Dare to Go Paperless

But one innovative library system, the Public Library of Charlotte-Mecklenburg (NC) County (PLCMC), is trying something new—a teen summer reading program (www.plcmc.org/tyb) that will perform the mundane registration and record-keeping completely online, letting library staff work more creatively with participants.

"Train Your Brain," the theme of PLCMC's teen summer program for the past three years, won't involve any paper other than the pages of the books that participating young adults read. Beginning June 11, teens will register for the program, maintain reading records, and compete for prizes—all online. Last year, 3,800 young people in grades 6 through 12 signed up, and Train Your Brain mastermind Tony Tallent, the library's assistant director of youth services, hopes to draw as many participants this year.

To address staff concerns that teens participating in Train Your Brain would visit the library less often, the program's Web site offers clever incentives to encourage participants to drop in. Everyone who completes the online registration form receives a printable Fine Waiver coupon, which can be redeemed at any PLCMC branch to offset up to $10 in library fines. "We found that fines were a big obstacle for teens who wanted to check things out," Tallent says. (Because teens enjoy testing limits, Tallent made sure that the coupon can only be used once per library card.) And participants who've recorded 20 hours of reading can print out a Reading Rewards coupon good for three free items from any branch's book sale, or 50 percent off library merchandise—everything from book bags to T-shirts. At 20 hours, participants' names are also automatically entered in an end-of-summer drawing to win either a football signed by the NFL's Carolina Panthers, a Panthers jersey, or a $20 gift card. At 30 hours, kids are eligible to win a Palm handheld device, and at 40 hours, a Dell desktop PC system. PLCMC's computer handles the coupons and the contest entries, freeing staff of the chore of dealing with them.

Tallent says that he and his boss, PLCMC's Youth Services Director Melanie Huggins, had been kicking around the notion of an online summer reading program for several years. They considered putting this year's children's summer reading program, Mission: R.E.A.D., online as well, but objections from a majority of the youth services staff deterred them. Huggins says that while the staff could accept an online program for teens, who are overwhelmingly computer savvy, there were strong concerns that parents and young children might not sign up for the program if it was available only online. PLCMC's children's summer reading programs regularly attract between 15,000 and 17,000 children each year.

Other libraries are also moving toward online reading programs. The New York Public Library (NYPL), for example, is developing a Web-based summer program that will allow both children and teens to register and record their reading online, as well as play games and consult online booklists for recommendations. Margaret Tice, NYPL's head of children's services, hopes that three years from now an online summer program similar to PLCMC's will be available to New York City's children and teens. Tice says that NYPL's youth librarians first need to be convinced that moving the summer reading record-keeping online won't keep young people away from the bricks-and-mortar establishment.

Tallent says that he and Huggins hope a successful Train Your Brain program will convince skeptical staff members that an online children's program can help them do their jobs better. With the Web site taking care of registration, processing the statistical reports, and prize drawings, "we'll have more time on the desk to talk with kids about books and activities," he says. "[We] encourage staff to take the time they would spend doling out prizes and checking reading records to make real, more personalized connections with teens."