Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Great Library Events: From Planning to Promotion to Evaluation (Medical Library Association Books Series)

Libraries and library staff are constantly in the process of expanding and adapting services in order to remain responsive to their varied user communities. As part of this trend, there is an increasing emphasis on providing a wide variety of programs and events; this service expansion has been met with broad enthusiasm by library users everywhere. Great Library Events: From Planning to Promotion to Evaluation, with its holistic approach to program provision, serves as an indispensable companion for anyone responsible for event or program planning in their organization. The guide moves through a program's lifecycle, beginning with the initial steps of defining an event's scope, ensuring inclusivity, and constructing measurable objectives. It follows with practical considerations such as finding funding, publicizing, assessing outcomes, reporting, and using data to keep the program cycle going. To support each of these steps, and to help ensure successful initiatives, practical examples, templates, and tools are provided throughout. While this book is aimed at library managers and programming staff, it will be helpful for anyone responsible for event or program planning in their organization, whether they are new to the task or seasoned professionals. Review Dr. Mary Grace Flaherty has a fantastic knack for simplifying the many tasks involved in developing library events. And by setting these tasks, for her readers, within the context of community needs, Mary Grace ensures that library events are effective and deliver value!--Annie Norman, EdD, state librarian of Delaware, Delaware Division of Libraries Emphasizing community engagement and responsiveness to funders, library users, and other stakeholders, this book powerfully connects programming to organizational mission and long-term goals. Practical information and tools on planning, assessment and reporting demonstrate how to strengthen this connection, giving librarians the confidence to think big and courageously about programming.--Joy Worland, state library consultant, Continuing Education and Small and Rural Libraries, Vermont Department of Libraries This practical guide to library programming offers solid structures and sound advice, from planning and publicizing to fundraising and evaluation, that will be useful to new and experienced librarians alike. Flaherty's pragmatic approach includes real-life examples from a variety of sizes and types of libraries, and discusses pivoting to virtual programs and considerations of sustainability. Carefully curated resources add to the valuable information and inspiration that will lead librarians to be responsive to their communities and deliberate and intentional in their program choices.--Starr LaTronica, library director, Brooks Memorial Library, Brattleboro, Vermont About the Author Mary Grace Flaherty is assistant professor at the School of Information & Library Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She received her PhD in information science & technology from Syracuse University where she was an IMLS fellow. She earned her MLS from the University of Maryland and MS in behavioral science from Johns Hopkins University and is a Fulbright scholar. Flaherty has over 25 years’ experience working in a variety of library settings, including academic, medical research, special and public. She has published in the academic literature in journals such as Library & Information Research (LISR); Library Quarterly; Public Library Quarterly; Journal of Consumer Health on the Internet (JCHI); Journal of Community Health; Reference Services Review; and the Journal of Education for Library and Information Science. Her books include Promoting Individual and Community Health at the Library (American Library Association, 2018) and The Library Staff Development Handbook: How to Maximize Your Library’s Most Important Resource (Rowman & Littlefield, 2017), which received a starred review in Lib