To remain relevant, libraries are constantly evolving. Consider that our institutions were once places of enforced silence, but today are community hubs that welcome conversation, interaction, and playtime. As librarians, we aim to add value to people’s lives by planning and implementing programming for all ages. These books, and their out-of-the-box ideas, will help you to find new and meaningful ways to serve patrons.
Advancing a Culture of Creativity in Libraries: Programming and Engagement
By Megan Lotts
As Lotts puts it, library workers must engage their communities and plan innovative spaces and services for the future “all the while assuming that the future will almost certainly come with a 10%–20% budget cut.” This volume helps employees develop and maintain their creativity despite fiscal circumstances, with chapters that praise the importance of play, invite collaboration, and offer case studies looking at Lego, zines, button-making, and more. Each example details the program’s inspiration and cost, how staffers came up with funding for the event, and specific program details and outcomes. ALA Editions, 2021. 128 p. $54.99. PBK. 978-0-8389-4947-4.
The Big Sourcebook of Free and Low-Cost Library Programming: 300+ Resources, Ideas, and Tools
By Ellyssa Kroski
Often, library programming needs to be interesting enough to draw people in but also fit into tiny budgets. This text serves as a directory to all sorts of resources that can aid in cost-conscious planning. Chapters provide resources for different age ranges and program types (for example, STEM or passive programs). They also highlight grant opportunities, marketing resources (such as design software), program assessment tools, and professional development opportunities. Ideas are presented in succinct paragraphs that take the sleuthing out of searching.
ALA Editions, 2024. 144 p. $19.99. Ebook. 978-0-8389-3969-7.
Inspiring Teens, Tweens, and Families to Make a Difference in the World: Programming to Advance the Sustainable Development Goals
By Amanda Moss Struckmeyer
This collection provides ideas for programs to help communities promote sustainability. Specifically, each chapter focuses on one of the 17 United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals—for example, Good Health and Well-Being, Quality Education, and Climate Action. Each program idea comes with a name and multiple activity suggestions. Book recommendations are also given where appropriate. It’s the kind of guide that librarians can grab if they want easy inspiration for meaningful programming that will engage families and older kids.
ALA Editions, 2025. 144 p. $44.99. PBK. 979-8-89255-322-3.
The Library as Playground: How Games and Play Are Reshaping Public Culture
By Dale Leorke and Danielle Wyatt
The public library’s evolution from silent sanctuary to activity hub has involved the addition of gaming areas, chess sets, recording booths, makerspaces, teen zones, and even augmented building architecture at times. The Library as Playground demonstrates how embracing adaptation has kept libraries from becoming obsolete. It isn’t a practical guide but an ethnographic study, explaining the history of games and play in broader culture and the library space. The book analyzes the benefits of this shift while exploring the myriad reasons why libraries have embraced it. Photographs demonstrate how libraries use design elements to encourage play.
Rowman & Littlefield, 2022. 168 p. $40. PBK. 978-1-5381-6433-4. (Also available as an ebook.)
Censorship Is a Drag: LGBTQ Materials and Programming under Siege in Libraries
Edited by Jason D. Phillips and Jordan Ruud
It’s frustrating that we need a book about challenges to LGBTQ+ materials and programming in 2025. But Censorship Is a Drag serves as both an essential documentation of the current climate and a toolkit for librarians looking for practical advice in dealing with it. If you are planning LGBTQ+ programming for adults or children, there is likely to be pushback. The text goes into detail about how modern-day queer censorship is successfully implemented through stochastic terrorism and amplified by social media algorithms. The articles compiled provide much-needed guidance.
Library Juice Press, 2025. 396 p. $65. PBK. 978-1-63400-151-9.
Youth Social Action in the Library: Cultivating Change Makers
By Gina Seymour
This handbook supports teacher-librarians and public librarians as they create programs, activities, and collaborative projects to inform and inspire young people interested in social action. Seymour explains why librarians should model empathy, critical thinking skills, and civic engagement. She gives examples of doing this in small ways—for instance, using reusable water bottles—and in bigger ways, like collection development choices and book displays. She provides tips on respectfully disagreeing with people, such as factoring tone and body language into the equation. There is also a wealth of supplemental resources, including how-to guides, self-care information for youth, and lesson plans.
Bloomsbury Libraries Unlimited, 2025. 248 p. $49.95. PBK. 978-1-4408-7037-8. (Also available as an ebook.)
