LIBRARY STRENGTHENING PROGRAM

UNDER PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION

“DO IT WIT JOY”

ORZYSZ - VARENA

INTRODUCTION

With the growing popularity of television and computers in recent years, the habit of reading books is fading. Most of us are so absorbed in watching movies, playing computer games or surfing the internet that we don’t find time for a book. Many people also prefer to watch the film based on the book rather than read the novel itself. This is especially common among children who often cannot see the world outside the computer. Fortunately, there are also parents who can instill in children the love of books. However, studies show that the number of readers has dropped dramatically, and is falling further. More than one social campaign has already been organized to promote reading, but unfortunately few people were convinced. And the advantages of reading books are huge, even gigantic. The book awakens the imagination, broadens knowledge and gives a lot of satisfaction.

Why you should read and what are the benefits of reading books, you will learn from this program.

1. Reading is a great exercise for our brain. Unlike mindless sitting in front of a television or monitor screen, reading sets our brain in motion and makes it seem to him to think and make the effort. As a result, the ability to think analytically is improved, the muscles in the brain are trained. While reading, you try to focus, understand and remember many things, discover new concepts and places.

2. Reading enriches the vocabulary. When reading books, especially those dealing with specific areas, you come across new words. You don't reach for the dictionary, but try to deduce the meaning of the word from the context. When the word appears several times in the book, you will remember it faster. In this way, we learn words that we would rather not come across while talking to friends.

3. Reading enriches writing. It may seem surprising to someone that reading improves writing, but it is. If it can improve the ability to think analytically, enrich vocabulary is one step to use this vocabulary also in writing.

4. Reading expands knowledge. You read more, you know more. You can read books dealing with various problems, novels set in different time frames, learn about different behaviors of people, places. Thanks to this, you will find yourself better in life in situations encountered on the road.

5. Reading improves concentration and memory. How does it happen that you can't remember the phone number, someone's name and remember what you read in the book? Because the book gives you complete information, a closed and bound story. Thanks to this, you can focus more easily and be interested in what you read. Anyway, reading a book forces us to focus and concentrate. Unlike newspapers and magazines, in which short content and some information appear, the book gives us a fairly large whole, touches on many aspects, presents various threads.

6. Reading develops imagination. By reading you visualize places, people and situations in your mind. This is really amazing skill and wonderful experience. Thanks to reading, we are able to find ourselves in the world around us, to be aware of different things faster, we are more aware of ourselves and the world, we better perceive and understand it. We are able to transfer various situations from books to everyday life, usually subconsciously, but thanks to this we are able to predict many things and deal with many things.

7. Reading builds self-esteem. The more you read, the more you know. The more you know, the more confident you feel in different situations. The more confident you feel, the more self- esteem grows.

8. Reading makes you a great interlocutor. You must have found yourself in a situation where you didn't have anything interesting to say or didn't know what to say. It doesn't have to be this way. Just start reading. Treat books as a source of your knowledge, broadening horizons and enriching your vocabulary.

9. Reading gives satisfaction and kills boredom. If you are sitting at home and you have no option to go out, you are bored, you do not know what to do with yourself - grab a book. You will move to a completely different world, meet new characters, learn new things. What great satisfaction reading gives. You only need to find what you really like, what interests you. Want to break the monotony - read!

For the reasons mentioned in the introduction, the project "Do it with joy" was written, which through the implementation of a variety of thematically diverse activities, each time primarily promotes the Library, book and reading. The library is a meeting place for members of the local community, an open place, friendly and full of knowledge. Everyone can enter here and everyone can participate in activities.

List of activities implemented under the project “Do it with joy” in Orzysz.

Name of activity Impact on library activities Joint team for library strenghtening program The group creating the "Library (Activity 2) strengthening program" consists of 30 people: 10 library employees, 10 employees of the Municipal Office and 10 members of the local community. In the months from March to October, 10 group meetings were held, during which the various stages of the "Do it with joy" project were discussed, as well as all workshops for the local community envisaged in the project. The relevant literature on the subject was selected for all workshops, which was the beginning and introduction to each of the activities. Thanks to this, the Library gained new users - participants of individual workshops, and thus an increase in the number of loans. The group actively participated in individual activities under the project, held talks with members of the local community, promoted the Library's activities and project assumptions. Due to such diverse composition of the group, the promotion of the Library's activities was definitely wider.

„Sing folk with joy-music challenge” It's a challenge to record a disc with (Activity 3) Masurian folk songs in traditional and modern arrangements. 20 people took part in the challenge, who during 20 music workshops became familiar with the art of traditional white singing and then recorded an album in a professional recording studio. Participants of the challenge themselves chose the songs that were on the album using books available in the Library about the history and tradition of Masurian. As part of the task, 20 Masurian costumes were sewn, whose design was based on the albums available in the Library with traditional folk costumes. The costumes will be used by members of the local community to promote our region at home and abroad. The album enriched the library resources and attracted new users willing to borrow and listen to it.

“Publish with joy-journalistic workshops” During journalistic workshops, participants (Activity 3) used the literature available in the Library about Orzysz, its history, famous inhabitants, nature to select topics for individual workshops. The workshop resulted in a photo album containing pictures of Orzysz and all events attended by workshop participants. The album is an excellent item documenting the activities of the project and promoting

our city in the country and abroad. The album arouses great interest among members of the local community and causes an increase in the number of readers in the Library. A drone was purchased as part of the task, which attracts young people eager to learn to use this modern device. As a result, the Library has been enriched with a new technologically device that other institutions in our city do not have. This fact makes us a more attractive facility for young people. During the journalistic workshops several author meetings and concerts were organized, several programs and interviews were recorded on the radio, press coverage were published from local events.

“Film it with joy-etudes in Masurian dialect” The main purpose of film workshops was to (Activity 3) shoot two film etudes. To learn the art of filming, workshop participants used the collection of films available in the reading room of our Library. They used photo albums and learned the art of framing.

The workshop participants themselves chose the subject of etudes, used the regional literature gathered in the Library, under the watchful eye of the director they wrote the script and made a film entitled "The poet's heart" based on the canvas of the legend about Michał Kajka. The film etude in the Masurian dialect was based on poems by the Masurian poet, which the workshop participants got acquainted with in the Library. Library resources have been expanded with a movie disc that raises great interest among the local community. By sharing a video, the number of users increases. Seeing the huge interest in this type of activities, photo and film workshops have become a permanent part of the Library's schedule and will be continued with the use of a drone and voice recorders purchased under the project. “Save life-the highest joy” (Activity 3) First aid workshops were provided in many different places in the city and commune of Orzysz, for example: in schools, at outdoor events, among seniors. During the workshops, participants learned about the principles of providing first aid and the use of AEDs. At each meeting, specialist literature in the field of medicine was used, participants were encouraged to use the medical book collection available in the Library. “Portray with joy-open air painting” Painting workshops were organized for 20 (Activity 3) people, they were held in the Renes Art painting workshop and outdoors. Every day in the theoretical part of the workshop, participants used the extensive collection of books about art history and painting gathered in our Library. They watched albums, learned the theory, learned individual painting techniques. As a result of the workshop, 20 paintings were created that could be seen at the exhibition in Town Hall.

“Taste with joy-Masurian flavors” (Activity At culinary workshops, where 20 people 3) prepared Masurian dishes were a unique opportunity to learn about the history and culinary traditions of our region. Recipes for all prepared dishes came from exceptional book publications on regional cuisine in the Library, which cannot be bought. At each workshop, the books were read by the participants and together they made the decision to choose the dish. The workshop

caused an increase in interest in books about

cuisine, not only Masurian, but all over the world.

Organizing joint event – Cross book festival The organization of joint events was an in Varena and Masurian Harvest Event in opportunity to strengthen ties and integrate Orzysz (Activity 4) project participants. Joint trips to study visits were an opportunity to exchange experiences, views, visions about the Library's past and future work. In addition, meetings with the project partner were an opportunity to talk about the forms of work of the Library used in local branches.

List of activities implemented under the project “Do it with joy” in Varena.

Project activities were implemented in 9 libraries of Varėna district municipality: Dubičiai, Matuizos, Marcinkonys , Merkinė, Nedzingė, Panočiai, Puodžiai, Valkininkai, Žilinai. Activities were implemented in cooperation with elderships, representatives of cultural centers and local communities. The project aimed to promote cooperation, reading, education, self-expression of Varena district rural communities through old and new traditions, ethno-culture, history , to bring communities together for ethno-cultural dialogue and joint activities in order to capture and preserve unique regional traditions cooperation between public service providers. Targeted and focused project activities engaged community members , helped to unleash their creative power, fostered communication between youth and older generations, and strengthened their capacity and willingness to participate in the local community .

Name of activity Impact on library activities „Film it with joy - Varėna land history and Trainings "Anyone Can Make a Movie" people“ (Activity 3) were held. During the lectures, community members learned about the major genres of films, the most important processes of making a film, what is needed and how it is filmed. 9 video cameras were purchased. In collaboration with a professional director, a 5-minute documentary film about the people of Varėna region "Varėna rhythm of nature. People" was created. The film is available on the following websites: biblioteka.varena.lt , varena.lt , jaunimas.varena.lt , facebook

accounts of Varena District Municipal Public Library, Varena Youth, Varena District Municipality Administration (Varėnos rajono savivaldybės viešoji biblioteka, Varėnos jaunimas, Varėnos rajono savivaldybės administracija). The filmmaking activities in the communities have proved their worth. During these sessions, participants learned how to capture and convey visual material, and will be able to customize it in the future to capture the lives of their communities. The information collected during this activity will remain as valuable information for future generations.

„Save life - the highest joy in nature“ (Activity 3) Community members read books about survival in nature, herbal health benefits. The course "Save life - the highest joy in nature" was held. During the course, participants learned about the map, learned how to set the north direction without a compass and GPS, learned how to use a variety of everyday items in a "survival" situation, learned to tie basic knots, got basic knowledge about the first aid, were learning to set up a fire without matches, built soldier's tent, cooked an outdoor kitchen, cooked herbal tea, roasted potatoes in coals. An interesting and an attractive activity was beneficial not only provided knowledge and information, but also as a community mobilization tool. The events did not take place in a traditional environment, and this led to an even greater knowledge of one's land, nature

and its useful resources. But it was also noticed that this activity requires specific knowledge and it might be difficult to continue its implementation in future. „Taste with joy - Dzūkija region flavours“ Members of the community read books (Activity 3) on different recipes of traditional Dzukija region dishes. There was a culinary program "Tastes of Dzukija Region" where they learned more about culinary heritage, practical cooking, tasted dishes made from buckwheat. Culinary heritage activities have partially proved their worth, as many of the community members involved in

education already had knowledge of the

dishes of the Dzukija region. The younger generation enjoyed culinary tasting and gained new knowledge, but greater interest in this activity was shown by more mature people. In the future, it would be useful to learn more about the culinary heritage of other regions of Lithuania, to share knowledge

of community members.

„History lessons - trace for future generations“ Community members read books about (Activity 3) the history of Varėna region, collected old photos and stories. The collected images were digitized. An archive for future generations was created. Exhibition of 100 photos that were printed in roll up stands was created. The traveling exhibition will be exhibited in Varėna District Libraries. The exhibition brought together many members from different communities who shared their personal photo archives, interacted, remembered significant events, historical facts, and celebrations. The exhibition attracted a lot of interest from the younger generation. Some of pictures are 100 years old. It will be possible to replenish, transport and exhibit the traveling exhibition in the future. Activity helped to gather people together for common purpose, so it is planned to keep

increasing old photos database.

„Joy for camping together“ (Activity 3) Community members participated in 3 days camp. Members of the community read camping books, learned how to make tents, how to cook in the wild, were canoeing, rafting, cycling, participating in orientation competition. The camp brought together community members for active recreation. The organized activities proved to be successful. Participants gained valuable knowledge and activities were very good

tool of promotion of communality, but this activity is very different from the usual library activities and might be difficult to continue its implementation in future.

„Portray with joy - open air painting“ (Activity 3) 3 days painting activity was implemented in 3 different places (1 day each). Members of the communities read books and became acquainted with various styles of art. Together with the artist they designed miniature rugs called " Bridge of Words ", "My happy Hero" and tried various other painting experiences. Funny and inspiring characters were created by using different painting techniques. Painting activity in the communities have been very successful. It has attracted participants of various age groups (from children to seniors), it encouraged communication between generations . Participants has learned useful information about painting techniques. The sessions stimulated creativity and had a lasting value - the participants made artwork for themselves.

"DO IT WITH JOY" Cross Border Book Festival During the festival various educations (Activity 4) were implemented: painting, wool felting, dance lessons, painting on eggs, kite creation, culinary competition and a concert of local youth. Festival proved very successful in its offer of education and activities, possibility to attract huge groups of people.

OUR FUTURE AFTER “DO IT WITH JOY”

Libraries becomes an information center, community meeting place, and cultural center. In order to strengthen the communication and cooperation of communities, to capture significant events that reflect the traditions of the land, in future it is planned to organize these activities in libraries:

ORZYSZ

- Youtuber Academy, film workshops - after the premiere of the film "The Poet's Heart", which was created during film workshops as part of the "Do it with joy" project, the interest of young people in the subject of filmmaking was so great that youtube and film workshops were created, conducted with a group of children and youth every Tuesday of the week (1.5 hours) called the Youtuber Young Academy Orzysz. During the workshop, photographic, film and drone equipment as well as voice recorders purchased under the project are used.

- Photographic workshops - photographic workshops for children and teenagers as well as photographic workshops for adults take place every Wednesday.

-„Sing folk with joy – music challenge” – after the premiere of the album "Fly the voice after the dew" interest in folk music and vocal music increased to such an extent, that it was decided to hire a professional music instructor who conducts systematic vocal and instrumental classes for children, adolescents and adults. As part of the classes, an adult choir was created Masurian Art Meetings. It is planned to create a children's folk dance and vocal group that will use folk costumes made as part of the project.

- Polish Radio Orzysz Young Talk - audio equipment (dictaphones) is used during journalistic and radio classes at the Polish Radio Orzysz operating at the Culture Center.

- A series of meetings with authors on literature devoted to the region and film events - are activities that aim to arouse greater interest of the Library among the local community. Inspired by the great turnout during author meetings that took place as part of the project, we planned series of meetings with poetry, literature, theater and cinema - which we will start with the new year.

-a poetry competition dedicated to the work of Michał Kajka will be organized for all lovers of poetry. At the poetic Event dedicated to the work of the Masurian bard Michał Kajka, poems from all over Poland will be presented and awarded.

-Masurian University of Books – it’s a new section in the Library in Orzysz dedicated to literature and regional poetry, enriched with works created during the project implementation: a disc with film etudes in the Masurian dialect and the film "Heart of the Poet", a disc with folk music "Fly with voice after dew", photo albums with photos from individual activities and 100 photos in A3 size.

- as part of the implementation of the Senior Policy, the University of the Third Age and a Senior Club for members of the local community will be run, and the Commune Senior Day will be organized, at which book exchange will take place.

-as part of family-oriented activities and the promotion of reading, a National Polish Week of Libraries will be organized, and within it a Family Book Picnic, with competitions for entire families, in which the prizes will be books

VARENA

-Events in non-traditional spaces. Varėna’s Library and Rural Libraries plan to continue stimulation of cooperation with elderships, representatives of cultural centers in order to organize more attractive events for communities. During the summer, 12 rural community festivals will take place (in Dargužiai, Dubičiai, Kriviliai, Marcinkonys, Matuizos, Merkinė, Nedzingė, Panočiai, Perloja, Puodžiai, Valkininkai, Žilinai). The inflatable screen and projector obtained from the project will be used during these festivals, special events for open-air movie viewing will be organized (showing a film about Varena region and other films for various age groups).

- Organization of photos exhibitions. 10 rural library communities (in Dargužiai, Dubičiai, Marcinkonys, Matuizos, Merkinė, Nedzingė, Perloja, Puodžiai, Valkininkai, Žilinai) will organize meetings to collect old photographs, to create descriptions, to digitize and archive them. Afterwards exhibitions will be held.

- Libraries will host educational events for their communities. Throughout the year 10 rural libraries (Dargužiai, Marcinkonys, Matuizos, Merkinė, Pilvingiai, Puodžiai, Old Varena, Tolkūnai, Valkininkai, Žilinai) will organize educational events: lane weaving, straw wrapping, wood carving, egg printing, wool felting, artistic paper cutting. It will be continuation of successful educational activities that were implemented during the project.

- Open air painting. During spring and summer open air painting activities will be organized in 11 district libraries (Dargužiai, Kriviliai, Marcinkonys, Matuizos, Merkinė, Nedzingė, Panočiai, Perloja, Pilvingiai, Tolkūnai, Žilinai). During this activity community members will read books, learn new skills and about painting techniques and will try them practically by themselves.

- Film creation and photography workshops. Once in a quarter film creation and photography workshops will be organized for teenagers in Valkininkai, Matuizos and Žilinai libraries. Cameras that were purchased during the project will be used for this activity.

- Events for senior community members and families. All year around events for seniors and families will be organized in 10 rural libraries (Dubičiai, Kriviliai, Marcinkonys, Matuizos, Nedzingė, Perloja, Puodžiai, Naujieji Valkininkai, Vilkiautinis, Žilinai): quizzes, culinary education, memories afternoon.

SUMMARY

In the time of implementation of “Do it with joy” both cross border partners initiated joint activities for encouraging community members to read books and learn different topics. While there is no doubt about the fact that reading is a priceless activity, it has been observed that the habit of reading has declined of late. One of the main causes for this decline is the growth of technology. Reading books give community members: knowledge, reduces stress, improves memory, writing and communication skills, imagination, focus and concentration. Both cross border municipalities during the project organized innovative local and actions aimed for reading and discovering new things. A lot of local initiatives and joint actions were implemented in the project: music challenge, journalistic workshops, creating movies, saving life, painting, cooking, camping, history lessons – all these events had one start – reading books. Before each event participants read thematic book and prepared for event tasks. Then during local meetings in libraries community members discussed what strategic steps must be taken for organizing foreseen event. By reading books, person get a better understanding of the past. With books, person get a chance to learn about country, family and the world in general. It was a great way to revisit past and appreciate the present. During implementation of the project both cross border municipalities achieved: all generation community involvement in special events, higher attendance in libraries, strengthen libraries as important community attraction point, reduced exlusion, improved education and learning process. Cross border partners believe that public libraries are public spaces where everyone is welcome and can participate in all activities. They make vital contribution towards the social capital, educational and recreational development of local communities and are an important foundation of democracy.