HIT: Adopt-a-book programs

[Mary Lacroix <mlacroix@GOLD.INTERLOG.COM>]

Thanks very much to the 17 people who have responded to my question re
adopt-a-book programs which I posted last week. Not only was the detail
and quality of the responses excellent, but the speed also astonished me.
I logged off immediately after posting my question to the list to
speak with our sysadmin and came back less than 10 minutes later to find
that I already had 2 responses.

All except one respondent, who works at a high school, indicated that
they had good to excellent responses from students and parents to their
programs. Two mentioned that holding student competitions to design the
bookplate not only yielded beautiful designs, but definitely spurred
interest in the program. In addition, having books on hand was usually
more successful than posting lists, since it was easier to for parents to
assess the quality of a book in hand (and because this supported spur of the
moment purchases).

Common procedures included:

1. Book fairs
2. Displays on Parents' Night of previously selected books
3. Birthday books

1. Book fairs: teachers have the chance to create wish lists from vendors'
available books. Parents who come to the fair are invited to select titles
from these lists to donate to their child's classroom or to the library
itself. One respondent was able to negotiate a consignment arrangement
with a local bookstore that included a 15% profit for the library. In
addition, some schools in Seattle are posting lists of their desired
books in bookstores to alert potential donors, although results aren't in
yet on this experiment.

2. Parent's Day/Night displays: this was one of the most popular methods.
Librarians have the chance to select books which they feel would benefit
the library (although several mentioned that they are open to
suggestions for their acquisitions) and parents get to examine the books,
which definitelt was more appealing than choosing from a list of titles
and nothing more.

3. Birthday book programs usually worked well with lower grades, but there
were reports of mixed success with high school students. Nominal fees of
$3 to $7 were usually charged, which didn't cover the entire cost of most
books but it was felt that it was a good idea to keep the books
affordable for all students. Some schools broadened the birthday concept
to include many other occasions. Plates were used to denote the donor and
the occasion. Donors usually got to charge out the book first as well.

More unusual ideas included:

1. "Wish Tree": a tree is displayed in the main hallway of a school. Each
leaf bears the title and price of a desired book. Parents select a leaf,
write a dedication on the back of a leaf, then put into into an available
envelope labelled with the library's address. In the winter, the leaves
are replaced with snowflakes and in the spring, the tree will bear flowers.
Results have been excellent so far. (Jenny Moreland)

2. Book shares: a school in New Zealand allowed parents and students to
purchase shares of previously selected books at Parent Days. These
purchasers received certificates and the right to read be the first readers
of their book. "It was very successful in a community full of parents
who regularly dabbled in the stock market". (Amanda Bond)

3. Gift Books: parents choose items already purchased and processed by
the library as "gifts" for teachers around Xmas. The wrapped books are
given to the teachers, then returned to the library as part of the
collection. Brochures and bookmarks are used to publicize the program in
the fall. Results have been excellent. (Lynda Short)

Thanks to all who responded, including those named above as well as
BECK@wartburg.edu, Shannon Acedo, Melissa Malcolm, Tri1Mama@aol.com,
Sharon Early, Margaret Lucas, Molly Pearson, Cheryl Stevens, Sally Lantz,
Sherry Nelson, Sue McGown, Elisa Baker, HBotterbus@aol.com, and June
Muldner.

--
Mary Lacroix, Librarian         De La Salle College "Oaklands"
mlacroix@interlog.com           Toronto, Ontario