificate.


Several teens told me this was the best end-of-summer party ever, which totally made my day. I was able to clean off my shelves and the teens were able to get some new books. Now I can start stocking up for next summer! I've already decided to use some funds to purchase more book-related items for next year's auction.


How are you saying goodbye to summer?
Enjoy your reading!
Christi


1 comment:

  1. What a fabulous idea! I'm currently getting my MLIS, and I hope to be a teen librarian, so if that all works out, I might have to do something like this when I'm a teen librarian, too.

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