National Poetry Day for librarians

National Poetry Day is on Thursday 4 October 2012. 

Each year, the Scottish Poetry Library produces poem postcards for schools, libraries and public venues.

Here's how - and when - to get your library authority, your branch or school library involved.

Events

As soon as the theme for 2012 is decided, we'll post it here.

Then start planning as soon as you want... the earlier you are, the more likely you are to book the poets and performers you want, and the more time you have to build interest for your events.

If you're planning public events for National Poetry Day, let us know what they are so we can pass them on to the publicity team for National Poetry Day UK. Get some extra coverage for your plans!

Cards

There are eight poem cards each year.  Library authorities can order in packs of 100 (10 of each design), and can order just one pack, or as many as 12.  There is a small charge for distribution.

Free poster versions of each poem to use in displays, along with notes for teachers and ideas for events and activities, are available to download from our site from mid-August.

June

We email each library authority contact with order forms.

The contact is often the library staff member with responsibility for Reader Development, and may also be the RDN network (we circulate the order information to RDN as well, via Rhona Arthur at SLIC.

If you desperately want cards in 2012 for your branch library, please mention it to the colleagues who usually order promotional and campaign material, or your RDN contact. If you've no idea who usually orders them, ask us and we'll send on your request.

If you are a school librarian, we'll be emailing each school in Scotland in June too;  please ask administration colleagues to keep an eye out for the order form, or simply download a school order form from the For Teachers pages

September

We send out packs to each participating library authority, to the single delivery point and contact named on the form. Libraries then distribute among their own branches and mobiles. 

Help build a sense of occasion by keeping the cards themselves under wraps till National Poetry Day on 4 October!