Community Reads: Plainview Area Community Reads
This project is geared towards adults in the Plainview Area. The author visit will be a two-fold event. Setting the tone for the kind of activities that would have been experienced by the characters in the novel, we will begin with a hotdish contest where participants will be invited to submit their tastiest creations for judging. Students at Plainview-Elgin-Millville Schools will generate the prizes including pottery casserole dishes. Once the competition is completed, we will settle in for Mr. Krueger's talk.
42 participated
This project is intended for adults in the Plainview Area. In offering the William Kent Krueger Author visit / Hot Dish Contest, we expect to:
1) Have 20 adults that indicated that they have never interacted with an author attend the program.
2) Have 5 adults that have never read a William Kent Krueger book prior to the event indicate that they are now interested in doing so.
3) Have 75% of participants indicate that they feel more engaged in their community after this event.
Data for outcome success will be measured via paper survey.
Attendees reported that they appreciated the opportunity to meet Kent. He was comfortable speaking in front of groups and one on one as he mingled through the hotdish contest and signed books. They also appreciated his candid sharing of personal experiences and stories. One person reported that Mr. Krueger had inspired them to do some writing of their own.
Suggestions for improvement included that they would have appreciated him speaking longer, and that we offer the event twice to include an evening.
This feedback is in line with our original expected outcomes.
1) Have 20 adults that indicate that they have never interacted with an author attend the program.
We gathered this information verbally. Of the 42 persons that attended the event, 19 indicated that they had never interacted with an author in the past. On a paper survey, we asked whether participants are more likely to think of the library as a place to experience cultural or arts programming. Of the 24 respondents, 100% rated this a 5 out 5. These combined numbers correlate nicely to show the value that author visits bring to a community.
2) Have 5 adults that have never read a William Kent Krueger book prior to the event indicate that they are now interested in doing so.
We gathered this information verbally. Of the 42 persons that attended the event, only 2 reported that they had not read a Krueger book before, and were now interested in reading more. A majority of our attendees had already ready a good deal of Krueger's book. In retrospect, I wish we had said that we would measure the number of people who came to the library to pick up their first Krueger book based on the efforts of this program. We definitely saw new readers, they just were not able to attend the event.
3) Have 75% of participants indicate that they feel more engaged in their community after this event.
As part of a paper survey, we asked whether attendees felt more connected to their community after our program. We received 19 responses to this question. The average score was 4.47 out of 5 with responses ranging from 3-5. 89% of respondents marked a 4 or 5, indicating that they felt more connected to their community.
SELCO, Plainview Public Library, P-E-M High School, P-E-M Elementary School