Trunk-or-Treat approach

[Elly Roberts (LIB)]

Hi all! What, if anything, do you do for trunk-or-treats events? There are way more of these locally than our system can serve, and we've found that they're pretty shallow outreach moments (by design, and it's not necessarily a bad thing--the kids are simply there to get candy!) At most, we end up answering a handful of questions about our current construction projects, and mostly feeling like there's not any real library magic happening. I end the season wondering if there's any point to the staff time and candy budget we're investing. So; do you do Trunk-or-Treats? Have you found a way to have more meaningful micro-interactions? Do you give away something other than candy? Do you prioritize any sort of event (secular or not, neighborhood vs. business, etc.)

Thanks and happy haunting!

Elly Roberts

[Ali Bousquet]

Hi Elly! I agree, these interactions are pretty shallow and transactional. I do wonder about the meaningfulness of just showing up as part of the community--whichever community that event is serving. We prioritize school trunk-or-treats as schools are our natural allies and us being there shows our investment in the school-library relationship. 

A local fast food chain donated about 7,000 books to us and we'll be giving those away alongside candy. These are branded books, featuring that company's mascots but it is a book nonetheless! We're slapping stickers on the front cover with a QR code that leads to our website and I'm hopeful that will help better connect our presence with actual library usage. Wishful thinking but...better than nothing??

Best, 

Ali B

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[Mary Beth Adams]

We do the big events – our downtowns have Trick or Treat/Trunk or Treat events. We’re talking about thousands of people! We give away dinky prizes from Amazon or Oriental Trading. For us, it is about “the library is here in good bookish costumes” rather than anything else.

 

One we hold in our meeting room – so people are entering the library and maybe realizing it’s here.

One is in a town square, and we’re outside in a tent/table situation with battery-powered lanterns, so the atmosphere is really cool.

One is in the daytime, on a busy downtown street that is closed off, and we also do a storytime.

One is in a local park, and we bring our large bookmobile to that one.

 

I could see smaller Trunk or Treats not being as helpful for Outreach purposes, as you’re right, the kids just want the prizes or candy, not to linger.

 

Mary Beth Adams

Community Engagement Librarian

Alamance County Public Libraries

(336) 570-6981

 

From: abos-o...@googlegroups.com <abos-o...@googlegroups.com> On Behalf Of Elly Roberts (LIB)
Sent: Wednesday, September 17, 2025 11:53 AM
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Subject: [EXTERNAL] [ABOS-Outreach] Trunk-or-Treat approach

 

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Hi all! What, if anything, do you do for trunk-or-treats events? There are way more of these locally than our system can serve, and we've found that they're pretty shallow outreach moments (by design, and it's not necessarily a bad thing--the kids are simply there to get candy!) At most, we end up answering a handful of questions about our current construction projects, and mostly feeling like there's not any real library magic happening. I end the season wondering if there's any point to the staff time and candy budget we're investing. So; do you do Trunk-or-Treats? Have you found a way to have more meaningful micro-interactions? Do you give away something other than candy? Do you prioritize any sort of event (secular or not, neighborhood vs. business, etc.)

 

Thanks and happy haunting!

Elly Roberts

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[Sally Robertson]

I’m doing one this year and giving out donated books. 

And hopefully promoting my new book bike. 

Sally Robertson
The Mt Juliet Biking Librarian

On Wed, Sep 17, 2025 at 10:53 AM Elly Roberts (LIB) <emro...@omahalibrary.org> wrote:

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[Sally Robertson]

It’s great for community engagement! I love the idea of books from fast food restaurants. 

Thanks,

Sally Robertson
The Mt Juliet Book Biking Librarian

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[Whitney Hyde]

Greetings!

We will do any trunk or treat we are invited to - the way we figure, that is a community organization that knows we are there & we want to be as open to our community partners as we can. We do limit it to a first-ask basis for scheduling. The set up and take down time are awesome for networking with other groups. We almost always meet new people at these events. Some of our more meaningful relationships have come from smaller groups.

We do not give out candy - we do a craft bag with a QR code that directs people to our webpage to get the directions for the craft.

Good luck!

Whit

 

_________________________________________________________________________

Whitney Hyde

Head of Circulation & Bookmobile Services

Midland County Public Library

301 W. Missouri

Midland, TX  79701

432-688-4338

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From: abos-o...@googlegroups.com <abos-o...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Sally Robertson <bikingl...@gmail.com>
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[Anne Rhodes]

Having people go to your website for the directions for the craft is genius! We are going to try that.

Anne Rhodes

Outreach Services Coordinator

MRCPL

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[Diana Karas]

I attend the one our Children's Room hosts at our StoryWalk and I attend the town wide Truck or Treat. I set up a table so people can grab calendars or 1/4 sheets of exciting upcoming events. I empty out the back of my Outreach van and let the kids take pictures in it (last year my van was a shark with the shark mouth on the side door for hilarious shark photo opts of them being eaten, this year it'll be a giant spider!) I hand out candy, stickers, and/or take home crafts depending on how we feel for the event. I've attended school "not Halloween" events and had kits our Children's Room circulate (like STEM and Social Emotional Kits) so the parents would linger to talk more about our different resources. While I may not get a ton of questions with the trick or treating, it does hit some folks who don't go to the library! To me, it's worth the time and effort. 

Diana 

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--

Diana Karas

Outreach and Marketing

Shrewsbury Public Library 

609 Main Street. Shrewsbury, MA 01545

DKa...@cwmars.org

she/her/hers

508-841-8535

[Tameka Roby]

We absolutely do trunk or treats and advertise upcoming library branch programming. 

Purchasing food is a nightmare for us, so we typically either do a quick halloween craft, with an incentive like a small keychain flashlight or glow sticks.  We also have special pumpkin shaped bags, or library bags.  

Tameka Roby

East Baton Rouge Parish Library

Bookmobile and Outreach Services 

3434 North Boulevard

Baton Rouge, LA 70806

Bookm...@ebrpl.com

Office: (225) 302-5515 

Cell: (225) 939-3155

http://www.ebrpl.com/

 

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[Mike Cleaves]

We do trunk-or-treats too. Our bookmobile usually goes to the big downtown celebration and then makes the rounds at a few schools and parks. We don’t prioritize one site over another, with the exception of the downtown event because it’s so large. We set up pretty much the same as we do for any other outreach stop, lots of flyers, Halloween book displays, spooky giveaway crafts, a couple of big bags of candy, and of course, we decorate the heck out of the bookmobile.

These events aren’t our biggest book-moving days, but they’re valuable in other ways. Staff love them, it’s a fun team-building exercise to decorate together, and people can wear costumes if they want to. Just being there is good advertising, even for folks who are only walking by. More importantly, it’s a way to be part of the community. Families see the library having fun, we’re adding something a little special (and even a touch educational), and we’re giving back by being part of the celebration. At the end of the day, yeah, it’s a little frivolous; but sometimes being frivolous and having fun is just making everyones day better. 

[Sally Robertson]

Love that philosophy. I wish my county’s library board would see my book bike mobile as being important. 

Thank you, 

Sally Robertson
The Mt Juliet Biking Librarian

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[Kathi Kresol]

Hello,

I thought I would chime in here on the Trunk or Treat subject.  We use Mobile library as a Marketing tool for these kind of events. And we do hand out candy as well. We do a HUGE event (5,000) and we have the families come on and tour the bus and answer questions before we give them candy. They have a chance to ask us questions and it leads to other opportunities for partnerships and invitations to other special events.

My best,

Kathi

   

Kathi Kresol

Mobile Library Services Manager

Rockford Public Library 

Montague Branch

1238 S. Winnebago Street 

Rockford, IL 61102

815-966-2741

kkr...@rockfordpubliclibrary.org

 

The mission of the Rockford Public Library is to educate, inform, entertain, and culturally enrich the people of our community.

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[Robin Rousu]

And we don't do any- we can only do so many special events a year and so we prioritize ones where we can have deeper interactions. Also very likely to be rather rainy. And we have a thriving actual trick or treat culture still. And purchasing food is also a nightmare for us- perhaps we could dress the bookmobile up as all the paperwork that it would take us to purchase candy if we do every go to one, that would be the scariest!

Robin

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Cc: Whitney Hyde <WH...@mcounty.com>; Sally Robertson <bikingl...@gmail.com>; Mary Beth Adams <Marybet...@alamancelibraries.org>; Elly Roberts (LIB) <emro...@omahalibrary.org>; ABOS-Outreach <abos-o...@googlegroups.com>
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[Sarah K. Williams]

Our library participates in the community's trunk or treat event. Last year we had a table with some candy and other items. I believe we tried to have handouts and a laptop to look up addresses for our district, but it was windy and we forgot to bring rocks to hold paper down. Two of us ran games in the community township's building while the other two manned the table and handed out candy and things. This year we aren't sending as many people. I am hoping to hand out buttons with our new logo (if the board approves it soon!) and spooky things designed by a middle school volunteer group. I am unsure if we are bringing the button maker to the trunk or treat, but it was a hit at a summer outreach event so its a possibility. 

My local community does a Halloween festival that has a trunk or treat portion (along with bouncy houses, a petting zoo, a DJ, touch a truck, and food trucks). I can't recall if the library was there or not, but as a parent, we often get handed pamphlets, business cards, magnets, etc. as go from car to table/tent to car. I think once they get their bookmobile, they will definitely be a presence? Also, our local library holds its own Halloween fest at each branch, which is a great safe alternative (glow stick dance party!). 

I am going to steal the stickers with the QR code idea because it's great... and who doesn't love a sticker?

[Marsh, Katie]

We do one Trick-or-Treat event, when a main road gets shut down for a few hours and local businesses and organizations give out candy. We regularly get invited to more Trick/Trunk-or-Treat events, but I am the only librarian who can drive our Bookmobile and our schedule is quite full, so any time the Bookmobile has to attend an event like this is time when I can't fulfill my schedule, so we only commit to the one event.

We hand out candy and coupons for a free book at our fall book sale to kids, and milk bones to dogs. :-) Most kids just come through hoovering up candy, but I would say maybe 20% of the kids get SO excited to see the Bookmobile. The library director and I always wear  literary-themed costumes, and any parent who takes a photo of their kids with us and posts it on social media also posts the Bookmobile in the background, so I think it's good publicity. Plus, as others have said, I think visibility is really important, since there are still people in our city who don't know there is a Bookmobile at all!

Good luck with your event(s)!

My Best,

Katie

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Katie Marsh (she/her)

Head of Bookmobile Services

Beverly Public Library

32 Essex Street

Beverly, MA 01915

978-921-6062 ext. 2115

kma...@noblenet.org

[Sheri Miklaski]

We are a municipal library and do the Trunk-or-Treat event that the city parks department organizes. We used to bring the bookmobile, but they moved the event from a building and parking lot to a trail in a city park during Covid and it has stuck and is now the Trick-or-Treat Trail. We hand out candy and library calendars at that event. We have also done Head Start’s Trunk-or-Treat event, which has fallen on the same day as the city event, and have both brought the bookmobile and staffed a table in one of their portables when they held the event inside. Candy, stickers, and calendars were given out at that event.

 

The past few years a school (or two) has decided to have a Family Night on the same night as the Trick or Treat Trail. We can usually get other departments to help with the Trick-or-Treat Trail so Outreach tends to focus on the school event that we say yes to. This year we had to say no to the second school since that would have been 3 events in one night.

 

Be well,

 

Sheri Miklaski

Community Outreach Librarian

Georgetown Public Library

sheri.m...@georgetowntexas.gov

512-819-3106

TALL Texans Class of 2021

 

“The only thing that you absolutely have to know, is the location of the library.”
― Albert Einstein

 

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Sent: Wednesday, September 17, 2025 10:53 AM
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Subject: [EXTERNAL] [ABOS-Outreach] Trunk-or-Treat approach

 

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Hi all! What, if anything, do you do for trunk-or-treats events? There are way more of these locally than our system can serve, and we've found that they're pretty shallow outreach moments (by design, and it's not necessarily a bad thing--the kids are simply there to get candy!) At most, we end up answering a handful of questions about our current construction projects, and mostly feeling like there's not any real library magic happening. I end the season wondering if there's any point to the staff time and candy budget we're investing. So; do you do Trunk-or-Treats? Have you found a way to have more meaningful micro-interactions? Do you give away something other than candy? Do you prioritize any sort of event (secular or not, neighborhood vs. business, etc.)

 

Thanks and happy haunting!

Elly Roberts

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[Carolyn Boyer]

Hi Elly,

Our Bookmobile does get invited to a number of Trunk or Treat events. If we have the availability, we attend. We get in the spirit of the season and decorate the inside of the Bookmobile. We give out candy and little things like stickers, bookmarks, and halloween party favors for the non-candy people. Some people do check out books, ask about upcoming programs, but I think these kinds of events are more a matter of goodwill and having a positive presence in the community. 

Best wishes,

Carolyn

On Wed, Sep 17, 2025 at 10:53 AM Elly Roberts (LIB) <emro...@omahalibrary.org> wrote:

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Carolyn Boyer 

Outreach Services Assistant Manager

Fountaindale Public Library District

300 W. Briarcliff Road, Bolingbrook, IL 60440

Phone: 630-685-4230 

Direct:  630-685-4236

cbo...@fountaindale.org

fountaindale.org