Creativebug by Donovan Russell, Library Specialist at the Berkeley Public Library
I work as a Library Specialist at the Berkeley Public Library, and one of the best parts of my job is designing and running programs for our community. At the beginning of 2025, I launched a monthly “Art Club” — and to my surprise (and delight), it was a hit almost right away.
We decided early on to hold the program outside the building. The open-air setting made it feel more approachable, and it worked — all kinds of folks showed up, many with zero art experience. Almost all of them left smiling and kept coming back month after month.
But here’s the thing: there are 12 months in a year… and I had maybe five good project ideas.
So I started googling. There were plenty of ideas out there, but very few that checked all the boxes: fun, fast, cheap, and easy. I got some inspiration from what other library systems were doing, but I’d already used up most of my budget in those first few months.
It was looking a little dire — until one afternoon on desk, a patron came in asking for help navigating our online resources. While we were exploring together, we stumbled on something I had never seen before: Creativebug.
Finding Inspiration on Creativebug for Library Art Programs
We were both blown away by the range of art and craft tutorials and how detailed (yet beginner-friendly) everything was. And then — plot twist — the first video I clicked on featured Courtney Cerruti, Creativebug’s Editor-in-Chief, who also happens to be a regular at my branch.
Next time she was in, I said hi, we got to talking… and just like that, we were planning a program together. Honestly? It felt like Library Gold.
DIY Sticker Making
The program we landed on: DIY Sticker Making. Super fun, super doable, and super customizable — exactly the kind of thing I was looking for.
With Creativebug as a resource and Courtney’s expertise in the mix, I started planning the event. I made the flyer in Canva — and if you’ve ever used Canva, you’ll know the real challenge was picking just one cute sticker design. I also made a step by step instructional guide that folks could refer to as they went. These are a huge help when things get busy and you can’t help everyone at once.
The program itself? Total success. People of all ages showed up, made their own unique sticker sets, and left asking when we’d do it again.
Stay tuned — there’s a lot more Art Club magic in the works.