Snapshot Day 2011 Highlights

Well, Snapshot Day/week is once again complete for the Chinook Arch Regional Library System, but it's still happening throughout the province. We were very excited this year to incorporate some new ideas and new libraries. This year, we had 17 libraries in the region participate. In addition, we had libraries participating in 5 other regional Systems! The final numbers aren't in yet, but it should be impressive.

This year we offered an option for online patrons to participate. Online participants were able to fill out the patron comment card online, as well as upload their own 'snapshots' to our Flickr account. Uptake of this option was ... limited to say the least, but this year we can include online visits in our stats too (for the first time in a number of years).

For those of you who might have already 'liked' Brooks Public Library on Facebook, you may have seen some of the wonderful things they did for their Snapshot Day on October 6th. Here's a sampling:

• Hourly door prizes
• Words on the Window community art project - patrons were invited to write why they love the library using window markers on all the library windows
• Scavenger Hunt - winners received a pack of books
• Wii Gaming for Tweens and Teens
• E-book and Library-to-go training sessions
• Senior's Outreach
• Friends of the Library raffle
• Free cupcakes (handmade by library staff)
• Grand prize draw of a Kobo Touch e-reader

My favorite post on Facebook from this library yesterday was "Pssst. The first person to come into BPL and scream "I LOVE THE LIBRARY!!!" before 12 Noon will win a prize. Hurry hurry!"

The library promoted the event in the newspaper, on the radio, and via Facebook and Twitter. They tweeted and posted on Facebook live all day, and decorated the library with a giant book, a Giller display, a Brooks Reads display, and lots of balloons.

And here are just some of the results of their efforts:

• 302 people visited the library
• 26 people used the computer lab
• 600 reference questions were asked! (wow)
• 98 comment cards completed
• 29 scavenger hunt participants
• 12 Wii game participants
• 4 training attendees

Congratulations to the Brooks Public Library and their staff for putting on such a great event. If you haven't 'liked' their Facebook page yet, go do so now, and learn more about what they did on Snapshot Day: https://www.facebook.com/BrooksPublicLibrary

Chinook Arch libraries, please don't forget to submit your Snapshot Day stats via SurveyMonkey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/SnapshotDaySystemSurvey

You can also upload your snapshots to our Flickr site at: http://www.flickr.com/groups/albertasnapshotday2011/

Congratulations everybody on a great job this year!