• Be an integral part of your partner’s summer enrichment program. Work with your partner to develop original and creative library experiences that are tailored to the curriculum, to the kids’ interests and needs, and to the library’s strengths.
• Host an open night with food, music, and fun programs and events for the whole family. Enable participants to sign-up for library cards and learn about library services.
• Arrange for the bookmobile and/or library staff to visit the summer enrichment site so that kids get to see the librarian in their own environment and out in the community.
• Teach kids how to use the library for research and develop a project for students to work on using library resources.
• Is your library planning a renovation or update? Include students in focus groups so they can tell you how they would like the library to develop.
• Introduce kids to information about their community to help them learn about where they live.
• Create a scavenger hunt or host book discussions relating to the curriculum. The discussion(s) could take place at the library and/or the summer enrichment site.
• Provide summer program staff with booklists, websites, and books relating to the curriculum.
• Tell teens about volunteer and community service opportunities at the library and invite them to join your teen advisory group (or start a teen advisory group!).
• Make kids feel special and give them VIP passes to the events you hold for them.

Literacy is often a key component of community-based summer enrichment programs and the library can help students and their families become readers. Some reading-focused programming ideas include:

• When signing new readers up for the summer reading program, say: “Welcome to our community of readers.”
• At the start of programs and activities, ask attendees to turn to the person next to them and tell their neighbor about the book they’re reading. Invite one person to share his or her book recommendation in front of the audience and give that person a book as a prize.
• Lead a summer reading cheer at the beginning of programs and activities.
• Set up wall displays of questions about books.
• Bulletin board: when kids read five books, write their name on a die cut.
• Bulletin board: invite teens to write and post book reviews.
• Hang mirrors in the teen area for teens to write on with paint pens, creating a communal book list and review area.
• Host an “I can read” party or “Chapter book friends party.”
• Host a Paws to Read program where kids learn to read by reading to dogs.
• Develop a summer book buddies program where younger children read to teens.
• Lead a craft program for teens at which they create library t-shirts with silk screening. Wearing the t-shirts will help to generate a sense of community among the wearers.
• Hold a “create your own book cover” workshop and replace book covers with covers created by teens.
• Host book-making and book arts craft programs.
• Create space on your website where teens can post book reviews, or invite teens to post book recommendations on a community board in the library.
• Invite kids to create artwork based on books, the summer reading theme, or the summer enrichment curriculum, and display it at the library. Invite kids and their families to attend a gallery-opening style event.
• Bookswap: invite teens to exchange books they’ve already read.
• Read-in: invite children or teens to bring along beach chairs and towels and read in the library.
• Reading time: set aside a time for staff to help children practice their reading skills.