GEN: Public library card & "contest?" ideas - please!

[Joanne Ladewig <shatz1@earthlink.net>]

Netters:

Earlier this month Vicki Sweet mentioned not having enough resources in her
school library. I find the same thing here in my new (as of September)
position, and although I am working hard on collection development, I would
really like to promote public library usage to my 700+ K - 6 students. Many
of them are from families who have "recently arrived" in America, and more
often than not, that means their finances, as well as their English
language skills, are limited. What better resource could they have for
their family than the public library?

I thought November would be a good month to have some sort of
library-related contest, and I'd appreciate any practical ideas that you
could share. Here's what I'm plotting so far:

Filling a big clear jar with candy corn (bought at half-price after
Halloween, of course!) and accepting an entry slip (either for a drawing or
guess how many in the jar) from each student who brings me "proof" of
visiting the public library and checking out books during the time period
(probably about 3 weeks). I have the public library card application forms
to distribute and plan to send a note home (with application form if
needed) beforehand to parents with the contest details and encouragement to
visit and use the public library as a family.

What I'm hung up on is:
What kind of "proof" should I request? I'm thinking of providing a form
that the public library could just stamp quickly to verify that the family
visited and the student checked out X number of books. Of course I'll need
to visit the local library first and meet with the person in charge at that
branch to see if they could accommodate us (they're usually very
cooperative) with stamping something (like the entry slip or whatever). I
want this to be as easy as possible for the public library and for me,
since my time is at an absolute premium. And, how many books should I
specify, or should I? Is one book (per student) enough? I want to limit
each child to one entry form so that all who enter have an equal chance to
win.

Thanks for any ideas or practical suggestions!

Joanne Ladewig
"Library Lady" at Lawrence Elementary
Garden Grove, California
shatz1@earthlink.net

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