Advisory committee reviews large community festival, radio partnership and outreach to boost program attendance

Committee members reviewed recent events and discussed strategies to increase attendance for recurring programs. Staff described a recent community festival that drew an estimated 3,000 people and included children’s crafts, vendor booths and a public vote on favorite bakeries.

The chair said the festival’s mix of vendors and attractions helped attract crowds: “3,000 people came for the… the coffee,” the chair said, recalling turnout and noting vendor participation. Members discussed how vendor draw and concurrent attractions increased overall attendance and said similar strategies might help library programming.

Outreach and partnerships: Members discussed a continuing program, the Hispanic Heritage Book Club, which recorded only three events and comparatively low attendance. Suggestions included adjusting times to avoid after-school conflicts, reaching out to Spanish and English teachers at local high schools, and partnering with groups such as AARP, retired teachers and veterans organizations to reach target audiences. One committee member recommended more evening options to avoid excluding working families.

Memory café and health partnerships: The chair said staff plan to reach out to the county health department and Alzheimer/dementia caregiver groups to coordinate a memory café for older adults and caregiver support programs. “We’re gonna be reaching out to health department working with their Alzheimer and dementia support groups and their caregiver groups and start looking into the memory cafe,” the chair said.

Radio and publicity: Members also noted ongoing collaboration with Radio United (local station) and past local-history programming; they suggested leveraging radio to promote library events and to produce short segments that raise awareness.

No binding decisions were recorded; members asked staff to pursue partnerships, scheduling adjustments and targeted promotion and to report back to the advisory committee.