To Prize or Not to Prize? That’s the Sunshine & Stories Question!

What is Sunshine & Stories?

Sunshine & Stories is a Colorado State Library podcast dedicated to all things summer in public libraries. During our 2024-25 season, keep an eye out for new episodes twice a month from August to May. We’ll explore topics like performers, incentives, outreach, volunteers, capturing impact, and many more ideas related to designing a summer public library program for your whole community (adults included!). Featuring interviews with other Colorado State Library staff and ideas from Colorado library professionals around the state, this podcast aims to provide valuable insight and spark creative ideas in your public library’s own 2025 summer planning. Whether you’re a veteran in the summer library program planning world, a newbie looking to start a summer program for the first time, or someone who’s considering changing up your program a little or a lot this year, we hope this podcast will be a valuable resource for you.

Episode 105: To Prize or Not to Prize:

Episode Summary:

This week Kate & Kate talk summer library program tracking strategies, as well as the pros and cons of offering different types of incentives during the summer. They also explore how both tracking strategies and incentives programs might connect to and support the outcomes you set for yourself based on why you’re designing a summer library program in the first place.

Listeners may want to check out Episodes 102 and 103 for a more in-depth discussion around identifying your summer why and outcome-based planning and evaluation for summer library programs.

00:00 – Introduction
00:59 – Let’s talk tracking strategies
08:46 – What about prizes or incentives?
15:40 – How does tracking connect to capturing impact?
16:55 – Book and program highlights
18:55 – Closing

Resources:

Collaborative Summer Library Program
Bright by Brigit Young
The Puzzling World of Winston Breen by Eric Berlin
Pikuni Bigfoot Storytelling Project

Next Drop-in Chat:

Hey Colorado library folks! Join us on October 8, 2024 at 11:00 am to noon Mountain Time for our first online Summer Drop-in Chat. No need to register. Come when you can, stay for as long as you can. See you soon!

If you work in a library and gave us a listen, please let us know what you think by completing a short feedback survey for this episode.