WHY SHOULD YOU READ THIS BOOK? THAT’S A
question I would ask myself. How much
can there be to know about library programming?
If you want to have a program on, say, potty train￾ing, you just call a local day-care center and ask
someone to come in and give a talk. Big deal.
And, to some extent, that’s true. But after you’ve
organized programming for a few years, you
begin to encounter some bumps in the road.
Suppose this day-care provider:
Recommends corporal punishment as the best
way to potty train a baby. You didn’t know
that was what she was going to talk about.
Begins selling potties for $19.95 at the end of
the program.
Arrives twenty minutes late but wraps up ten
minutes early and promptly requests the
$100 check.
Asks afterward, “Well, how’d it go?” and
you’re wondering, too, because you hadn’t
thought of asking your patrons to evaluate
the program.
Asks you how you publicized the event,
because only one person was in the audi￾ence—you.
These things or close variations thereof can
and will happen.