In its original context, Haight Street Rat was presumed to be aimed at the practices of a nearby boutique that allegedly profited from street art without crediting or sharing revenue with the artists. True or not, there’s definitely an oversized, stenciled painting of a beret-wearing rat on exhibit in a public library.

Choosing a foray into street art had inherent risks. The public could perceive it as tacit approval of any and all graffiti. Relationships with business owners or other entities (e.g. police) could suffer if a spate of local spray painting sprang up. It’s a potentially divisive venture for the staff or board. We learned, however, that, just as in finance, greater risk also has the potential for greater reward. In this case, a medium-sized library’s story was picked up by the Associated Press, made news in multiple outlets in the nearest metropolitan area, was promoted state-wide, and continues to travel across the Internet. It is every marketer’s dream.

Photo Courtesy of Kokomo-Howard County Public Library

As is always true, having—and utilizing—a range of staff expertise was absolutely key. Dedicated employees who work with facilities removed and disassembled shelving, patched and painted a wall, and devised a trial run to make sure we could get the shipping crate into the building. Graphic arts literally worked overtime to implement Marketing’s vision. A cataloger, who happens to have great people skills, staffed one of the most vital areas during the event that followed the piece’s unveiling. A processor who is passionate about art arranged an exhibit with a local artist whose surreal style complements Banksy. While media coverage focused on the staffer who thought of bringing the Banksy piece to the library, ideas without implementation have little to no value. It took the whole team, with their varied skills, to bring the idea to life.

KHCPL also benefitted from employees who could think as if they were patrons. They realized visitors would want to do more than look at one piece of art. As a result, there is a display of matted prints of other Banksy work along with specially created handouts including a guide to other art to visit in our community. There is also a “What Would the Rat Say” caption contest for adults and a “Find the Rat” activity for kids. The traffic flow also routes visitors past a station where they are invited to sign a guest book, an act that reinforces the idea that the visit is noteworthy.

Photo Courtesy of Kokomo-Howard County Public Library.

To make a potentially big event feel significant to your patrons, spending a little extra money can help to create a “wow” factor. In the case of the Haight Street Rat, a limited supply of commemorative pins has been a real draw. The Friends of the Library came alongside and took the financial risk on another extra, selling a custom-designed shirt. While there are times when it’s truly not possible to splurge, finding the right combination that creates a memorable experience for patrons can go a long way toward updating the community’s perception of what libraries do.

Your big project will probably won’t involve a rat, but the principles are the same. Consider saying “yes” to an idea that’s a bit risky, give staff the chance to grow the idea and let them shine, and look for ways to add in the extras that make it really pop.

Resources

American Libraries magazine

CNN – New Banksy Brexit Mural Unveiled on Day of French Vote

LA Weekly – Banksy’s “Haight Street Rat”

US News – Kokomo Library to Display Banksy Street Artwork

The post Lessons from Banksy Booked first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

At the ALA conference, Lent hosted a conversation starter titled Facilitating Communication, Collaboration, and Continuing Education for Library Directors. Sounds pretty fancy doesn’t it? What really happened was Lent spoke at the microphone for a minute and a half, and then had all the attendees get in a circle, go around and introduce themselves, and share topics that they’d hope to cover. He has been offering this Directors Roundtable at conferences in New England, and it was a big hit at this national offering also. His real success has been the creation of a library directors Listserv, which now has close to 400 library directors coast to coast reading and replying to one another every day.

I recently had the opportunity of filling in for him, by hosting a Directors Roundtable on the island of Martha’s Vineyard. I met with a great group of directors who work on this island (population 15,000 but that number grows to well over 100,000 during the summer vacation months). We got together to enjoy the best homemade scones I’d ever had, but really to share stories, frustrations, and ideas for success on the Island.

Lent was looking for a service that didn’t exist, so he created one. To quote him “I didn’t start this service because I think I’m a great library director, I did it because I think I’m not” and I think that’s an idea that we can all identify with sometimes. We are a community, no matter where we work and what the task at hand is. The support from the community of library directors is one that I value greatly and am thankful to have.

If this sounds like something you might be interested in, visit Librarydirectors.org today.

The post Library Directors Group Enables Collaboration and Learning first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

Many public libraries are using arduinos, makey makeys, raspberry pis, littleBits, Scratch software and so much more to educate and explore with children all the way through adults. Public libraries like Skokie Public Library and the Chicago Public Library as well as my own library, Vernon Area Public Library District, in the Chicagoland area alone are all exploring open source software with technology. Want to make a banana piano? Purchase a relatively inexpensive kit through Makey Makey and check out their free apps or work with free Scratch software to come up with your own invention. Want to learn how to program code and work with a breadboard? Purchase a relatively inexpensive arduino, which is the hardware, and use their open source software to make it do something interactive.

But Shapiro is right, more public libraries need to make use of open source technology because in the end we can benefit not just by increasing our relevance as a source for digital literacy, but also save quite a lot of money in the long run as an institution. Charlie Reisinger, an innovative IT Director for Penn Manor school district in Lancaster County, discusses some of the incredible things his juniors and seniors are doing in a TED talk. His students are literally writing the code for an operating system that is run for the entire high school and used by all students and teachers.

Open source software allows the public to learn about innovation and invention, and collaboration, so that they are no longer “technology tourists” but have the control and confidence to be a part of this community as well.  One of the most interesting elements of this is that open source is actually more secure and stable than proprietary software or “closed” software because more people are looking at the code and constantly making it better, more reliable, and more productive. Whereas proprietary software can only be manipulated by the original “authors” of the code, open source allows for not only improvement but also the expectation that the code will continue to be shared by everyone. If the original authors no longer work with the code, the software will still be out there and available for public use.

Reisinger discusses how free and open source software is a “philosophy of free living.” It’s a way to study and review code, to modify it and give software control to the public, to the community, and to schools as well as public libraries. There are no costly computer programs where the “building blocks for coding are literally locked under glass.” (14) Public libraries are empowering their patrons in so many ways, why not also empower the institution itself? Something to think about.

Link to source article:  https://opensource.com/life/16/9/public-library-open-source

The post Open Source and Open Access: A Perfect Marriage first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

Collaborate . . . Quietly

As Pamela Avila writes for Eastsider L.A.’s “School Yard,” Cal State Los Angeles is transforming its main library building into a space that encourages a much more social experience.  For Cal State L.A.’s students, using the library will now be more like using a research center.

This full-scale remodel, which is not yet complete, is similar to what occurred at my alma mater. The first floor now “features sleek tables and couches that are easy to move around as needed.” This furniture change gives the library’s studying public a better chance at collaboration. Gone is the traditional study cubicle which typically litters higher education libraries and even public ones.  In its place are these new movable workspaces and a cafe, Cafe 47. Replacing the fear of spilling your coffee all over the library’s collection is encouragement to have a cappuccino, a snack, and some discussion over a research topic.

This modern library learning environment is also designed to allow students easier access to digital information and the technology to print out that information if they desire. This combination of the digital and the tangible sets up Cal State’s students for a more holistic learning experience.

Collaborate . . . Globally

Cal State L.A.’s remodel and the one that took place at my alma mater are great examples of brick-and-mortar libraries opening their collections to wider audiences by offering digital access. This is key for university and public libraries wanting to expand customer bases.

Years ago, Arizona State University began paving the way for students around the globe to learn and collaborate without leaving their homes. Its extensive library collections are available for online students who may or may not be able to walk into the building for research.

I can easily drive to both my university’s library and my neighborhood library.  However, the proliferation of digital databases and e-books in libraries has made this travel unnecessary. At the same time, changes in library environments such as Cal State L.A.’s encourage customers to travel to the building itself.

Despite digital libraries and e-book collections making research, personal or educational, easier, human beings also crave interaction with each other. We leave our comforts in order to socialize, and the library is no different. How often do book lovers get involved in heated debates over the top ten horror short stories of all time?

These discussions and learning opportunities are easier to participate in when we can see and hear our collaborators. Libraries that look to Cal State L.A. and others that have made these changes will be better equipped to encourage teamwork and multi-modal learning. Starting small could create a flood of new learners and customers, that’s why we have libraries.

The post New University Libraries Encourage a More Social Experience first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

4^th Floor staff member Michael Grilo brought this idea to my attention and said, “The inspiration for co-learning workshops comes from the obvious recognition that everyone learns in various ways and at differing paces. Rather than struggling to keep everyone working at the same pace, co-learning encourages guided self-learning while maintaining the social and collaborative aspects of a classroom environment.”[1] With or without makerspaces, libraries are offering more tech classes, and even though our staff on the 4^th Floor is highly talented, we are not experts. A co-learning environment that uses existing teaching resources to teach others new skills does not require instructors to have an in-depth subject knowledge. This gives libraries the opportunity to bring people together to learn without the burden of being the expert in these very specialized subject areas.

Our first co-learning workshop taught HTML and CSS using Codecademy, an online platform that offers coding classes in several programming languages including Python, Java, PHP, SQL, JavaScript, Ruby, HTML, and CSS as well as application frameworks Ruby on Rails and AngularIS. Codecademy offers a free and a PRO version of their website. We had a very diverse group of people—including a retired accountant, a schoolteacher, two friends looking to start a blog, and an experienced coder—who attended the class. Grilo facilitated the class with our guest, David Alfonso Castaneda, a Pro Chat Advisor for Codecademy David who assists several students live online with any support and questions they have on the lessons or projects they are building on the platform, so it was a privilege to have him join us in person.

Castaneda added, “The Chattanooga Public Library is a wonderful hotbed of technology and innovation right now. As a long time fan of the 4^th Floor at the library, I always try to participate and contribute where I can. When I heard that they were having a co-learning event using the Codecademy platform, I felt obligated to help where I can. I helped set up the 4^th Floor with Codecademy’s teaching resources. With these resources, we were able to gauge everyone’s knowledge level with HTML and pair up people [based on skill level].”[2]

We had everyone log on to their accounts and join our classroom using the platform’s teaching resources. Throughout the three-hour session, people were working at their own pace through the lessons and asking each other for help along the way. While working, conversations about life, work, and more created the social environment that we were striving for. The classroom resource also gave us the opportunity to track the progress of our participants after the class concluded and if they were continuing to learn on their own, which is very useful information when measuring impact of this program.

We are hosting a series of co-learning workshops this summer based on the success of this learning environment and the teaching tools readily available for staff on the web. If you have any questions or want to start your own co-learning classes at your library, please feel free to contact Meredith Levine at mlevine@lib.chattanooga.gov.

References

[1] Michael Grilo, Chattacnooga Public Library staff member, in an interview with the author, May 4, 2016.

[2] David Alfonso Castaneda, Codecademy Pro Chat advisor, in an interview with the author,  April 28, 2016.

The post Collaborative Learning in Libraries first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

Build relationships. For libraries, working with vendors is more than a transaction. We are cooperatively developing solutions for our communities. Seek to understand the vendor’s priorities (e.g. user experience, content, or integrations). Vendors also work with a number of libraries and may see trends before an individual library experiences them locally. Vendors can be your allies in anticipating change.

Understand what “No” really means. Many library vendors offer a suite of products. If a library is looking at one product and decides not to buy, think of it as a “No, this isn’t a good fit at this time.” Just like libraries, products evolve and change. The vendor may bring a new solution to the market. Building relationships with vendors, even if you aren’t a current customer, is beneficial. This helps you better understand the market and learn about new solutions that may be in the works. Also share feedback about your library made the decision they did. Is the user interface a concern? Is the content area not a good fit for your community’s needs? Were competitors offering a more affordable option? All this helps to build a relationship with this vendor and also helps the vendor better understand their market. Think of this as constructive criticism that helps build better options for libraries.

Take a collaborative approach. It can be easy to fall into adversarial roles when working with vendors.  Vendors and library staff are not in competition, they are not adversaries.  Falling into adversarial roles is counterproductive.   Take a different approach. Ask about their products and share issues at the top of your priority list. If you have a question about their product, ask it.

Money isn’t everything. It can be easy to focus on price quotes, but sometimes the lowest bid is more expensive in the long-term. When you have built relationships with the vendors, you can gain an understanding of what is included in the quote. Are there extra service fees? Talk to references for the vendor. This can help you understand what it is like to work with the vendor after a sale is made.

Listen and learn. Spend time in the exhibits at conferences. Attend free product webinars. Listen to vendors and learn about the products they offer. Conferences are a great way to quickly explore the library market. Often you can test out a product on the exhibits floor and talk to a knowledgeable representative who can answer your questions. This is a great place to discover new vendors and solutions. Approach visiting the exhibits floor as professional development where you are learning about the library market. Vendors dedicated to the library market possess significant expertise about the library field. Learn from them.

Positive negotiations: Negotiating pricing and terms of service can be uncomfortable, especially for library staff new to this role. It doesn’t need to be—instead, think of it as problem solving. When talking to a vendor about pricing, share what your concerns are. Perhaps a product is superior to the competition, but the pricing is double that the nearest other quote. Share that information with the vendor. This provides the vendor an opportunity to revise their quote if they would like. They may choose not to, and even if the negotiation isn’t successful, you have done your best to provide the best service to your community.

There is not a one-size-fits-all approach for vendor relations. Find what works for you and your library. In the end, remember that vendors are critical in providing excellent service to our communities.

The post Helping Vendors Help Us first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

The State Park Centennial Annual Pass Library Check-out Program is a partnership between Indiana State Parks and the Indiana State Library  to encourage people to visit libraries and parks. The Indiana State Library helped pay for the program and distributed one state park pass to each of the 240 public library systems in the state.

The parks passes, which provide access to Indiana’s thirty-two state parks and also to Indiana’s state forest recreation areas are only available for checkout from January 1-December 31, 2016. The Indiana Public Library listserv has been alive with discussion about how each library is handling circulation policies for this unique program.

Some libraries have chosen to purchase additional park passes to meet patron demand. The Indianapolis Public Library is purchasing additional state park passes and the passes check out for one week at a time. The passes are sure to be in constant circulation. As of January 19, there were 173 requests for the passes at Indianapolis Public Library. It’s a win-win for the library: patrons are happy with the new perk, and it’s bringing in new patrons interested in the state parks who, in turn, can learn more about the library.

“I’m just amazed at the popularity of this initiative,” said Mike Williams, Area Resource Manager at the Indianapolis Public Library. “My family has always enjoyed using our Indiana State Park Pass, but I never thought about circulating one to Library patrons. Clearly there’s a huge demand for this type of service. I’m glad the State Parks are celebrating with all of the public libraries in Indiana.”

Resources:

Indiana State Library Partners with Indiana State Parks to Offer Pass “Check-Out” Program at All Public Libraries, InfoDocket.

Library program lets you “check-out” state parks, Indiana Department of Natural Resources

The post Check Out a State Parks Pass at Indiana Libraries first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

The Hesburgh Library, located on the campus of the University of Notre Dame, houses over four million volumes, so it’s hard to imagine that a collection of that size that would be lacking in any kind of materials. However, Hesburgh librarians noticed that students were asking for more leisure reading material, as well as requesting more popular materials through Interlibrary Loan.

While the library does have some popular titles, including Harry Potter (available in English, Gaelic, Spanish, German, and French) the focus of their collection isn’t on bestsellers. Tracey Morton, Manager of Frontline Services, explains: “The Hesburgh Libraries are not immune to the financial limitations that have been faced by our peer institutions, so our endowments are focused on acquiring materials necessary for academic success. As we investigated vendor services and their costs, the St. Joseph County Public Library was brought up in conversation as a possible option. Their librarians are already experts on what our young people are interested in reading and listening to. They have the material, and Notre Dame is within their borrowing area.”[1]

SJCPL needed patrons and Hesburgh needed easy access to popular materials, so teams from both the public and academic libraries began a discussion on how to form a partnership that would work for both sides. It was decided that Hesburgh would be set up as a destination for holds pick­up where university patrons, after registering for a public library card, would be able to request materials from SJCPL online or in person at Hesburgh. These materials would be delivered to the university library for pick­-up five days a week. University patrons would also have access to the full range of digital materials that are available anytime.

While the partnership seemed like a win­-win for both libraries, there were a couple of minor challenges that needed to be worked through before the project could be given the green light. Morton explains, “Networking was the greatest challenge. We had to have a terminal connected to the St. Joseph County Library on a static network. Connecting to an unaffiliated server would leave the Notre Dame network vulnerable to malicious attacks. If the network could not be secured, it would have ended the project.”[2] Fortunately, the network was able to be secured and Hesburgh was given permission to use the ILS at a non­SJCPL location. SJCPL provided Hesburgh with the ILS software, a barcode scanner, receipt printer, receipt tape, label maker (for names on library cards), label tape, a delivery bin, and SJCPL welcome brochures for new patrons. Lisa O’Brien, Head of Circulation Services at SJCPL says, “We had a bit of difficulty setting up our equipment with their computer. The signature pad we use for library card registration was not working with their computer, and they had difficulties with the barcode scanner. IT worked hard on these issues, and we were eventually able to work through it.”[3]

Once the technology and equipment issues were resolved, the next step was training Hesburgh staff on SJCPL policies and procedures. “I first trained Tracey Morton, Head of Frontline Services, here at Main Library. I then visited Hesburgh to train their circulation staff. I gave them step-­by-­step instructions on each Sierra function they would be using. I also gave them an overview of our loan rules, as well as specific instructions on how to register a patron for a library card. I gave them copies of the training documents, as well as a FAQ document they could refer to when needed,” explains O’Brien. [4]“Taking time to input patron information into the ILS for a library card is a new experience. Our patrons are automatically downloaded into our ILS nightly once they receive their university ID” adds Morton.[5]

The program officially began on August 25, the first day of the fall semester. There was a brief mention of the new partnership in the local paper, The South Bend Tribune, but so far, news of the service has mainly been through word of mouth. “One professor heard about it and had his entire architecture class come and sign ­up for library cards.” says Morton.[6] The response to the partnership has been small but positive and is expected to increase as more students and faculty become aware of the new service. “In November we plan on doing more campus advertising in time for the Christmas Break.” [7] SJCPL is keeping track of the number of new registrations and holds coming from Hesburgh and will be regularly sharing the data with Hesburgh. Although there are no immediate plans to expand at the services offered at Hesburgh or to extend to other area colleges SJCPL is open to the possibility.

Sources

1. Tracey Morton (Manager of Frontline Services at Hesburgh), interview by Theresa Horn over e-mail on October 23, 2015.
2. Ibid.
3. Lisa O’Brien (Head of Circulation Services at St. Joseph County Public Library), interview by Theresa Horn over e-mail on October 12, 2015.
4. Ibid.
5. Morton, Ibid.
6. Morton, Ibid.
7. Morton, Ibid.

Further Reading
McKenna, Matthew. “Hesburgh Libraries announces partnership with St. Joseph County Library.” The Observer. December 9, 2015. Web. Accessed January 5, 2016.

The post Public and University Library Collaboration first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

Futures of Libraries 11.0 and Nina Simon
The Futures of Libraries 11.0 conference happened at San Francisco Public Library’s Main branch on September 29th. Keynote Speaker Nina Simon asked some very relevant questions based on her experience with experimental community engagement in the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History.  Perhaps her most provocative point was made when she posed a question related to community interaction, asking, “How do you build a radically collaborative institution?”

Our Knowledge/Their Awareness
Many libraries are expanding services and trying to create more active community spaces. However, getting patrons and stakeholders to understand how our changes better serve them can be an uphill battle. Fundamentally, this is an issue in communication. The question libraries need to ask when considering new programing is: how do we get our communities and stakeholders to not only understand this is happening, but also to be active participants?

Programming Versus Collaboration
Libraries aren’t always successful at promoting awareness, let alone encouraging community members to collaborate with us. Putting up flyers and sending out emails (our two most typical modes of communicating new goings-on) are often insufficient. Relying on word of mouth, Twitter, or Facebook is great, but these are hardly  consistent systems, and let’s be honest: are any of our Facebook posts going viral? Simon discussed the way building larger programs isn’t just about expanding them (turning one staff member with fifteen patrons into two staff members with thirty patrons) but converting programming into platforms we can provide to large numbers of people. This got me thinking about the difference between those two ideas. Libraries are comfortable providing programs and inviting people to consume them. But programming is, by its nature, a little stiff. It’s . . . well . . . programmed. Platforms are meant to be more involved; they’re meant for use and interaction rather than consumption. Maybe if we try thinking about collaborating with patrons instead of providing them with programing we will be able to reach more of our communities. Maybe the way to increase the reach of our programs is to stop thinking only about programming.

Making It Work
Creating awareness isn’t the same as encouraging collaboration, and, as Simon pointed out at Futures, collaboration is important for expansion. Building platforms for collaboration is one way we can invite new community members inside and interact with communities in a new way. That’s something libraries should be trying to do.

LINKS:

Futures of Libraries 11.0

Santa Cruz Museum of Art and & History

The post Collaboration vs Programming in Libraries first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

Developing an Idea

The state library agency in Maryland is housed in the State Department of Education as the Division of Library Development and Services (DLDS). In 2012 DLDS staff began laying the groundwork to help bring the spirit of the maker movement to public libraries statewide.

Nini Beegan, DLDS’s project coordinator, first came across this concept during a 2005 Library of Congress episode on C-SPAN. During the episode, Neil Gershenfeld, director of the Center for Bits and Atoms at MIT, challenged librarians to consider fabrication in public libraries as a means to bring people together to solve community problems. In 2010, Beegan attended BetaScape, a tech offshoot of the popular Baltimore art festival ArtScape. She talked with people who had built 3D printers using materials they had ordered from MAKE magazine while her children eagerly launched handmade rockets into the sky. This experience reminded her of Gershenfeld’s challenge; inspired, she began to explore ways that DLDS could help Maryland libraries use the maker movement to further their community-building work. Beegan met with local makers to explore potential library partnerships. This conversation marked the beginning of DLDS’s partnership with makers in support of Maryland’s public libraries. Later, when PLA’s 2012 Virtual Conference included a session about making and public libraries, DLDS knew that it was time to act.

DLDS decided to host a Maker Meet-up in fall 2012 to be followed by a hybrid event for library staff and the public in the spring of 2013. Beegan conducted an Internet search for makerspaces and hacker spaces to find more local contacts. She quickly discovered Michael Smith-Welch, an Artist-in-Residence at the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore; Smith-Welch was using his background in education and art to set up a makerspace in Takoma Park (Md.). He introduced DLDS to Matt Barinholtz, director of then-fledgling FutureMakers, a mobile maker and education lab that uses children’s innate love of tinkering to teach youth of all ages the core values of traditional crafting, contemporary design, and futuristic digital fabrication. As the newly hired youth services coordinator at DLDS, I helped keep our team’s efforts aligned with STEM education initiatives. DLDS reached out to other makers and do-it-yourselfers, and we established a group that included academics, tool librarians, video game designers, and others. In the fall of 2012, we hosted a Maker Meet-up. One hundred library administrators, public service staff, systems staff, and others met with our group of makers at the West County Area Library of the Anne Arundel County public library system. The day included a keynote, lightning presentations, hands-on maker fun, and plenty of time for questions and answers. The packed meeting room buzzed with energy, and great ideas were developed as library colleagues and makers conversed. DLDS set up a Maker Meet-up electronic mailing list for interested library staff to continue their conversations.

We returned to the idea of sharing these great learning opportunities with the public; we wanted to provide a venue for library staff and the public to interact within the context of the maker movement. We knew that in order for maker events, makerspaces, or even isolated programs and classes to be truly successful, we would need buy-in from library administrators, public service staff, and technical services staff. But what kind of event could generate this buy-in? In the fall of 2012 there had been a few libraries nationwide that had held Mini-Maker Faires, which are maker events officially endorsed and branded by MAKE magazine. The brand is very successful, and we thought that the caché it carried for individuals in the maker community might help us find quality exhibitors, as well as giving the event some instant legitimacy in the eyes of the public. We postulated that it would be more efficient to work with an existing template that was known to produce successful results. We filled out the application, entered into negotiations with MAKE, and began to consider options for a suitable venue.

Planning and Logistics

We were determined to hold the event in a library. We wanted public libraries to progress in their role as physical, collaborative, hands-on learning spaces, and holding the event in a library would allow both the public and the librarians to witness this in action. Our first choice was the Maryland State Library Resource Center (SLRC). SLRC provides cooperative, cost-effective resources and services for Maryland libraries and their customers—they are the resource arm of the state library. SLRC is physically located at the Central Library of the Enoch Pratt Free Library (EPFL) system of Baltimore, and has a collection and customer base typical of any large urban public library. SLRC’s presence means that EPFL’s Central Library also has deeper research resources and statewide and national customers who utilize them. The library is housed in a beautiful block-long building with neoclassical influences. Built in the 1930s, the library features large display windows and a street-level entrance to entice passersby. It also has a large central hall that houses a computer commons, a grand piano, several book displays, an information station, a laptop lounge, and the circulation desk. It is a wonderful place to hold events and it is regularly used for concerts, weddings, graduation ceremonies, speaker events, and fundraising galas. In addition to the library having advantageous architecture, it is located in central Maryland, making it an ideal spot for a statewide event.

Barinholtz from FutureMakers worked closely with me to craft a preliminary explanation of the event to share with the library’s administrative team. We had no interest in just “using the space,” but instead wanted to work in full partnership with the library. We hoped to ensure that the event was something that would be a success for their regular customers and staff as well as for the people who would be travelling across the state. As we worked with the administrative team of EPFL/SLRC, it became clear that the partnership with MAKE was not in our best interest. The primary reasons were financial—MAKE charges a fee to use their brand, a cost that is often defrayed through ticket sales and vendor license fees. Events sponsored by DLDS, SLRC, and EPFL are always free to library staff and members of the public, and we didn’t want to charge the exhibitors since we wouldn’t be allowing them to sell anything at the event. Additionally, the more we dug into the details of the planning process, the more our event deviated from a Mini-Maker Faire both in scope and intent. We let our contact at MAKE know that we were backing out, and parted on good terms. There have been very successful Mini-Maker Faires held at public libraries before and since, but we have never regretted this decision. Our event was being carefully crafted to fit a variety of needs and expectations, and it needed to be custom-built. I continue to be astounded by the generosity and the organic collaborative process that went into developing this event that is largely about collaboration and the free exchange of ideas.

After we ended our partnership with MAKE, we began to explore the possibilities for our event in terms of physical space. MAKE had been very concerned that we didn’t have a large outside space to work with; we contacted the city and discovered that it wasn’t terribly difficult or expensive to shut down the block of street behind the library. Although this would have undoubtedly added to the festival atmosphere and to the types of exhibits we could offer, we decided to forego the outdoor space. It would have cost quite a bit to rent the tables and tents, and the city charges extra if the event requires electricity. In the spirit of equality of access we would still not have been able to sell anything, including food or beverages. We probably would have needed to hire additional security. We also thought about holding exhibits throughout the library rather than only in the central hall. This idea, too, was eventually dismissed. Wesley Wilson, chief of SLRC and EPFL’s Central Library, and DLDS agreed that we wanted to keep the event manageable—we thought it would be far better to plan a smaller, more predictably successful day. If the event was a hit and we decided to hold it annually, there would be time to expand later.

Ensuring that event attendance was appropriate for the venue size was a major concern. We didn’t want 6,000 people waiting in line outside the building causing security issues and general mayhem, but we also wanted to be sure that people showed up. We didn’t want to spend months planning only to have an enlightened individual with a 3D printer sitting in a corner of the exhibit hall making whistles for a handful of random passers-by. We needed to send out a call to makers and figure out what kind of publicity we wanted. Barinholtz and I looked at the security waiver from MAKE and consulted with the library administrators about what kind of exhibits they were comfortable having in this historic library space. We worked with the library to find out how much electricity and Wi-Fi bandwidth would be available. We came up with a list of requirements that we sent out along with the call for makers, so that potential exhibitors would be able to make an informed decision about whether or not this event would be a good fit for them. We also let them know up front that they would not be able to sell anything at the event. In order to participate, exhibitors had to agree not to utilize items that emitted noxious or dangerous fumes, open flames (circuit soldering was permitted), fuel-powered projectiles, large power tools or machines, items that emitted smoke or particulates, weapons that could cause injury, and anything that could be considered dangerous in a large room full of people. We welcomed questions. We set up a Google form for registration. In addition to the usual contact information we asked for the age-range of the intended audience, the number of power outlets they’d need access to, and the type of interactive elements that would be included in their exhibit.

After we came up with the perfect name, Innovation Expo, we had a personal contact who is a design graduate student create a logo. We used this logo on all promotional items for the expo, including the one-inch buttons worn by all the exhibitors. We created a Facebook event page, and EPFL hosted a dedicated information page for the event which included links to the exhibitor application and the Facebook page. The library’s design department used the logo to create a large window banner that was displayed prominently on the front of the building. DLDS spread the word through statewide library communications, and the panelists shared event details with the maker and education communities. I spent some time doing Internet searches and setting up face-to-face meetings with local makers.

As these preparations were underway, it became clear that holding the expo in a large public library had some hidden benefits. The library already owned all of the display tables and chairs for exhibitors that we needed, so we didn’t have to rent furniture. They have a full-time professional security staff which, along with the exhibitor waivers, allowed us to keep our focus on the event itself rather than security logistics. The library has a large auditorium, as well as more intimate meeting rooms. These physical amenities made it possible to hold library staff trainings and host a keynote speaker presentation as parts of the event. Barinholtz suggested that we ask Corey Fleischer if he would be interested in giving the keynote address. Fleisher was a thirty-year-old senior mechanical engineer at Lockheed Martin and a contestant on (and later winner of) the Discovery Channel’s Big Brain Theory. Fleisher was also an avid supporter of makerspaces. He was excited about the event and agreed to both present the keynote and run an exhibit showcasing an adult-sized working go-kart that is controlled by a Wii remote.

Beegan facilitated the library staff training portion of the day, which featured a panel discussion with Michael Smith-Walsh; Barinholtz of FutureMakers; Jan Baum, the director of Towson University’s Object Lab; Ben Walsh, director of Pure Bang Games and the founder of BetaScape; John Shea, director of the Station North Tool Library; Gary Mauler, founder of Maryland’s RobotFest, which is held annually at the National Electronics Museum in Linthincum, Maryland; and Mary Murphy from the Center For the New American Dream. Library staff who had been motivated by the Maker Meet-up and kept their excitement stoked by participating in the resulting electronic mailing list were excited to have their well-formulated questions answered by the diverse panel. Together they planned their own maker events, programs, and classes.

Fleischer’s keynote was well attended, and the expo was deemed to be a success by the library staff and customers who attended, the exhibitors, and the staff at SLRC who had worked during the extra-busy Saturday. Everyone agreed that it would be held again the following year.

The Second Annual Innovation Expo

Because we had already worked out the logistical challenges we focused our time on fine-tuning the event in 2013–2014. The public and library staff had largely been introduced to the concepts of the maker movement. Bre Pettis, founder of MakerBot, one of the most popular brands of consumer 3D printers, was interviewed by Martha Stewart. Dale Dougherty, the founder of MAKE magazine and the inventor of the Maker Faire, spoke at the American Library Association’s 2013 Midwinter Conference. Maryland public libraries had embraced the movement and hosted creative maker programs, hired FutureMakers to provide hundreds of classes across the state, held their own public maker events, and, in some cases, had even drawn up plans to build their own makerspaces. People were definitely still interested in experiencing the movement, but they no longer necessarily had to come to the Innovation Expo to do that. We felt that the tagline from the first Expo, “DIY in Maryland,” wasn’t exactly the message we wanted to convey. The DIY movement is definitely something that libraries should be involved in, but we wanted the name of the Expo to encompass more than that. We felt that “Create and Collaborate” was a better fit.

While the county library systems plunged forward with the maker movement, DLDS began deeply investigating public libraries’ relationship with education. The 2013-14 school year saw the rollout of Maryland’s new Career and College Readiness standards in all public K-12 schools. Citizens, librarians, and educators were all new to the standards, and struggled to figure out how best to implement them and discern what that implementation meant to communities. As I met with colleagues at the State Department of Education and traveled to various library systems throughout Maryland, I began to think about the education that children receive in public school. Maryland has been rated as having the best public schools in the country for several years in a row, but that doesn’t mean that each individual school provides the same level of opportunity or that there isn’t valuable learning that takes place elsewhere. In fall 2013, I read an article in WIRED magazine about a teacher in Mexico who got astounding results from his students by letting them study what they wanted to learn.1 I do not think that public schools in the United States will ever fully embrace this method, nor do I think that it would necessarily be appropriate for them to do so. However, the kind of learning that was discussed in that article, and that I subsequently read about in a variety of studies, is precisely what public libraries can offer. As I spoke with state leaders in other out-of-school time educational enterprises and continued to follow the latest education trends, I discovered that this kind of learning is particularly valuable and hard to find in the STEM sector. Students are, for example, rarely given the opportunity to take computer programming courses until high school. This is a gap that public libraries can fill. FutureMakers had already been offering digital classes and workshops along with their traditional crafting experiences. Why not add another degree of complexity without taking away the joy of tinkering? Why not offer our youth the opportunities to create their own video games in our libraries instead of just playing them? Barinholtz arrived at this same conclusion independently and FutureMakers began adding more computer science programs to their roster of curricula. New technical education organizations in Maryland were forming at this time, too. I met Gretchen LeGrand, the director of Code in the Schools at the Maryland Out of School Time (MOST) network’s STEM Symposium. Her nonprofit is helping Maryland schools offer fun and interactive computer coding classes to elementary and middle school students. I asked if they’d work with public libraries, and the response was a definitive, “yes.” I discovered that CPL had held a citywide coding camp in 2013. I started to think about the possibility of doing something similar at the state level in Maryland.

Education Is a Key Focus

This new idea helped us to develop a fresh strategy for the 2014 Innovation Expo. Instead of focusing purely on maker culture, we focused this year’s event on serendipitous STEM learning for all ages. Instead of adding exhibitors, we narrowed the field. Some of the organizations we invited included: The Maryland Science Center, The Baltimore Underground Science Space (BUGSS), The Prototyping and Design Lab from the University of Maryland, FutureMakers, Code in the Schools, The Baltimore Robotics Center, and The Digital Harbor Foundation. In 2013, each exhibitor had one table; this year, each exhibitor had several tables where they offered unique but thematically similar projects. Some of the activities included: learning how to solder circuits, playing a fruit keyboard, designing and 3D printing an iPhone case, electro-etching your own drawings into dog tag necklaces, designing levels of a video game, extracting DNA from strawberries, bio-painting, operating robots, and more. Because we have been rolling out statewide Minecraft programs in public libraries, we also set up a Minecraft Zone where people could play the game in a world designed specifically for the Expo. Carroll County Public Library provided a Minecraft Craft table that allowed participants to make a variety of Minecraft-themed jewelry, artwork, and other analog objects.

Teen and youth services librarians from all corners of the state came to participate in a library-staff-only workshop presented by Justin Hoenke from CPL. He told them that youth services is often the driving force behind library innovation, and offered them some practical ideas for engaging young people. The reviews of the workshop were overwhelmingly positive, and he stayed in the auditorium for a long time chatting and answering questions.
Hoenke also provided the keynote, “Create and Collaborate and Be an Awesome Person for Your Community,” in which he discussed the importance of forming equitable community alliances and how to leverage library programming as a positive change-agent for communities. This year we added an after event called After the Expo, which was held at the Baltimore Robotics Center. At the event, state library staff, the exhibitors, and other out-of-school time and STEM education organizations were invited to discuss future library and community involvement in tech education.

The second annual Innovation Expo was also a success. The exhibitors, library staff, and members of the public all commented that it was inspiring to see so many diverse people enjoy learning together. Throughout the day exhibit stations were perpetually populated by people of different ages, cultural, and economic backgrounds working together. We were all delighted by the exceptionally high ratio of entire families who engaged in the projects as teams. The visiting library staff members were pleased with the number of concrete programming ideas they walked away with, and were excited to see how much energy the customers exhibited while working on the various learning projects. Library customers had fun engaging with new ideas and technologies, and parents were enthusiastic about the level of family engagement engendered by the event.

The exhibitors had fun engaging with customers in new ways, and were glad to have the opportunity to learn more about partnering with public libraries. In his exhibitor evaluation, Tom Burkett of BUGSS wrote, “I really liked the way the public engaged in all of the activities, not just ours. I think the Innovation Expo is a great forum for makerspaces and educational programs in general.”

Reference

1. Joshua Davis, “How a Radical New Teaching Method Could Unleash a Generation of Geniuses,” WIRED (Oct. 13, 2013), accessed Dec. 4, 2014, www.wired.com/2013/10/free-thinkers.

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Susan Hildreth, Director of Institute of Museum and Library Services, blogged in “Is a Village Post Office Coming to a Library Near You?” in 2012, “When a rural post office reduces hours, people often feel that in addition to losing a place to receive and send mail, they have lost a place that gives their community an identity and a place where neighbors can meet and share news.”² Public libraries have always held together the fabric of the community with easy access to resources. VPOs seem to be a natural extension for increased access for the entire community when they are paired with the accessibility, customer service, and convenient hours of the public library. Potential for increased foot traffic, customer appreciation, along with the extension of a service inside an established community resource, seems like an obvious win.

Libraries with VPOs report that very little training is required for library staff, and to date there’s been few negative concerns raised by participating libraries. The first public library VPO made Library Journal news in Meredith Schwartz’s “Libraries Could Double As Post Offices.” Schwartz reported when rural Leighton Township Library was under threat of closure in 2012, Library Director Andrea Estelle considered what she’d recently learned from USPS officials earlier in that year about how to offer the community a VPO.³ As the first library location in the country to offer a VPO, the Leighton Township Library reported relative ease for its VPO rollout. The Library received approximately $3,800 per year, which varies by locations, and the contract can be cancelled with 30-days’ notice and without penalty.⁴

Some of the conveniences VPOs offer include: stamps, mail center kiosks, and post office boxes. To add to the legitimacy and the trusted anchor that the USPS represents, out front you’ll find the blue mailbox and signage bearing the USPS logo and the unique zip code of the community. These iconic symbols remind visitors that their VPO-library hybrid is very much official.

In May 2012 the 600^th VPO was opened in two Kansas City, Missouri public Libraries: The Lucile H. Bluford Library and North-East Branch Library.⁵  Kansas City KSHB Action News 41 announced the VPO openings in their Breaking News story.⁶ There could be as many as 2,450 libraries rural areas affected by post office closures⁷—a couple of thousand more opportunities to increase public library service and potentially save a unique zip code from disappearing.

For more information on opening a Village Post Office see USPS Village Post Office.

RESOURCES

1. Meredith Schwartz, “Libraries Could Double As Post Offices,” Library Journal.com (August 2012).
2. Susan Hildreth, “Is a Village Post Office Coming to a Library Near You?” Up   q11 Next IMLS Blog, August 22, 2012.
3. Meredith Schwartz, “Libraries Could Double As Post Offices,” Library Journal.com (August 2012).
4. Ibid.
5. Lu, “USPS Expanding Village Post Offices inside Libraries,” Postal Reporter.com News Blog, May 2014.
6. Sarah Hollenbeck, “US Postal Service opening two new post offices in Kansas City public libraries,” KSHB 41 Kansas City, May 5, 2014.
7. Meredith Schwartz, “Libraries Could Double As Post Offices,” Library Journal.com (August 2012).

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Stronger Partnerships=Stronger Communities

One of my colleagues, an elementary teacher, decided that instead of asking for more money from her school budget for new encyclopedias, she was going to check them out of the public library for her classroom.  I thought “What a brilliant solution!”  It seems that even educators sometimes overlook the vast and free resources that the public library can offer.  In Illinois, some communities are trying to change that in this critical time.

“Critical because collaboration among community institutions is a vital component to making the best use of all available resources; critical because collaboration among community institutions is urgently needed since the tasks ahead are large; and critical because in a world where people wonder whether libraries are relevant, collaboration can be the clear path to a vision that libraries play an essential role in the life of a community.” (Collen 2013)

In order to discover what is and what needs to be done the Illinois Library Association (ILA) created a survey.  The responses were all completely voluntary and the survey was available online in several locations (ILA website and numerous listservs across the state).  The survey was available during the months of February and March 2013. There were 223 individual responses to a set of 15 survey questions.  The purpose of the survey was threefold:

• to provide a window in at the collaboration between public libraries and schools in Illinois
• to provide an public caucus to share ideas innovative projects
• to provide a realistic look at barriers to collaboration.

Responses

The respondents were all professionals within the library or school system.  The majority of the respondents were public or school librarians.  What was discovered was that there was a broad range of services that were being utilized by the schools within the public libraries.  A very few respondents said that the public libraries do not provide any services, however a larger population boasted that the “relationship between the public libraries and the schools goes well beyond that, characterizing the relationship as a true collaborative partnership.” (Collen 2013)  Many of the respondents praised the joint collaborations and offered suggestions of ventures that have worked for them including:

•  Writing Workshops
• Author Visits
• ACT Prep and Proctored Practice Tests
• Library Card Sign-Up at the Schools
• Database Acquisition and Presentation
• Battle of the Books
• Field Trips to the Public Library
• Poetry Slams
• New Book “Release” Parties

Public libraries partnering with schools is a win/win situation. It increases the relevancy of public libraries in an increasingly digital world and also can help the budgetary concerns in public schools with more access to a variety of data and material than the school alone can provide to the students, as well as the teachers.  “In so doing, we have the power to create not only stronger institutions, but also stronger communities.” (Collen, 2013)

Works Cited

Collen, Lauren. Critical Collaboration:Public Library and School District Partnerships In Illinois. Machesney Park: ILA Reporter, 2013.

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