Client Spotlight Webinars
We regularly co-host webinars with Beanstack clients during which they share best practices.
Auckland Libraries
Auckland Libraries' Catherine Frew, Manager Content Development and Engagement and Ineka Vogels, Reading Engagement Specialist, discussed launching Beanstack and two "Summer Reading, Sorted" reading challenges at pace in a super-diverse city and the importance of partnering for success. This summer, their "Whānau/Family" challenge asked kids and caregivers to team up and add books to their backpacks and their backyards. "Just for Me" helped teens and adults discover new genres, formats and resources. Both integrated te reo Māori/the Māori language and encouraged the use of other community languages and resources.
Lamar Consolidated Independent School District (LCISD)
Lamar Consolidated Independent School District (TX) is the 5th fastest-growing school district in Texas – and they are looking to be #1 in growing readers! In the webinar, learn how librarians like Ashley Henke, Christina Alvarado, and Jennifer Wagner are utilizing Beanstack to engage reading with a majority of their students and staff while moving their campuses away from quiz-based applications. The LCISD team also shared details of their past summer reading programs that included book giveaways, a library on a bus, and open libraries over the summer!
Saskatoon Public Library
Thomas Eastman and Rod Brown, Neighbourhood Librarians at the Saskatoon Public Library in Canada, talked about using Beanstack to present 'Knowlympics', a series of all-ages summer learning challenges that help patrons learn new skills, discover new interests and explore their city.
Gwinnett County Public Library
Gwinnett County Public Library's Youth Services Specialists Don Giacomini and Sarah Martin and Teen Librarian Katharine Russell shared how GCPL has been using Beanstack to engage their community through "living" programs. Feeling as though something different had to be done to excite patrons after the pandemic forced the library closed in Spring 2020, GCPL embraced the notion that Beanstack could be more than a preset program and could play host to regularly updated content to excite and inspire patrons. The three will share how - through Summer Reading and two new, year-round programs - their new approach is working.
Idaho Falls Public Library
In this client spotlight, Idaho Falls Public Library's children's programming specialist Mallory Snow and adult services lead librarian, Liza Evans shared how they keep their community-engaged all year. Their Extreme Book Nerd yearly reading challenge encourages kids, teens, and adults to read outside their comfort zones. The IFPL team discussed the ways in which Beanstack has been a great tool for setting up and managing these reading challenges, especially with the COVID-19 impact.
St. Louis County Library
Sarah Wood, Assistant Manager of Youth Services at St. Louis County Library in Missouri shared how they use Beanstack’s point system for their Summer Reading Club, which encourages both reading and exploring the community. The library partners with local organizations to offer fun Community Activities with secret codes for patrons to use toward their summer reading goals both online and offline readers. She’ll also share how the pandemic affected their SRC and what they’re planning for 2021 and beyond.
Atlanta Public Schools
Atlanta Public Schools dream team, Patrice Laird-Walker (Media Services Coordinator), Jennifer Saunders (Media Specialist At-Large), Rosalyn Washington (Digital Learning Specialist of Literacy), and Aleigha Henderson-Rosser (Executive Director, Department of Instructional Technology) share how they created, promoted, and gained overwhelming buy-in for a district reading challenge, Race2Read. We learned what went into their secret sauce that had students, teachers, and administrators abuzz about reading and establishing cultures of reading in their school buildings and beyond!
Broward County Public Schools
Innovative leaders at Broward County Public Schools, Lourdes Meyer (Instructional Facilitator), Neena Grosvenor (Curriculum Supervisor), and Lynne Oakvick (former Curriculum Supervisor) shared their vision (and secret sauce) for taking “Reading Across Broward”, an existing, paper-based reading challenge, to an online and mobile tool for thousands of students across the district. The team built enthusiasm with staff and students and empowered everyone to build on their school’s culture of reading!
Cedar Rapids Public Library
Kevin Delecki, Programming Manager at Cedar Rapids Public Library in Iowa, shared how using Beanstack has been a “life changing experience”. CRPL goes beyond summer reading with three special reading challenges: “Growing Readers”, a prenatal reading challenge for new moms, “Ready 10 Kinder Skills” challenge, and “Stay at Home & Read” fundraising challenge. Kevin shared how these challenges, along with the library’s successful summer reading challenge, are easy to set up, engage the community, and increase use throughout the year.
Cleveland Public Library
Check out how Erica Marks, Outreach and Programming Coordinator for Cleveland Public Library in Ohio and her team improved participation in their Summer Lit League. Erica also shared the excitement and ease her staff and patrons had their first summer using Beanstack.
Dallas Public Library
Dallas Public Library’s very own dynamic duo, Melissa Dease, Communications & Youth Services Administrator (and 2017 LJ Mover & Shaker) and Amy Priour, Out-of-School Time Manager shared their summer reading challenge must haves since 2016!
Flint Memorial Library
Danielle Masterson, Head of Youth Services at Flint Memorial Library in Massachusetts launched her first summer reading challenge using Beanstack in 2019. Danielle focused on direct promotion of reading challenges before they began, in the heat of the challenges, and after the challenges ended. She also shared more around building on the success of those reading challenges with a PowerBlock challenge for teens.
Gail Borden Public Library
Join Margaret Peebles & Tabatha Anderson from Gail Borden Public Library in Illinois as they share learnings from their first summer with Beanstack in 2018 and NEW ideas for summer 2019!
Harris County Public Library
Join Anjela Martinez, Programs & Outreach Specialist at Harris County Public Library in Texas as she and her team share ideas and engagement with their Makerspace challenge. You won't want to miss this innovative way HCPL used Beanstack to help them manage this challenge.
Kern County Library
Jasmin LoBasso, Marketing & Promotions Associate at Kern County Public Library in Bakersfield, California, shares more on the ‘outside-of-the-box’ ideas for encouraging engagement and reading in the community, through the establishment of new programs, and the use of Beanstack. Jasmin also shared the One Book Project reading challenge, and their first year joining the Winter Reading Challenge.
Pioneer Library System
Ashley Welke, Regional Coordinator at Pioneer Library System in Oklahoma, presented in our first Spotlight Webinar in March. Ashley shared how they've leveraged the strengths and talents of frontline staff to create and implement several challenges in Beanstack. By using a ground-up approach, Pioneer has seen high levels of buy-in from staff. Ashley also shared how Pioneer transitioned from Summer Reading to Summer Learning and how they quadrupled online participation in just one year.
Puyallup Public Library
Bonnie Svitavsky, Young Adult Librarian at Puyallup Public Library in Washington, shares ideas with other Beanstack clients around using points challenges.
San Jose Public Library
Lizzie Nolan, Senior Librarian & Youth Services at San Jose Public Library and her team share experiences of their very first summer with Beanstack in 2018. The team shares their secrets to the large growth in signups and program completions, as well as overall improvement in staff morale around this legacy program.
Suffolk Public Library
Sarah Townsend, Assistant Director of Libraries & Angie Sumner, Marketing & Community Relations Coordinator at Suffolk Public Library in Virginia shared with us on how their focus for #WinterRead2020 shaped their Summer Reading Program from content to promotion to engaging the community.
Lincoln City Libraries
Vicki Wood & Kathryn Kelley from Lincoln City Libraries share ideas around their great success with the #WinterRead18 challenge.
Sanibel Public Library
Deanna Evans, Youth Services Librarian at Sanibel Public Library shares how their community partnership with a local children's hospital established 3 times as much reading as in previous summers and so much more around their summer reading programs.
Christian County Library
Dana Roberts, Youth Services Manager at Christian County Library in Missouri, shares her library's Beanstack experiences with their first summer in 2017 as well as the success she had with outreach programming, and how they plan to adapt this summer according to changes in the library community.
Saratoga Springs Public Library (SALS) & Schenectady County Public Library (MVLS)
Jen Ogrodowski, Head of Youth Services at Saratoga Springs Public Library (SALS), and Leah LaFera, Adult Services Librarian at Schenectady County Public Library (MVLS), showcase their best practices and tips for their programs facilitated through Beanstack. In addition, each library presentation focuses on staff training and preparation to get staff excited and engaged prior to summer.
Santa Clara County Library District
Jennifer Weeks, Library Service Manager for Santa Clara County Library District, showcases ways she engages library staff from around the county prior to and during summer reading, as well as a glimpse into their community-wide reading program.
York County Libraries
Rebekah Anderson, Digital Services Librarian, discusses her library’s approach to training and onboarding staff and patrons.
Wauconda Area Library
Ashley Johnson (Program Coordinator, Wauconda Area Library) describes how her library combines the online and offline reading program experiences to drive greater engagement.
Virginia Beach Public Library & Carnegie Public Library
Toby Greenwalt, Director of Digital Strategy and Technology Integration at Carnegie Public Library, compares CLP's 2016 and 2017 summer reading programs and also discusses the library's Battle of the Books program. Lennis Sullivan (Digital Services Librarian at Virginia Beach Public Library) and Katie Cerqua (Youth Services Manager) share their library’s experience with staff training and community outreach.
Sacramento Public Library
Amanda Foulk, K-12 Specialist at Sacramento Public Library, shares 3 years of experience around best practices for reading program design and staff training.
Reports
Our team has the unique opportunity to work closely with librarians, educators, and readers across the world. This gives us the opportunity to engage in an ongoing dialogue with each of these groups and to analyze a wealth of data.
