In August, Johnson County Public Library will add a new service for teens, JCPL Lit Loot bundles.
Teens sign up monthly to receive a personalized bag that contains a mix of library items, crafts or swag, and a book to keep. Participants fill out a brief survey about their interests and reading preferences, and librarians then hand-select titles tailored to each individual.
Librarian Amy Hamilton and I came up with the idea for Lit Loot when trying to find new ways to serve teens.
“Connecting with teens is an ongoing challenge at JCPL due to their busy schedules with school, sports, clubs, jobs and other extracurricular activities,” Hamilton said.
Lit Loot offers an opportunity for the Library to tackle that challenge by meeting teens where they are. Rather than attend a program at a set time and place, teens can collect their bundles and read on a timeline that works for them.
While we may not see them at every in-house program, participants’ responses to the survey and the feedback they provide will help us develop relationships with them. Not only will we get to know the teens who sign up for Lit Loot, but we’ll also get an idea of what teens in our community are interested in. That knowledge will help us with everything from choosing which new books to buy to determining what programs may be popular with them.
While Lit Loot is new for JCPL, we received guidance from other librarians who have offered similar services such as the Greenwood Public Library and Allen County Public Library. Those conversations helped us determine realistic goals and parameters like having teens sign up monthly rather than keeping their names on a list indefinitely when they may not always have time to finish their books. They also gave us ideas for book-themed and seasonal crafts as well as swag to include in the Lit Loot bags.
The JCPL Lit Loot service is modeled after commercial subscription boxes, which have increased in popularity in recent years. Budding STEM enthusiasts have KiwiCo, home chefs have Blue Apron, and now Johnson County teen readers will have free book and swag bundles.
Teens may sign up for Lit Loot now through August, and librarians will prepare the first packages for pick up in September.
Learn more and register at your JCPL Branch or visit PageAfterPage.org/Lit-Loot.
Liz Storm is teen librarian at the Franklin branch of the Johnson County Public Library. Library staff members share in writing this bi-monthly column for the Daily Journal. Send comments to [email protected].
