We’ve asked libraries across Colorado to submit program they’ve run in the last year that they’re proud of and they want the rest of us to see and celebrate. Sharing stories in books is great… but what about our stories? The stories of the ways our libraries bring the community together, enrich the lives of our neighbors, and serve the people who live and work in our cities and towns.
Johanna Dadisman, Adult Programming Librarian (Editor’s note: and resident Swiftie), answered our call and we’re excited to let them tell you about Broomfield Library’s Taylor Swift Friendship Bracelets program in their own words.
Library Name: Broomfield Public Library
City/ Town: Broomfield, CO
Program Name: Taylor Swift Friendship Bracelets
Date/ Date Range of Program: July 6, 2023
Intended Audience: The official age listed was “9+” and library policy is those 12 and under must be accompanied by an adult. Marketing strategies targeted teens and adults overall. At the end of the day we had patrons as young as 5, 30 somethings without kids, groups of teens, and parents & grandparents supporting their kids. The goal audience was anyone who loves Taylor Swift and wants to connect with other Swifties in their community.
Description:
The description we used to promote the program sums it up:
Are you ready for it? Taylor Swift comes to Denver this month and the Library is helping you prepare in style! Drop everything now and make your very own personalized bracelets to wear to the concert and trade with fellow Swifties. We’ll provide all the materials you need, including a variety of beads and letters to choose from. Whether you’re on your own kid, or taking the whole squad, this is a great way to get excited for the concert and show off your Swiftie spirit.
Drop in anytime between 5:45 and 7:45 p.m. So make the friendship bracelets // Take the moment and taste it!
How did you come up with the idea for this program?
Tik Tok! As a huge Swiftie myself I was seeing tons of videos of folks making bracelets to trade at the concert. This seemed like a simple enough project we could offer it at the library close to our local show.
What partners (if any) did you work with in developing or implementing this program?
This was a really low effort program on the back end. No partners, not much prep required, and only supplies were beads & string!
What about this program did you find successful? How did you measure the success of this program?
This program was a HIT!
We chose to host it immediately following our Teen Advisory Board (TAB) meeting to encourage teen attendance, and had about 6 or 7 teens stay. As I was setting up the crowd started flowing in and we ended up with 87 participants over the 2 hour event.
There were teens on their own, adults on their own, and families. It was so great watching dads and sons make bracelets, hear kids talking about their favorite songs, those that were going to the concert planning their outfits, etc.
This program brought in a new audience of patrons I had never seen at programs before but started to see afterwards! It was timely, intergenerational, very low cost, but high impact.
Final Thoughts:
Something like this is hard to replicate as it was a trending topic, but I’ll be on the lookout for similar trends this summer! Connecting pop culture with the library can expand audiences and create some really fun programs.
Johanna has permitted us to share their contact information so that anyone interested in reaching out to them about their program can do so. It is an incredibly generous offer of which you are invited to avail yourself if you’re inspired by their work and want to celebrate them or if you have questions about ways you can follow their lead.
To reach Johanna Dadisman, email them at jdadisman@broomfield.org
Resources shared in this post include:
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Colorado State Library (and the readers of this point as well, no doubt) understands how time consuming, emotionally draining, costly (in so many ways), and challenging it can be to run a program or project. Sometimes they fail gloriously… sometimes they fail with barely a whisper. It can be hard to recover from that. You’ve worked so hard!… and it just didn’t work out. Be gentle with yourself. Self-reflect. Pick up the pieces. And then get to the next thing. It’ll be worth it.
For all those other times, be sure to celebrate. Brag about it! Feel good about yourself, the team that collaborated on your work, and the community members who participated with it. Celebrate your hard work and the value that you contribute to your community.
Tell us the story of your program just like this library did here. Submit your library’s program for a Program Spotlight featured here and shared as far as Colorado State Library news reaches.
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