NCLA Con 2025

Family Portraits started with a familiar missional goal: identify what holes exist for our local community in availability, access, and impact, and find a way to provide meaningful service in that space. What began as a utilitarian opportunity to leverage existing Library resources in meeting a community need has blossomed into the Library's most expansive recurring annual program, serving nearly 500 families since its inception in 2021. Starting in 2021, each fall a staff member transforms the underutilized Library Conference Room, crafting multiple festive, nonsectarian backdrops comprised entirely from materials on hand from Library storage or on loan from staff. In patrons' twenty-minute appointment slots, a Library staff member stages the family/individual and shoots photos in various combinations of backgrounds, poses, and props (as determined by the patrons prior). Afterward, the staff member uses free, open-source software to edit the best shots in the same vein a professional photographer would, delivering around a dozen card-ready edits along with any usable unedited photos to the patron digitally via cloud storage. While time-intensive for the staff member responsible for the set-up, staging, shooting, and editing, the program operates on an almost non-existent budget and is easily replicable year-over-year at libraries of any size. As the program entered its fourth year in 2024, word-of-mouth exposure increased significantly, particularly after the program was recognized at a state level by the NC Public Library Directors Association. Following the most ambitious year of the program from a patron availability standpoint (2023), and adding in that the programming staff member responsible for staging, shooting, editing, and delivering the photos would be leaving in the middle of the program's normal editing season for paternity leave, significant innovation proved necessary to slash down staff time investment if the program was to remain available to serve the community. The first step in streamlining was to completely overhaul the patron registration process. Staff enacted a new-look online registration in 2024 as a prerequisite to book an appointment. Under the new system, a custom link (available as QR codes throughout the building and hyperlinked on Library web/social media pages), directed patrons to a one-stop web experience where they could: maximize photoshoot time by filling out all their information; access the full rules, guidelines, and suggestions for enjoying the program; utilize a full catalog-style collection of family portraits from previous years, as well as photos of the backdrop options, to custom order the poses and placements they wanted for their shoot; and, especially important given the staffing circumstances of the program, select whether they preferred to ensure photo delivery by November first (whether edited or not), or wait for the full set of edited photos after the holidays. Another key change instituted in 2024 proved pivotal in slashing editing time, and thus enhancing the capacity of the program: the addition of photography lights. Investing in a set of low-end studio-style photography lights (approximately $50) allowed the staff photographer to better control the shooting environment prior to taking the photos, which cut the largest parts of the photo editing (lighting and color adjustments) out, taking the average edit time down from around ten minutes to less than three. A third key innovation-the addition of a color-neutral background option-while seemingly a flippant addition, provided an unexpected increase in access.

Libraries serve as pivotal community hubs, offering spaces where individuals of all ages can learn, engage, and celebrate cultural traditions together. This session delves into the development and execution of multigenerational cultural programming, emphasizing its significance in strengthening community bonds. Using the Traditions of Ramadan & Eid series as a case study, participants will gain insights into: Program Development; Steps to conceptualize and design inclusive cultural events that resonate with diverse audiences. Outreach Strategies: Effective methods to engage various community segments, ensuring widespread participation. Partnership Building: Techniques to collaborate with local organizations, businesses, and cultural groups to enhance program authenticity and reach. Attendees will leave with actionable strategies, templates, and resources to replicate multigenerational cultural programming in their own libraries. Whether you're just starting out or looking to enhance your library's approach to inclusive community engagement, this session will provide you with the tools and inspiration needed to bring meaningful cultural programming to life.  

Play, Learn and Explore: A Park Adventure Guide is a booklet created in collaboration between Librarians at the Cary Regional Library and the staff of the Downtown Cary Park. The booklet uses the framework of Every Child Ready to Read to guide caregivers and children on an early literacy adventure throughout the park. Using rhymes and songs, conversation prompts, coloring pages, word searches and themed book lists, the booklet helps caregivers interact with their child in proven ways to encourage literacy while having fun. In our presentation we will share the process of forming this collaboration with the Downtown Cary Park and the steps we took to get a printed booklet in people's hands. We will also discuss the various opportunities and problems that arose and how we ultimately ended with both a product and a partnership that helps increase library visitation and encourages early childhood literacy. As Children's Librarians, we understand the importance of early childhood literacy. Our presentation will share how librarians can create tools using Every Child Ready to Read so caregivers can partake every day in developing a child's love of reading. These tools can then be used to engage people all across our community and beyond the library's doors. By partnering with a community park, we have not only created a mutually beneficial relationship, but an opportunity for an outside entity to be an advocate for the importance of public libraries. 

Library Programs help to bridge the gap between customers, organizations and authors. In my experience, library programs is a safe place for meeting, it opens the doors for new library customers. Programs also lead to lasting partnerships which is a key element to community relations and resources. In keeping with High Point Public Library motto: nurturing the joy of reading, sharing the power of knowledge, strengthening the sense of community, and enhancing cultural economic vitality. I seek to create programs that foster the joy of reading organizing Programs that create a space for connections to be made and lasting friendships to form while educating attendees. Programming such as hosting author events is an excellent way for authors to network with other authors, meet and greet their readers and it's an opportunity for community engagement and promoting education.