A Little More Swag, A Lot Less Junk

Read More

Who doesn’t love a little free swag? If you’ve ever staffed a library outreach table, you know the drill. You’ve got your tablecloth, brochures, a way to sign people up for library cards, and, of course, the giveaways. Pens, pencils, keychains, and stress balls. If there’s room for a logo, chances are someone has put one on it.

And don’t get me wrong. I appreciate a good pen as much as the next person. But I’ve started to wonder about all the stuff we hand out. How much of it actually gets used? How much ends up at the bottom of a backpack, forgotten in a junk drawer, or eventually tossed in the trash?

More importantly, is there a way to make our library swag a little more interesting?

I think there is. And it doesn’t necessarily involve spending more money.

Read more: A Little More Swag, A Lot Less Junk

Good Swag Is Good Marketing

Let’s not forget why libraries give things away in the first place.

We want people to remember us!

Outreach is an opportunity to introduce the library to families who may not know everything we offer. For some families, an outreach event might even be their first introduction to the library. And if that’s the case, I think it’s worth considering what we’re putting into their hands.

We want families to know where to find us, what they can do at the library, and why they might want to visit. That’s why we put our names and logos on things. But does the logo have to be the most interesting part of the giveaway?

I don’t think so.

Think about it. A promotional item with a library logo might help someone remember our name. But what if the giveaway itself could also tell them something about who we are?

Libraries are places for making things, exploring ideas, telling stories, and discovering something new. Why shouldn’t our giveaways reflect that? A thoughtful giveaway can be more than a little piece of advertising. It can offer a small taste of the library experience, something families can take home and enjoy long after the outreach event ends.

And isn’t that a pretty good way to get people interested in what we do?

What Makes Something Worth Giving Away?

When I’m coming up with ideas for outreach giveaways, there are a few things I like to consider. 

Is this something a child will actually want to use? Does it encourage creativity, imagination, or exploration? Can families enjoy it without having to purchase additional materials? Will it still be interesting after they get home?

And perhaps most importantly, does it feel like something that represents our library?

I don’t think every giveaway needs to check every box. Sometimes a useful item really is the best choice. A pencil is a pencil, and pencils are useful!

I think the important thing is that we’re making these choices intentionally. It’s easy to fall into the habit of ordering the same promotional items year after year, especially when they’re inexpensive and convenient. But a giveaway should be more than just something we hand out because we can.

For me, it comes down to thinking about the purpose behind the giveaway. What are we hoping it will do? If the answer is simply to get our library’s name out there, that’s fine. But maybe there’s an opportunity to do something more. I love the idea of giving families something that offers a little more than a moment of excitement at the outreach table. Something they’ll take home and actually do something with.

Of course, there’s also the practical side. Whatever we come up with needs to be affordable, manageable to prepare, and easy for families to enjoy. I actually like that challenge. There’s something satisfying about taking an ordinary material or a simple idea and figuring out how to make it a little more interesting.

Sometimes the best ideas are also the simplest.

Something to Do, Not Just Something to Own

One of my favorite outreach giveaways is a DIY sock puppet kit. Puppets and children’s librarians just seem to go together, don’t they? So why not give children the chance to make one of their own?

Instead of handing children a finished toy, we give them the materials to create one themselves. Each kit includes a sock, pipe cleaners, stuffed animal eyes, and simple instructions, all tucked into a cellophane bag. A paper tag on the outside includes our library’s hours, location, and a QR code linking to our website.

Simple enough, right?

But that’s where the fun begins. Will that sock become a puppy? A dragon? A one-eyed monster with a particularly dramatic personality? Who knows! That’s entirely up to the child.

And that’s what I love about this kind of giveaway. It doesn’t stop being interesting the moment someone walks away from our outreach table. The fun continues at home, and the library gets to be a little part of it.

Beyond the Logo

There’s another benefit to thinking creatively about outreach materials. A giveaway can introduce families to something they might not have known about the library.

A take-home activity could point families toward a related collection, an upcoming program, or a service they haven’t tried before. And the library information doesn’t have to take over the activity. Sometimes a small tag, a QR code, or a short message is all that’s needed.

I like the idea of a child enjoying something they brought home from the library’s outreach table and, somewhere along the way, becoming curious about what else we have to offer. That’s a pretty good reason to give something away.

A Little More Swag

I’m certainly not suggesting we throw out every library-branded pen or swear off promotional products forever.There’s a place for practical giveaways, and every outreach event is different.

But I do think we can be a little more intentional about what we hand out.

Before ordering another box of promotional products, maybe it’s worth asking what we want that giveaway to accomplish. Sometimes a useful pencil really is the answer. Other times, a little creativity might lead us somewhere more interesting. Because the best library swag isn’t necessarily the item with the biggest logo or the fanciest packaging. It’s the thing that makes someone smile, gets them thinking, or reminds them of a fun experience connected to the library.

And if that little giveaway happens to inspire a story, a new creation, or a return visit?

Even better.

A little more creativity. A little more personality. A lot less junk.

Photos Courtesy of Renee Kitson

For more Outreach ideas, check out some of these posts: Outreach Hack – Gamifying and Demonstrating Your Library of Things, School Outreach from Your Library Desk, and Have Rolling Bag, Will Travel – Participating in Community Outreach Events

Today’s blogger is Renee Kitson a Youth Services Librarian at the Mountain View Public Library in California. She loves creating hands-on programs that spark curiosity and encourage families to learn together. She enjoys sharing ideas that help make libraries welcoming, engaging places for children and their caregivers.

The post A Little More Swag, A Lot Less Junk appeared first on ALSC Blog.