Adult Activities in a Public Library

Wanting to ask if anyone has a few great ideas for adult programs in their library. I have been asked to add more programs this fall.

The most popular adult programs at my library are the computer classes (introduction, internet, e-mail, and Word), the conversational English program, and the drop-in GED study course. I've no idea if your library already offers programs like those, but it's a start.

I thought this was going to be a thread about patrons caught fornicating in the stacks. I'm almost disappointed now.

But seriously, family history classes (how to research it, etc.) always seem to do well around here.

Hey-we're pretty close. ESL classes, classes on getting legal, and everything weener listed are good. But classes on knitting, gardening (that's a biggie right now and Texas is starting is second growing season), car and house shopping-stuff like that is really useful. You may want to focus on something specific-if you live in a middle class area, having classes on how to cut corners might be good-one class on coupon blogs, another on how to preserve all that stuff from the garden, paying down debt, writing a resume that can get you hired in a recession-that kind of stuff.

I got excited because I thought my local branch was going to be doing some Chic Lit trivia games where they also gave away books if you showed up.. only to find out that was a scheduled event for YA girls.

I've gone to see local authors at the public library, and I've gone to some of the computer classes, and I've thought about going to some of the resume writing events, particularly when I was working at a business library. I thought it would be good to get another perspective and have some new ideas as to what to tell my students.

Perhaps an event showing off your databases would go over well.. Something like Great Business Resources at your Library, or a Reader's Advisory Showcase directed at book clubs.

We've had a lot of success with craft events for adults - card making, in particular. Someone from a local craft shop gives the workshop for free and sells their own stock afterwards. We regularly sell out of tickets. Otherwise, as discussed, knitting, local history, writing classes, internet, author visits, antiques events, gardening.

My local library does an annual One Town, One Book event where they make several copies of the same book available for people to read, then after a month or two convene discussion groups and usually get the author in to give a talk. It's been fairly popular, and it's a great way to get different people in the community to talk with one another!

I thought this was going to be a thread about patrons caught fornicating in the stacks. I'm almost disappointed now.

I KNOW! Me too.

Speaking of which, though, some libraries have done speed dating.

Glad I'm not the only one who thought that!

I'm still reeling from mistaking a heart-shaped, pink, stress-ball with my University's logo on it for a toy bottom when it was sitting in my colleague's intray!

I have also tried my hand at different new adult programs and have found it difficult to find a good time to schedule. I began shooting for family events that everyone can participate in and that seems to be working better. Good Luck

Our system has a variety of book clubs, offers basic computer classes, conversational Spanish and Chinese, and has a community tax info group.

Maybe Holden would like a lockin for adults.

We offer a variety of activities. Some special activities that we have done in the past: tarot, scrapbooking, wine appreciation, crystal healing, drought-resistant gardening, yoga, feng shui, etc. We also have book clubs and computer courses that run on a more regular basis. Knowing your demographics really helps when planning adult activities. We have 5 branches and crafts are really popular at one branch while metaphysical activities (like aura reading) are extremely popular at another branch.

Aura reading???? I'd like to limit my patrons to, you know, book reading. And what most of these things have to do with books, information, reading and scholarship I don't know, but whatever. I'm old-fashioned.
/gratuitous curmudgeoning

So ANYWAY...at a library where I used to work, which was in a low-income community, someone from the local cooperative extension came in weekly to give classes on low-cost healthy cooking. I liked that because it made the whole second floor smell delicious. (I know, I know, this has nothing to do with books either)

Scratch,
Basically we figure that if we have books on the subject matter, why not have sessions on them also? We always link our book collection to the activity that we are providing. Therefore, if we have a session on tarot then we have a display of our tarot books that the customers can borrow once the session is completed. The activity is to get them in the door and the books are to hopefully keep them coming back to borrow more materials. In the end, it has everything to do with reading, books, expanding people's horizons and the provision of information.

I've done many well-attended programs on topics that patrons ask for a lot: antiques, ADHD, horoscopes, etc. Anything for which we consistently receive requests.

We have a branch with very low circulation. That branch provides many programs to increase its visibility and viability in the community. Most programs are aimed at teens, such as lockins with special guests.

We don't have too many adult activities, but we do have a history book club that gets pretty steady attendance. We also have "Loop Group" a knitting/crochet group led by one of our librarians who can do both. Anyone is welcome whether they're experienced or have never knitted/crocheted before.

Not to reopen old wounds, but we had a thread once before about someone complaining about yoga posters at the library. Some believe that Yoga is a religion. The general consensus was that these people were idiots and that yoga, at least in the US, has no religious content to speak of. I very much agree.

That said, I feel rather differently about tarot, crystal healing and aura reading. If the public library is going to sponsor these activities and information sessions, it isn't such a big leap to imagine bibliomancy, holy water therapy and reincarnation workshops. I suppose I don't really care which way it goes—ban religious ideas or allow all of them*—but allowing only new age religious ideas strikes me as a pretty weird public policy result.

Am I crazy?

*I favor allowing them, I think, particularly because I don't want the library having to ascertain the religious content of things before or after.

Hi Tim,

I must explain that I am an American in Australia. I know where you are coming from with the religious aspect in a publicly funded library. Things are a bit different in Australia, and the separation of church and state is not really such an issue here as it is in the US (and aura reading and tarot don't seem to have a religious connotation here in Oz although they probably do have a spiritual connotation). I'm originally from Alabama so I am more than aware of how providing tarot sessions or aura reading would most likely cause an uproar if offered in some of the libraries that I worked in back in AL. From what I've experienced here in Australia, it just doesn't seem like a big deal. The same goes with offering wine appreciation sessions. It wouldn't go over well in AL but in Australia no one thinks twice about it. Same with a session on poker.

The main point I was trying to make in my previous posts was that knowing your community and clientele is what's really important when planning adult programs.

Yup-knowing patrons is definatly key. Aura reading and tarot reading probably wouldn't go over too well in the public libraries here in Irving, TX. But wine appreciation would be a big hit in the north areas of the city (more yuppie area), and would be boycotted in the southern areas of town (Baptist strongholds). As for yoga sessions-well, maybe they'd call them pilates classes or take the name from a Mommy and me session I went to and have Stretch and Grow classes, just to skirt the controversy. And it's not that libraries have to ban religious ideas-it's that they can't promote religious ideas with any public funding. Many libraries have really strict policies about religious promotion on bulletin boards or in displays just to avoid any possible protests-but it's impossible to make everyone happy. And some don't have any policy at all, just hoping if it's ignored, it'll go away.

People played real card games with tarot cards long before those cards were used for fortune telling. From my perspective as a tarot game player, I feel that these library programs aimed at teens or adults which offer tarot reading are stereotyping other peoples culture. These programs are biased because it implies that psychics are the only ones using the cards and that fortune telling is the only use of them. Tarot is not only this psychic card reading business. It is also a kind of card game similar to spades and, although it is mostly played in European countries, some Americans are now starting to discover this pastime. The problem is that when we try to teach people our card games, people sometimes think we are occultic or Satanic because of the psychic stereotypes regarding those cards. I am not against tarot card reading or any new age beliefs but I don't think it is right for these library programs to distort and stereotype culture in this way. Instead of only inviting psychics to give lectures on tarot cards, I think the libraries should also tell people about the tarot card games and maybe teach people how to play them.

That's fine in theory, but there are two issues. 1) What some people do now and what they have done over the last 400 years hasn't now and never will change the perception some folks have regarding tarot cards. As long as there's a Devil card, a fair few (and vociferous) patrons will get their knickers in a twist. 2) Quite a few of the same group who wouldn't like tarot reading will also eschew card games. Go figure. Now, for many librarians, that wouldn't be an issue-their library patrons might love learning different games using tarot cards and learning more about the evolution of card games. In my town, neither would go over well. It all comes down to understanding patrons-not judging them because of their beliefs (no matter how misguided you may think they are), but accpeting that they have beliefs different from yours.

>19 mokelley:-20

Not to be jerk, but "knowing your patrons" isn't the only issue here. If patrons in Alabama would applaud a Christian group using the library, but forbid a New Age group, that would, I think be rather unfair, and indeed violate the U.S. Constitution.

In this case, rather the opposite seems to be contemplated--allowing New Age groups but, as is policy in most libraries, forbidding church groups.

>21 Tarot4CardGames:

I'm all for a lecture on the history of Tarot. And yes, Tarot emerged from Renaissance Italian card players--rather than being traditions of enormous antiquity, as is generally put out.

Fortune-telling, however, is a spiritual activity, and if it's going to be allowed or promoted by a library, other traditions of a spiritual nature should be too.

Ultimately, I'm very uncomfortable with libraries making any religious judgements, or any content judgements at all. I don't want my library telling me that X topic is too religious and Y topic is not. That gets the library into the business of playing religious referee, which is exactly the sort of activity the Constitution intended to prevent.

I am in complete agreement with timspalding. there is a place for lectures on tarot history in our libraries but I feel that having them always presented by psychics and tarot card readers to be biased and it also stereotypes culture. Regarding the Devil card or trump 15. In the tarot deck used for the French tarot card game, there is no devil card. Trump 15 depicts the themes of painting and photography instead of devils. Modern European tarot game decks do not generally use the same symbolism as the traditional tarot cards with latin suits and they often have the same suit symbols as the poker deck, hearts, spades, diamonds, and clubs.

I have no more to say on the matter.

Hmm...well I have nothing controversial to add however I did want to give you some big pulls that brought people into our local libraries. Anything to do with cost savings is great right now. We have a "coupon" expert come in and teach everyone tricks of the trade. You could even have a lecture on low-cost local activities that families could visit. We've also had good turn out from war veteran speakers. And hey, why not try to start up a Scrabble or Boggle club! I'd be in!

I adore Boggle. The only problem--shaking up the Boggle gizmo is LOUD!

Isn't there a computer version of Boggle? One could toggle the sound off.

>29 saxhorn:, http://www.fun-with-words.com/boggle.html

I once made a version of Boggle that looks exactly like the original. It was photorealistic—it took hours of work to get the letters to fall just right. It may still exist, but it was only open to friends. Trademark issues... :)

So did I, what minds we librarians have.

This all reminds me of what someone told me a long time ago - There's no such thing as a dirty mouth, only a dirty mind.

edited to say that I also had the first same impression so I am also guilty.

The Bible could benefit American culture as it does European cultures if more Americans knew of its role in trivia games. It would be good if our nation's librarians would take a more active role in presenting Bible trivia games to the American public.

I just changed the quote a little.
It cuts both ways and it should.

" There's no such thing as a dirty mouth, only a dirty mind.

I wish someone would have explained that to Mrs. Krouse 50 years ago before she used a bar of soap on mine. eek

I have a friend that is French and when we get together we play Tarocchi. It's a wonderful game that resembles whist, bridge, hearts, etc. played with beautiful cards that also inspire discussions about 'Tarot', readings, and "what it all means". How about a Tarocchi card group that includes information about the Tarot?