Attracting Parents to the Library During Open House - Locker Notes!

Most school libraries aren't overrun with visitors during Open House. In my school, parents follow their child's class schedule, and then spend any study halls or lunch periods munching on cookies and punch provided by the PTSA in the cafeteria. A few devotees usually stop by and say hello, but the traffic flow through our space has always been limited, even with my best efforts to engage visitors.

This year, our principal came up with a FANTASTIC idea. She asked us to host a "Locker Love Note" station in the library. During her opening speech and via announcements in between periods, she invited parents to stop by the library to write a note for their child's locker.

 A parents slips a note into their child's locker.

We set-up a little sign in the library explaining the process, and provided parents with index cards and markers. Once they wrote a note, parents were invited to stick it through the slot of their child's locker for them to find the next morning. Our parents were able to easily locate their child's locker because lockers numbers were pre-printed on their child's schedule (our student management system automatically includes this info), which they were given on arrival.

It was such a little thing and a very easy activity to set-up, but the number of parents in the library far surpassed any previous records. I got to introduce myself to many new faces, and even if we didn't have a conversation, they at least saw our set-up and hopefully got an idea of the things we valued.

If you want more bodies in your space, set-up and publicize a locker notes station!

Comments

  1. AnonymousFebruary 1, 2016 at 9:30 AM

    This is a wonderful idea! I can't wait to try it in September. It's so true that no one comes in the library during open house.

    ReplyDelete

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