Rick Walton's Library Visits

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Rick Walton's Library Visits

Most of the time when I visit a library I read, or show slides of my picture books. Kids and their parents love these presentations.

My standard fee for such presentations is $100 for 1 hour, although I may wave the fee if the presentation is part of a package including school visits, workshops, or conferences.

For the presentation to be most successful, you should have:
: 1. A room that can be as dark as possible. Totally dark is ideal. (Some of the slides are a little difficult to see well if there's light streaming into the room.); 2. A working Kodak Carousel slide projector. (You might want to have an extra bulb on hand, just in case.); 3. A good screen, or white wall to project the slides onto.; 4. A microphone. (Not essential, but if there's a large crowd, it makes a big difference.); 5. An extension cord. (The best place for the slide projector just might not be near an outlet.); 6. Good publicity.; 7. Lots of kids ready for fun.

None of these are deal breakers. If the slide projector doesn't work, or the room's too light, we do things the old-fashioned way. We read from the book. (Slides are just a lot easier for a large group of kids to see.)

I've also found that the most successful presentations tend to be during a library's normal storytime hours, when parents and kids are used to coming to the library to be read to.