As indoor spaces were closed during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the Kansas City Public Library worked to identify ways to connect with families outdoors during the time that the yearly Summer Reading Program typically took place. Through a partnership with Kansas City Parks and Recreation, the Library created the Pop In at the Park program as a solution for reaching youth and families to provide educational and learning resources during a critical period.
Library staff members were stationed in parks throughout the city on select days and times to sign up people for Summer Reading, provide free books, offer games and maker kits, plus park visitors could connect with key Library services such as library card sign-ups and voter registration.
Program Launch - June 2020
The implementation of the service came about quite quickly - within roughly two weeks - following conversations with the Library and KC Parks. Within this tight timeframe, I worked with project staff on developing public messaging and information, wrote and organized marketing content, and created a visual identity to apply to a suite of support materials.
Digital graphics for web/social media promotions were among the first needs; we set up a page on the Library website with details about the parks initiative and included the schedule of visits. A set of yard signs were also fast-tracked to provide visual signal for the Library's presence in a park during designated visiting hours.
Following the success of the initiative in summer 2020, Pop In at the Park has become a yearly program that includes other civic partners.
Kansas City Public Schools took part in the 2020 and 2021 editions, tag-teaming school registrations and information with Library services. In 2022, local food bank charity Harvesters also joined, extending the organization's Kids Cafe service, which provides snacks to youth after school or when school is out for the summer (several KC Library locations regularly serve as host sites for Kids Cafe). Pop In at the Park sessions provided another way to offer additional vital services in new ways, meeting people where they are in the community.
Program Expansion - 2022
In 2022, as more funds became available for marketing materials, I developed a promotional 3x9" bookmark with that summer's schedule that was shared among all the partner organizations. I wrote the copy and had it translated into Spanish, and oversaw distribution of 10,000 copies among Library locations and partners.
That summer we also were able to organize an outreach campaign targeted at neighborhoods surrounding the four parks where the Library would rotate regular visits. Tactics included two direct-mail postcards sent to residents in the area, and a companion email message to current Library cardholders within the same neighborhoods.
The first card's delivery coincided with the start of the Library's Summer Reading program in early June, and the second hit mailboxes in July - midway through the Pop In at the Park period. I wrote content, designed the card, and worked with our database vendor on coordinating the mailing. Cards were sent to approximately 6,000 households (cardholder and non-cardholder).
I also produced a series of large outdoor vinyl banners, one for each of the park sites, that promoted the Library's visit schedule.
