library activity: National Book Week

I've been a professional librarian for almost 6 and a half years now. I am working with an exclusive schools for girls and one of the challenges I face is on how to promote the library collection and services of the library to our users and how to encourage them to go visit the library often. My former superior used to tell me to plan and come up with library activities so that we will be able to communicate more and personal with our girls. I planned but I must admit that none was executed because of so many factors like budget, time, and coordination with the faculty. Of course, needless to say, that made me sad for quite some time. But last year, finally, we were able to kicked off our very first library activity for our students. 

The said activity was in line with the celebration of the National Book Week. Below is the mechanic of the said activity, and our promotional poster.

National Book Week

(Essay Writing Competition)

OBJECTIVES

1. To provide ICA high school students with the opportunity to express their ideas through an essay writing contest

2. To enable ICA students to understand and appreciate the National Celebration for books

3. To inspire ICA students to participate in a good and healthy competition with their batch mates

THE PARTICIPANTS

·         Students from High I – High IV (1 representative / section)

THE BOARD OF JUDGES

The members of the Board of Judges who will convene as a group to determine the winners are professionals with good reputation and will be chosen by the High School Library.

MECHANICS

1. All essays must be done on the spot at the high school library.

2. Essays must be in English for High Iⅈ Filipino for High III&IV. The length of the composition is a minimum of 1 page (single space) and a maximum of 2 pages (single space)

3. The topic will be based on the National Book Week theme: see the introduction to criteria for the theme.

4. The competition will be on November 30, 2010; it will start at 11:10am and will end by 12:10pm. Each participant will be given 1 hour to finish the essay. The participants must be informed fifteen minutes prior to the end of the competition to wrap up their essay.

5. All entries must handwritten. Materials such as pen, pencil, eraser, papers will be provided for the participants.

6. The librarians will be in charge of proctoring the contest.

10. The winners shall be judged based on the criteria for this competition.

11. Two winners per level will be awarded based on the average scores computed by the judges. The Board of Judges’ decision is considered final and irrevocable.

PRIZES

First Prize(for each batch): P400.00 worth of Power Books Gift Certificate + Certificate of Recognition
Second Prize(for each batch):  P300.00 worth of Power Books Gift Certificate + Certificate of Recognition

The judges will be looking for quality essays that will:

·         Merit wide attention on this year’s National Book Week theme.

·         Focus on developing the students love for reading that will promote the use of the library and its collection.

National Book Week Theme:

“Pandaigdigang Pakikipag-ugnayan sa Pamamagitan ng mga Aklat at Impormasyong Teknolohiya at Komunikasyon."

“Global Communication Through Books and the Information Technology.”

CRITERIA

1. CONTENT (30 points)

2. MECHANICS (40 points)

3. ORIGINALITY and STYLE (30 points)

*Specifics of the criteria will be given during the contest.