Sno-Isle Libraries (SIL) debuted Issues That Matter forums in 2010 as a series of community discussions and debates. These forums convene residents from communities across the entire two-county library service area (Snohomish County and Island County, WA) to engage in important community conversations on relevant, high-profile topics. Through these events, the library extends its neutral stance to enable civil, open discussion on controversial topics with the guidance of several panelists and a program moderator. Sessions are recorded and streamed live on Facebook. The forums connect citizens in the communities we serve with local experts, stakeholders, and community leaders.

SIL’s outreach programming for a decade now. It’s also a work in progress. We listen to forum participants and we adapt. They want more than a give-and-take debate, or an informational presentation. 

“They want to know, what are the next steps, what can I learn, how can I participate to help?” said Ken Harvey, SIL Director of Communications. “It’s clearer and clearer that audiences want to do more than attend. They want to engage.”1 As a result, Issues That Matter is evolving and transforming to remain a vital, objective resource that customers value and appreciate. 

Issues That Matter is now a centerpiece of SIL’s strategic priorities and core services: building civic engagement to address community issues, and presenting programs addressing community needs and interests. 

COMMUNITY CONCERNS 

Three of the first four forum topics covered hot-button state ballot measures: an income tax, legalization of recreational marijuana, and same sex marriage. We’ve also discussed more general issues, such as bullying, hate crimes, and drugs in our communities. 

When SIL decided to pursue this type of programming, district officials knew community partners might say, “Libraries check out books. Why are you holding community events on ballot measures or social issues?” We did hear that question along with several similar ones, and for good reason. Ten years ago, this was uncharted territory for SIL. 

It became apparent early in the process that all SIL staff members needed to understand why we chose to engage in this type of programming and be able to explain that decision effectively to our communities. 

While our early forums featured contentious political issues, the Homelessness Here forums in 2017 illustrate how we’ve adapted to provide more audience engagement. We became an information clearinghouse for many organizations, agencies, and professionals who deal with the region’s homeless population. Thanks to these connections and strengthened relationships, we added information to resources on our “Issues That Matter—Homelessness Here” webpage with links to twenty local agencies that offer resources for those experiencing homelessness, plus recommended books and educational materials. 

Issues That Matter events always include time at the end to mingle and connect. With the Homelessness Here forums, staff noticed a strong desire for attendees to find new ways to take action. They connected with the panelists, but also with each other after each event. 

Just because presentation topics are community-generated doesn’t mean there isn’t some controversy. We continue to learn with each new series of forums while embracing the opportunity to facilitate sometimes difficult discussions. For example, this year’s theme is “Looking Forward” and focuses on regional growth-related issues. One customer said Issues That Matter indicates a socialist agenda. SIL Foundation Executive Director Paul Pitkin responded to explain the foundation’s support and where the forum topics originate. 

“We have provided support for these forums for the past nine years in order to enable community and regional conversations around high-profile topics, such as the upcoming issue of population growth and how it is affecting our communities and region,” Pitkin said. “The topics selected for discussion actually come from the communities we serve.”² 

Another customer commented that the panelists on an upcoming Housing and Homelessness forum are biased. “This is not a discussion, this is a lecture series. ALL the panelists have something to gain by low-income housing. What about the people who have to put up with drug-induced felons getting FREE housing in our neighborhoods?” the customer wrote. “It isn’t necessarily a homeless issue, it’s a drug issue.” 

Edmonds Library Manager Richard Suico handled the response: 

“I appreciate your comments that this is skewed and agenda-driven. We are providing this forum to give you and the rest of the community an opportunity to engage in an informed discussion with community experts that have been directly impacted, have studied and researched and/or are providing possible solutions to the housing issue. 

“Even if we feel we have created an expert field of panelists, community members like you are encouraged to attend and participate. The format only works if it is authentic and includes the community sharing, in a respectful, appropriate manner, a wide range of viewpoints like yours that sound like this topic is corollary to the drug issue. I thank you for your comments and concerns and hope you attend.”³ 

However difficult, it is important to find moderators and panelists who have different, even divergent, viewpoints on topics. 

“Some panelists may only represent one viewpoint,” Harvey said. “Libraries must ensure a wide range of political and philosophical views to demonstrate our objectivity. The public will perceive that slant and see the lack of objectivity.”⁴ 

CHOOSING TOPICS 

The primary factors in deciding topics are: (1) that they must be relevant to those who live in the communities we serve and (2) align with our library district’s strategic priorities. SIL staff members use several methods to further identify potential Issues That Matter program topics. 

Canvassing local elected officials for information on current projects or initiatives in their communities and asking if they can share information on their constituents’ concerns is one key component. This has the added bonus of helping to develop conversations and strengthen relationships between the library and local civic leaders. Surveying forum attendees has also helped identify future topics. 

In 2015 and 2016, SIL issued press releases asking for topic suggestions. Each time, we received more than sixty responses from library district customers who shared issues that were important to them and their communities. 

SIL chose Homelessness Here as the 2017 Issues That Matter theme for a number of reasons. Homelessness was mentioned by respondents to a call for topic suggestions in both 2015 and 2016. In 2016, as part of our strategic planning process, we asked library customers to take a short online survey to pick which topics were most important to them and their communities. 

The top four responses were mental-health needs, drug addiction, lack of affordable housing, and homelessness. The combined totals of those four responses made up 71% of all responses. The three responses that were not specifically “homelessness” touched on other issues of concern to persons experiencing homelessness in our communities. 

In Snohomish County, the homeless population is monitored with a count called Point in Time (PIT) (www.snohomishcountywa.gov/2857/Point-In-Time) taken on a single night in January each year. While the PIT count fluctuates year to year, Snohomish County measured a 9.9% increase in its unsheltered homeless population between 2013 and 2018, rising from 344 people to 378 people, according to 2018 data. (The county’s homeless population was 599 people in 2019.) 

The need was apparent and Homelessness Here became an obvious topic choice for 2017. It had more participation than any other Issues That Matter event and was very well reviewed by attendees. 

We asked participants what they liked about this forum. Here are some responses: 

• “Bringing everyone together to help educate, collaborate and brainstorm ideas.”
• “Feeling of community doing something for each other.”
• “Information about resources, encouragement for more engagement.”
• “Well run, organized, timely, and helpful.”
• “The open, heartfelt, intelligent address of a really difficult issue. Good panelists, good moderator, good audience participation. Thank you!”

To the final question on the survey, “What can the library do to improve your learning?” we heard an overarching common theme—do more! Here is a selection of comments: 

• “More forums like this.”
• “More specifics about involvement on this program.”
• “Handouts for people to know more.”
• “I wish there was more of an action plan—it’s a tough, huge problem.”
• “More forums on specific needs in small communities.”

EXPANDING THE CONCEPT 

The feedback from 2017 was used for determining the subsequent Issues That Matter topics under the broad umbrella of mental health. Such a broad category called for trying something new. 

Up to this point, Issues That Matter events had been centrally organized. With mental health, we knew that community library staff members understood their particular community’s needs and interests, so we had each interested library pick its own specific topic related to the topic of mental health. 

Nineteen of our twenty-three libraries held sixteen forums between fall 2017 and spring 2018, culminating with a summit to review action items on the broad array of mental health issues the forums tackled. We had a wide variety of subtopics covered, from “Families and Dementia” to “Teen Depression and Suicide.” 

We’re using what we learned from the Homelessness Here and Mental Health forums to keep Issues That Matter relevant with SIL customers and the people who live in our library district. Forum participants want action items. They want to learn ways to help. It was clear that Issues That Matter could be a wonderful conduit for civic action. 

We are now asking the speakers at each event to share an action item for the audience. We focus on sharing information on topics important to our local communities and providing tools to take an action step with their new knowledge. 

NUTS AND BOLTS 

With each forum topic, SIL staff members identify, approach, and recruit the topic’s panelists and moderator. Knowing good sources of potential moderators and forming a partnership with those people and organizations is particularly important, because locating a moderator can often be more difficult than finding panelists. 

We work with organizations such as the local League of Women Voters and regional media outlets to locate moderators who are comfortable leading a public discussion. Local elected officials are another good resource and we have had several mayors and other elected officials serve as moderators. Library staff members who have a background or training in moderating events are also good options. 

For panelists, many professionals perform community outreach as an important part of their job. Surprisingly, we’ve found these excellent local resources don’t often receive a lot of invitations from other organizations to speak at community events. 

Many librarians may find it unusual or intimidating to cold call prospective panelists or send unsolicited emails about participating in something like a facilitated panel discussion. However, librarians make these kinds of requests all the time, such as approaching a performer to schedule a summer reading program or asking a local business if they would support a library initiative. Reaching out to a prospective panelist for a community forum isn’t that much different. 

Tips 

• Keep it simple. Identify a few key local agencies or organizations, tell them about the planned event, then ask if they can send a representative to serve as a panelist. We’ve heard an enthusiastic “Yes!” more often than “No thanks.”
• We’ve found that panelists frequently help arrange colleagues for other forum panels or provide us with solid references for additional panelists.
• When a program has more speakers than spots on the panel, we ask some speakers to sit in the audience and participate in the audience Q&A. They get to supplement the panelists’ answers and help foster a more robust discussion.
• We make sure that all panelists and our moderator meet before each program. It gives them a chance to discuss what each one will focus on in their opening remarks. Panelists want to avoid overlapping statements, and often want to discuss how certain potential audience questions will be addressed and by whom. A few emails are usually enough to accomplish this, but we have also arranged conference calls for panelists.
• We also make a point to share links to photos and recordings of past Issues That Matter events, along with an itinerary of the event timeline. Keep your panelists and moderator engaged. You can’t communicate too much.
• One of the advantages of having a variety of panelists involved is that they can promote the event to their networks. SIL always invites local government officials and other community stakeholders. They often promote the event and invite the community to come.
• Don’t underestimate the importance of frontline staff members in promoting the events. The best-attended forum events always have local library staffers heavily involved in promotion.

SIL has created some amazing partnerships simply by reaching out to other agencies and professionals who live or work in the library district. That has happened even though SIL doesn’t offer a speaker’s fee or any kind of honorarium to panelists or moderators. We provide a light meal before events for panelists as a way of encouraging them to meet each other beforehand. It also ensures everyone is on time for a sound check with the recording equipment and microphones. 

The Sno-Isle Libraries Foundation supports Issues That Matter by covering these minor costs, along with any rental fees for equipment such as a stage or for venue rental in communities where a community library lacks an adequate meeting room. Other than staff time, these are the only costs incurred during the programs. 

Businesses, nonprofits, professionals, and many others want to support their communities, work with their libraries, and help others. They just need to be asked to do so. 

ONE PANELIST’S JOURNEY TO THE FORUM 

Megan LaPlante, a Monroe High School freshman, was a panelist at the 2016 Issues That Matter series on teenage suicide. One year earlier, a friend committed suicide a few hours after a school field trip. Megan and her classmates learned about the death the next day at school. 

“I got a call from Megan about 8:15 in the morning. It was awful,” Megan’s mother, Susan LaPlante, said. “She couldn’t speak; just sobbing.” LaPlante said she had to convince Megan to speak out about losing her friend. “Megan wasn’t sure,” she said. “It’s so personal and so difficult. We talked about it a lot. I told her, ‘You need to talk about it for yourself. And, it can help others.’”⁵ 

Megan’s voice was charged with emotion when she spoke at three Issues That Matter forums. “It’s such a big issue, but not a lot of people know about it,” Megan said after the series. “People don’t touch on it. Parents don’t learn about this and kids die. They don’t know, but they should know about this.”⁶ 

Megan learned it’s important to be there for someone who reaches out. “If they’ve opened up to you, they are trusting you and thinking you will do something and possibly stop it,” she said. “Just hang out as much as possible and make them feel loved and welcome because they are, they really are. There are things that you can do. Say, ‘Come on over,’ or ‘Go to a movie with me.’ And if they say, ‘Leave me alone,’ tell them, ‘No, you’re hurting, I’m staying with you.’”⁷ 

While choosing to speak about teen suicide wasn’t easy for Megan, the response at the Issues That Matter forum convinced her that it was the right choice. “A girl came up to me after it was over to say how much it helped,” Megan said.⁸ Her mother had a similar experience with a parent. “The father of a boy who died in April [2016] came up and said Megan’s comments were so relevant. It was very confirming,” LaPlante said. “That night was amazing.”⁹ 

PROMOTION 

The SIL Communications Department is deeply involved in Issues That Matter programs and handles all event promotion with online, print, and social-media efforts. 

For every programming series, online content is created. Other items include a banner promotion on the main library website, news blog posts, press releases to local media, articles for newsletters, and email blasts about the events to library customers in the hosting community and nearby geographic areas. Promotional posters and fliers are created and sent to local library staff members to post and distribute in their communities. 

We also promote upcoming Issues That Matter events on Twitter and the SIL Facebook page, always tagging participating or potentially interested local groups. 

At the events, communications staff members livestream it to Facebook, then archive the videos on the Facebook Videos page. Staff members then follows up with video and article links on the website and to local media. 

When the local press writes about an event, we make sure to share that content on the SIL homepage, Facebook, Twitter, and other social-media outlets. 

OUTCOMES 

SIL first employed outcomes-based measurements using the Project Outcome model during the Homelessness Here events in 2017.

The first event, cohosted by four community libraries on Whidbey Island, had 187 attendees. The next three events brought total live attendance to 545 community members. Many more were reached with our Facebook Live feeds. Elected officials attended three of the four events. All of them spoke during the Q&A sessions and stayed after to connect with attendees. 

We had several goals or outcomes for the series. Information on the first four was gathered from surveys that community members filled out immediately after an event using a five-point scale (1. Strongly disagree; 2. Disagree; 3. Neither agree nor disagree; 4. Agree; 5. Strongly agree): 

1. Community members are more knowledgeable about community issues. 
2. Community members feel more confident about becoming involved in their community. 
3. Community members intend to become more engaged on community issues. 
4. Community members are more aware of services and events offered by SIL. 

When asked what participants liked most about the Homelessness Here forums, comments included: 

• A “feeling of [the] community doing something for each other.”
• Receiving “information about resources [and] encouragement for more engagement.”
• “The open, heartfelt, intelligent address to a really difficult issue.”
• The desire to “bring everyone together to help educate, collaborate, and brainstorm ideas.”
• The event was “well run, organized, timely, and helpful.”

The Mental Health forums had similar results. The surveys used a five-point scale (1. Strongly disagree; 2. Disagree; 3. Neither agree nor disagree; 4. Agree; 5. Strongly agree). 

Overall the survey results were quite positive and showed that community members did feel more knowledgeable and more committed to becoming engaged in their community as a result of attending an Issues That Matter event (see table 1). 

Six weeks after the events, we sent out a follow-up survey to measure participant action. 

1. Community members actively became more involved in the community. 
2. Community members used what they learned to do something new or different in the community. 
3. Community members discussed what they learned with others.
4. As a result of attending the program, community members used another library resource, attended another program, or checked out a book.

Unfortunately, survey participation was low and we only received nineteen responses for the Homelessness Here events. Out of those responses, 56% did become more active in their community and 63% used what they learned to do something new or different in their community. All respondents said they had discussed what they learned or experienced with others. And 53% used another library resource or service, checked out a book, or attended another program.

In the follow-up survey to Homelessness Here, comments included: 

• “I work on housing issues through my work and this program helped me know more about the programs in Island County.”
• “We helped organize and held a forum . . . with 24 different active organizations to help us come together and work on issues in a more organized way.”
• “Homelessness—I have always wondered how to address it and this helped.”
• “The meeting was targeted specifically at a mostly invisible problem in my community that sorely needs to be addressed.”
• “This homelessness [forum] was very informational and disturbing. When I hear people talk about these issues, I’m more informed to participate in the conversations.”
• “I did discuss the homelessness issue with several other people. And I am more aware as well as empathetic for those who find themselves in this circumstance.”
• “We discussed the program and shared information with others.”
• “I participate in a regular gathering of friends and talked about what I had learned, particularly in respect to support for homeless youth.”

While the Mental Health series was well attended, we struggled with collection methods of the follow-up survey and didn’t get enough responses to draw useful conclusions. For the 2019 series, we’re collecting email addresses of attendees at the start of each event. Previously, attendees opted into the follow-up survey by adding it to their day-of evaluation. We’ll use the email addresses to send forum participants a resource and action list from the speakers. By continually engaging with the attendees in this way, we hope more of them will take civic action. 

LOOKING AHEAD 

An overarching theme in audience comments after each event is that our diverse communities want more of this kind of programming. Because of this, the Issues That Matter team developed a toolkit so individual libraries can respond quickly to specific issues with their own localized programs, produced independently of the district’s systemwide Issues That Matter programming committee. 

In 2019, SIL is presenting five Issues That Matter discussions on the theme “Looking Forward.” The forums will focus on four broad issues related to growth: (1) the environment, (2) transportation, (3) employment, and (4) housing. With the region’s population surging, the goal of these discussions is to help communities work on potential solutions to issues related to growth that are happening now and are expected to happen in the near future. 

Communications Director Harvey will continue tweaking Issues That Matter so the forums remain an important, useful, and responsive resource for our communities. It might mean we have a two-tier format with smaller, community-focused forums at individual libraries like those we piloted with Mental Health, and larger forums on broad issues that got Issues That Matter off the ground in 2010. No matter what format Issues That Matter follows, we will always provide ways for forum participants to engage. 

“The challenge for libraries is to pull together a planning team to put on more than an informational event,” Harvey said. “It needs to activate people.”¹⁰ 

We’re excited about being able to expand the program and get more libraries and communities involved in civic discussion and engagement around important topics. It’s clear from the events we’ve held that local agencies, governments, and communities are all eager to talk and work together. At SIL, we believe that being a local leader in creating and hosting programs that promote these types of important community conversations is an issue that matters to all public libraries. 

For a complete list of past ITM programs, visit www. sno-isle.org/issues-that-matter. 

References 

1. Ken Harvey, personal interview with author, April 2019. 
2. Paul Pitkin, personal interview with author, April 2019. 
3. Richard Suico, personal interview with author, April 2019. 
4. Harvey. 
5. Susan LaPlante, “Speaking at Teen-Suicide Forums Difficult, But Rewarding, Choice,” Sno-Isle Libraries blog, July 1, 2016, accessed July 14, 2019.
6. Megan LaPlante, “Speaking at Teen-Suicide Forums Difficult, But Rewarding, Choice,” Sno-Isle Libraries blog, July 1, 2016, accessed July 14, 2019.
7. Ibid. 
8. Ibid. 
9. Susan LaPlante. 
10. Harvey. 

The post Issues That Matter: Forums Build Civic Engagement first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

“Oh, I get it,” said the library patron who had been talking with a library staff member; they’d been discussing why the library was sharing resources and facilitating conversation around civic topics. “These are topics worth looking at closely. You need to have good information in order to make up your own mind. If you have bad information, someone else is making up your mind for you.”

This patron, in the course of a fifteen-minute conversation that started with a discussion about how the U.S. Supreme Court works and evolved to explore more general civic information–sharing, got at the crux of the Civic Lab model for civic engagement here at Skokie (IL) Public Library (SPL). Since its inception in summer 2016, the Civic Lab has offered information and thought-provoking activities to support dialogue and engagement on issues that affect our community. At its heart, the Civic Lab—a team of library staff members from a variety of departments, working in a variety of positions—is about connecting community members of all ages with the information and resources they need to first understand issues that they care about and that are impacting the community, and then, with that foundation of understanding based on reputable information, make up their own minds about how they feel about an issue, and whether and how they want to act as a result. 

Here at SPL, we broadly define “civic engagement” in the library context as the programs and opportunities that promote and facilitate: 

• a deeper, more critical understanding of how civic institutions operate; 
• a broader, more empathic knowledge of how issues, policies, and decisions affect lives; and
• an increased awareness of and confidence in one’s ability to take an active role in civic discourse and participate in community decision-making.

The Civic Lab is one initiative under an umbrella of civic engagement work at the library. 

The Civic Lab came to be in part due to the volume of conversations about the 2016 general election. Library staff working many different types of service points, and in a range of programs, noticed that community members were having more and more conversations about political candidates, policy issues, and platforms leading up to the primary elections. As a library we strive to support our community by taking what we’re hearing in the library and beyond and integrating those issues and concerns into our services. The Learning Experiences team at the library, which oversees all public programs as well as experiential learning spaces for patrons of all ages, regularly asks how we can infuse what we’re hearing our community cares about into our programs and services. When we continued to hear that civic discourse was on an uptick in the community, and that community members were coming to the library with questions seeking to better understand issues raised in political campaigns and coverage, we saw there was opportunity to do more than offer a handful of standalone programs that would each explore a single issue in the news or campaign coverage. We saw an opportunity to think more broadly, at a larger initiative level, about how we might support community members in understanding and discussing important issues. And so, with brainstorming among the Learning Experiences team, the Civic Lab was born. 

STARTING OUT: THE CIVIC LAB BOUTIQUE 

This first iteration of the Civic Lab ran from late August until the general election in November 2016, and it was a semi-static installation with a goal of connecting community members to resources, information, and discussion around six core issues we’d observed as being of particular importance to the Skokie community: 

1. Black Lives Matter 
2. Climate change 
3. Immigration 
4. Income inequality 
5. LGBTQQI+ 
6. Reproductive justice 

For each of these six issues, we curated and developed the following elements to be available— some ongoing, some rotating—in a newly cleared corner of our AV department which became the Civic Lab Boutique: 

• Microcollections of resources on each topic. These microcollections featured multiple copies of six resources on each topic: two for an adult audience, two for teens, one for middle grade youth, and one picture book. The materials included in these microcollections were selected because they provided critical, credible perspectives on the issues. 
• Conversation starters. These open-ended questions were structured to invite discussion and perspective-sharing on the six central issues. For example, conversation starters included “What does income inequality look like in Skokie?” (for the income inequality topic) and “What is your family’s migration story?” (for the immigration topic). Visitors to the Civic Lab Boutique were 
• able to engage in live conversation around a table in the space, or to write their thoughts on a postcard they could add to a mailbox in the space. 
• Voting prompts. These yes/no questions rotated while the Civic Lab Boutique was live, with each question posted atop a large foam board with “Yes” and “No” sides, and sticky notes available for community members to cast their votes. Voting prompts included “Has the Black Lives Matter movement challenged you to think about racism in Skokie?” and “Should employers be required to provide paid parental leave for their employees?” (We also included related voting prompts for children in our Youth Services Department, with prompts like “Have you ever been told you can’t do something because of your gender?”) 
• Curated resource handouts. These handouts, one for each issue and meant to be taken home by visitors to the Civic Lab, included the conversation starters, key definitions relevant to the issue, the resources included in the microcollections, and additional resources for further exploration. 

Throughout the several months that the Civic Lab Boutique was up in the library, we learned a handful of key takeaways that we’ve kept with us as the Civic Lab has evolved. First, we learned that community members engaged with the Civic Lab most when there was a library staff member present. While we had curious browsers explore the space throughout the installation, the only times we observed conversation around the issues was when a staff member was around to participate in the discussion. Facilitation appeared to be a significant factor for engagement. Second, we learned that while plenty of the microcollection materials circulated, the curated resource handouts were the most popular takeaway from the space. Whether that was because not every visitor to the Civic Lab was in a position to check out materials, or they wanted to explore further on their own terms and then return, or another reason, we gathered that curated resource handouts are a great passive tool for civic exploration. 

THE NEXT ITERATION: CIVIC LAB POP-UPS 

While developing the Civic Lab Boutique, we talked abstractly about whether (and how) we’d extend the concept beyond this initial installation. After the 2016 presidential election, we saw the same increase in interest in civic dialogue and participation that communities across the country also experienced. We realized that continuing the Civic Lab wasn’t just something we wanted to try as a library—it was something our community was clamoring for. 

Later in November 2016, we evolved the Civic Lab to its second and current iteration: as a pop-up programming–style model. Using what we had learned about the preference for facilitated activities and desire for connection to resources, we developed the model of the Civic Lab that we still use now nearly three years later. Civic Lab pop-ups all involve some permutation of the same core elements: 

• a central prompt or question that sets the topic scope of the pop-up; 
• supporting visuals, activities, resources, or conversation starters to support exploration of the topic of the pop-up;
• a curated resource handout with credible information on the topic, typically with each resource on the handout including an annotation of one or two sentences to summarize what community members can find using the resource;
• direct staffing/facilitation of the pop-up, with at least one staff member but typically two;
• a sixty to ninety minute pop-up period in a library area chosen because of likelihood of foot traffic, proximity to additional resources, etc.;
• our Civic Lab branded stand-up banner to help identify the pop-up as a Civic Lab appearance;
• some combination of stacking wooden crates to help delineate the pop-up space;
• a rolling whiteboard with dry-erase markers, or sticky notes and writing utensils to facilitate participant sharing; and
• a listing in our online events calendar, which means that Civic Lab pop-ups will appear on the library website homepage on the day of the pop-up.

Throughout the two-and-a-half years we’ve been offering Civic Lab pop-ups, we’ve strived to offer a minimum of one pop-up topic (each appearing at two different times) each month; during some months we’ve featured two or more topics. 

As we evolved from the Civic Lab Boutique to the pop-up model, we intentionally refocused on our goals for this type of civic engagement. Now that all of our Civic Lab installations would involve direct staff facilitation, we wanted to ensure that the staff participating in the Civic Lab—a team of eight to ten from multiple library departments and roles—felt confident in what we’re trying to achieve through the initiative. The Civic Lab is about information, and our goal for the Civic Lab is exploring reputable information on a topic, ideally from lots of different vantage points. To that end, we’re going to look to the source of any information shared in a pop-up (regardless of whether it’s shared by a staff member or a community member), and we’re going to ask questions to get at deeper consideration of a topic at hand (rather than just continuing to hold previously held viewpoints without considering others). It’s also a core tenet of the Civic Lab that we are not trying to persuade patrons to come to a certain conclusion on a topic. We’re operating under the premise that people can make the best decisions when informed, and that libraries are information experts, and so our end goal is to support patrons in considering all the information that they need in order to understand a topic and come to their own conclusions. 

CIVIC LAB TOPICS 

How do we select topics for this current version of the Civic Lab? As we’ve continued to iterate around the Civic Lab since fall 2016, we’ve honed in on four main types of Civic Lab topics that appeal to our community and that we return to as we continue planning. 

TYPE 1: Topics in the News 

Like many across the country, people in Skokie are keyed into topics that they see being discussed in their news sources of choice. It’s been a natural process for staff involved in the Civic Lab to think about the news they consume through a lens of what might make for a compelling Civic Lab discussion. Similarly, we’re always looking to our community and listening to the topics they care about, which has provided plenty of fodder for Civic Lab pop-ups. Examples of these “topics in the news” pop-ups include: 

• “Executive Orders and Immigrants”—a pop-up developed in early 2017 when a series of executive orders was issued enacting travel bans restricting citizens of select Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States; this pop-up was designed to consider this news topic in the context of the 1942 executive order that called for the incarceration of Japanese Americans in the United States. 

• “Narratives of Gun Violence”—a pop-up developed alongside a lot of community conversation about the Parkland shooting and March for Our Lives demonstration; this pop-up was focused on connecting community members to resources and perspectives on gun violence beyond the typical and reductive argument that structures gun violence as simply an issue of gun-owners’ rights versus gun control.

• “Talking About Suicide”—a pop-up developed when there was heightened conversation about mental health in Skokie following the deaths by suicide of Anthony Bourdain and Kate Spade, as well as a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report about increases in suicide in the United States; this pop-up was focused on defining terms around mental health to help with de-stigmatization, as well as to connect community members to mental health support resources in the community.

TYPE 2: Basic Civic Literacy 

We’ve seen many indicators that community members are looking to increase their knowledge and confidence around understanding how basics of governance work at all levels. To that end, we regularly develop Civic Lab pop-ups around basic civic literacy topics to help support this understanding, including: 

• “How Does the Supreme Court Work?”—a pop-up focused on exploring why the United States Supreme Court looks the way it does, how justices come to sit on the court, how the court determines what cases it will hear, and more. 
• “What is the EPA?”—a pop-up intended to explore the Environmental Protection Agency, its purview and influence in our country, the reasons for its creation, and the impact of its work.
• “How a Bill Becomes a Law”—a pop-up meant to explore the legislative process and how an idea for a bill becomes a law.

TYPE 3: Timely Topics 

Public libraries are often aware of dates and months on the calendar that are designated for the exploration of particular topics, the celebration of cultural groups, and so on. We’ve engaged with community members beyond materials displays in conjunction with these timely topics by developing Civic Lab pop-ups that can facilitate further exploration and conversation: 

• “Talking About Taxes”—a pop-up during March (in conjunction with tax season) meant to connect community members to information about how taxes function, different types of taxes, and what tax money funds at different levels of government.
• “Blackness in America”—a pop-up during February (in conjunction with Black History Month) that connects community members to resources exploring a range of perspectives on black experiences and excellence in the United States.
• “Actually, She Did That”—a pop-up during March (in conjunction with Women’s History Month) that explores the lives and contributions of women who did not get credit for their work with a goal of enabling community members of all ages to reflect on gender discrimination.
• “What is Pride Month?”—a pop-up during June that features a live information-gathering activity in which community members and Civic Lab facilitators work together using a range of resources to build out a display that explores the who, what, when, where, why, and how of Pride Month.

TYPE 4: News Literacy 

At the core of all Civic Lab pop-ups is a desire to support community members in developing news and information-literacy skills so that they can access, consider, and make informed decisions based on reputable information. We’ve had success popping up around general news literacy topics, including: 

• “What is Journalism? (And What Isn’t?)”—a pop-up that explores different types of news coverage, including straight reporting, analysis, and opinion pieces, with a goal of increasing understanding around how to differentiate between news coverage that shares objective facts and coverage that provides more subjective perspectives.
• “Social Media & Viral News”—a pop-up built around resources to help develop deeper understanding around the interplay between social media platforms and viral news sharing, including connections to resources for verifying news found on social media.

Across all four of these types of Civic Lab pop-ups, we have explored topics that are time-specific—most relevant only in conjunction with a particular news story—as well as those that are more evergreen. We have updated and offered again a number of Civic Lab pop-ups on evergreen topics, sometimes as much as two years after we initially developed a topic. For instance, “How the Supreme Court Works” has continued to be a relevant and engaging pop-up on a number of occasions. 

DESIGNING CIVIC LAB RESOURCES & ACTIVITIES 

As we’ve iterated this Civic Lab pop-up model, we’ve developed some best practices for curating resources and activities that engage community members of all ages in exploring these topics. These best practices speak to strategies for ensuring that anyone is able to explore the topic at hand in a manner that is informative, engaging, and developmentally appropriate. 

Avoid an “opposing viewpoints” model. The idea that there are only two sides to an issue, and that they are opposites of one another, is a fallacy. It’s an appealing fallacy, since it feels like it’s easy to understand an issue if we can frame it in the context of an “either/or” argument, but it’s a fallacy nonetheless. Real-world issues are complex and can only be meaningfully understood when considered from a variety of perspectives. For the Civic Lab and other types of civic engagement programming with a goal of building knowledge and awareness among participants, it’s vital that we include a wide range of perspectives in supporting our community to explore an issue. We encourage staff to seek out, verify, and include (if appropriate) resources that go beyond the most usual “pro/con” perspectives and also include perspectives that provide a global, local, expert, experiential, statistical, personal, historical, contemporary, scientific, economic, artistic, policy-focused, and/or legal lens on the issue at hand. 

Kids are typically drawn to topics with activities they perceive as fun. For Civic Lab topics around which we want to engage youth community members, we strive to include some type of interactive component as part of the pop-up. This may look like a matching game, as with “Actually, She Did That” in which participants were encouraged to try to match the name and portrait of a woman with her accomplishment. Quizzes and challenges are also appealing activities. 

Teens are most engaged when the topic feels personally relevant to them. Whether it’s because a Civic Lab topic is one they’ve touched on in school (or feel like they should have learned in school, but didn’t), or it’s one with which they have a personal interest, teens connect best with Civic Lab pop-ups when they feel a connection or motivation around the topic being explored. Skokie teens have been particularly drawn to topics around social media and general information literacy, and we’ve had teens get really into environmental and science research topics as well. 

Adults want to be respected and intellectually stimulated in civic conversations. We’ve found that adults in general, if they feel they have time to spend at the Civic Lab, are really interested in civic conversations so long as they feel respected in the conversation—they don’t want to feel condescended to, but rather as an equal partner in a discussion. They want for their experiences and existing knowledge to be recognized as bringing something valuable to the conversation. To that end, they’re looking for a robust conversation directed by curiosity—they want to bring their own knowledge, but they also want to learn from the knowledge of others. We may hear reports about people being stuck in their information bubbles and arguing held beliefs without room for considering other perspectives, but by and large that hasn’t been our experience with the Civic Lab. Adults who opt into a conversation about a civic topic generally genuinely want to expand their knowledge, and almost always are open to reconsidering their own previously held standpoints on a topic. 

Remember that credible information—not any particular viewpoint—is the goal. One of the most common questions we get from both community members and colleagues from the library profession is how we handle controversial topics. Our staff members who are involved in the Civic Lab do a lot of work to make sure that we’re always framing credible information as the core piece of any Civic Lab interaction; our end goal is for participants to walk away equipped with reputable, diverse information on a topic, and from there to feel better equipped to confidently hold an opinion on the topic. It is never our goal to get community members to hold a particular belief—what they personally decide based on what they know and learn is up to them. What we do care about is that Civic Lab participants have an opportunity to recognize and explore that information; that thing library staff have been experts in for our entire existence is the key to meaningful civic engagement. 

ACTIVATING STAFF AND INVOLVING THE COMMUNITY

Our Civic Lab team now includes almost a dozen staff members from multiple library departments who hold a variety of roles in the library. And that’s just the core team— we’ve had additional staff opt to participate on a topic-by-topic basis. To support staff interested in contributing to the Civic Lab, we rely on two core lenses for our library services: our customer service lens and a reference lens. From the customer service lens standpoint, we work with staff to recognize that a community member approaching a Civic Lab pop-up is similar to a community member approaching any other service point—we make no assumptions about what they’re coming to do, we seek to make a connection to understand what they’re looking for, and we strive to provide an experience that is engaging and enjoyable. From a reference lens standpoint, we review principles about how to ask questions that seek understanding in order to have conversations on a level playing field. We also review core reference and information literacy concepts like verifying sources, seeking multiple citations in order to verify a piece of information, and similar strategies that allow the Civic Lab to be an experience with information integrity. By and large, these customer service and reference approaches are things that Civic Lab staff members are already thinking about and doing in their work, making application to the Civic Lab model straightforward. 

In terms of involving staff in the Civic Lab initiative, whether it’s for a single pop-up or as a member of the core team, we think about activating staff through a number of strategies. First is through their own personal interests and experiences. For an early Civic Lab pop-up about “What’s Happening at Standing Rock,” a library staff member who participated in demonstrations at Standing Rock (he did so on personal time, not affiliated with the library) helped to facilitate the pop-up conversation by adding the perspective of a participant. Another way we connect staff to Civic Lab pop-ups is through topics that emerge in other program contexts. When a standing library book discussion group started have conversations about content creators who had recently been in the news with allegations of sexual assault, the two library staff members leading the discussion opted to parlay that discussion into a Civic Lab, “Separating Art from the Artist.” We’ve also had staff members whose role at the library relates to collection development identify trends and topics in materials coming into the library, which they then share with the Civic Lab team as potential future topics. We’ll regularly have staff from throughout the library sharing resources they’ve enjoyed—books, articles, podcasts, and more—that they think might connect to a Civic Lab topic. While they might not develop a pop-up themselves, their contributions add to the plans for the Civic Lab team. 

As the Civic Lab has continued to become a more familiar site around the library, we’ve had community members take notice and, in some cases, wish to replicate the model within their own spheres of work. The school librarian at one of our local middle schools approached the Civic Lab team about modifying the model at her school; she wanted to support her Social Justice Club students in deciding on civic topics for conversation and making resources and conversation starters available in the school library. We were thrilled to share our knowledge and our template for Civic Lab handouts, and these student-led topics have been well received at the school. 

WHAT’S NEXT? 

We’ve got plans to take Civic Lab–style pop-ups and discussions out into the community this summer with our new book bike, and we’ve been talking about what type of staff support is needed to pop up elsewhere outside of the library. With the type of community adoption signaled by local schools’ interest in the Civic Lab model, we’re hoping to see more of that type of community adoption as the Civic Lab continues to increase in visibility. And, of course, we’re thinking strategically about how the Civic Lab will lead into 2020, which includes both a decennial census and a general election. It’s our hope that the Civic Lab is one of many ways that the library supports our community in being informed, active, and engaged. 

RELATED RESOURCES 

• “Go-To News Sources”
• “What Is Pride Month?”
• “Narratives of Gun Violence”

The post A Civic Initiative About Information: The Civic Lab At Skokie Public Library first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

History of Fun Palaces in Libraries
Let’s back up. Where did this idea come from? In the 1960s, people in the British theater world developed the concept, but it was not until 2014 that the idea came to fruition, when venues as diverse as the Royal Shakespeare Company and a Canadian Radio Station opened their doors the first weekend of October for a pop-up, laboratory of fun in which community members shared the activities they love to do with other community members.

Since then, Fun Palaces have become a “worldwide campaign for culture made by your community, for your community.” Every year the number of venues that participate in the weekend of action — which takes place the first weekend of October — has grown, and from the beginning public libraries have been key participants. In 2014, Britain’s Gladstone’s Library offered a Fun Palace, and they found that “every single person [who participated] was new to the library.” Fun Palaces pull people in to engage with libraries in new and exciting ways.

One of the best parts of Fun Palaces are the unexpected discoveries that arise when so many creative people share so many passions all at once in one place. For instance, in 2017 Mark Heaton, who works at Rotherham Libraries in England, tweeted a picture of someone learning Martial Arts at the library with the caption “Didn’t expect to see this in a library! #FunPalaces.”

Bolstered by success stories like these, libraries have enthusiastically joined the Fun Palaces movement. Indeed, in 2017, 54.97% of the 362 Fun Palaces offered worldwide took place in libraries. Writing in CILIP Update, the British equevalent of Public Libraries, Matt Finch writes that “Libraries are inspirational spaces where people can experiment creatively and engage with knowledge, culture and self-directed learning,” thus making them the perfect setting for Fun Palaces.

In 2016, Stella Duffy, the co-director of Fun Palaces (a not-for-profit Unincorporated Association, hosted by The Albany, Deptford), gave a keynote on the movement for the Society of Chief Librarians in England. She said that talking with librarians about Fun Palaces “made a massive difference to libraries taking us on.” At first, some libraries in the U.K. were wary of the staffing obligations associated with this program, but after they saw the impacts that Fun Palaces were having in libraries, and how much support they received from Duffy and the resources she and her staff have put together, even more libraries got involved in the movement.

Something Old, Something New: Fun Palaces Come to U.S. Libraries
Nevertheless, it was not until 2017 that Fun Palaces finally made their way to the United States, when the director of the Huntington City-Township Public Library heard about Fun Palaces in an email newsletter from the American Library Association that mentioned Fun Palaces in passing. Piqued by the idea, the library director researched Fun Palaces, and, according to Henderson, “determined that we be the first library in the US to host a Fun Palace, and off we went!”

The library’s Assistant Director of Library Services, Jessi Brown, wrote in the wrap-up report of the U.S.’s first library-hosted Fun Palace that: “It allows us to be seen as a space for art, for science, for learning new things and excitement. Fun Palaces are important for my community because it allows them to share their passion, and perhaps find someone to share that passion with that they might not have ever found. It allows them to take a risk and try something new and no cost to them. And, it allows people to experience something that they might not ever have experienced because of a lack of someone in their life to teach it.”

Furthermore, the concept of the Fun Palaces fits squarely within the parameters of what a growing number of U.S. libraries already doing. For instance, in Bellingham, Washington, the library has a SkillShare at the library, in which community members are invited on an ongoing basis to share their skills with others at the library. Many library makerspaces also incorporate elements of the Fun Palaces ethos, such as Madison Public Library’s Bubbler, in which local artists share their passions at the library.

Learn What Programs Your Community Wants
In addition to these community benefits, Fun Palaces can also be very helpful for libraries seeking to discover what types of programs their communities want. In Huntington, the library found that the Dungeons & Dragons, calligraphy, and chain-mail jewelery booths “were mobbed all day, each day,” according to Henderson. The library already knew that their community had a big kindness rocks following, so the library made sure they had a station where people could come and paint rocks. “As best we could, if we saw a desire to learn or do something in the community, we tried to set up a station for it (or, failing that, a program at a later date),” Henderson said.

Trying out the trumpet at Huntington City-Township Public Library’s 2017 Fun Palace. Image courtesy Jessi Brown.

Somewhat surprisingly, though, the library found that they did not have to invest an inordinate amount of time in planning the event. Henderson stated that “we spread word around the community around August that we’d be hosting it, and that we were seeking volunteers from the community to lead sessions during the two day festival,” and many people stepped forward to share their skills.

Bring the Fun Palace Idea to Your Library

Despite a massive building renovating beginning at the end of August, the Huntington City-Township Public Library is definitely doing another Fun Palace during October 2018’s Weekend of Action (October 6 and 7). In early August the library sent around a press release asking community members “Do you have a talent, hobby, or passion that you would like to share with others [at the library’s Fun Palace]?” Follow them on social media to see how their second Fun Palace develops and get inspired to try this idea at your library! The library has also shared a great deal of planning and marketing materials, as well as photographs, of its first Fun Palace on Facebook. In addition, the Fun Palaces organization, based in the United Kingdom, has put together an incredible amount of advocacy and logistical tools that can be used by any organization wishing to host a Fun Palace. Their website contains annual reports, films, and pretty much everything you need to get started offering Fun Palaces at your library.

Even dogs got involved in the fun at Huntington City-Township Public Library’s 2017 Fun Palace. Image courtesy Jessi Brown.

It may be too late for your library to join Huntington City-Township Public Library and host a Fun Palace in 2018, but it’s not too early to start planning for 2019!

*Blog Headline Image: Advertisement for the United States’s first library-based Fun Palace, hosted October 7-8 in Huntington, Indiana. Image courtesy Devon Henderson, Marketing, Web Services, Huntington City-Township Public Library, Huntington, Indiana

The post “I Didn’t Expect to See That at the Library” – Fun Palace Engages Community first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

At the 2018 PLA Conference, Maggie Killman, Youth Community Engagement Librarian, and Gabriel Venditti, Community Engagement Librarian, gave a presentation called Building Meaningful Relationships through Community Engagement, in which they discussed the importance of increasing community engagement by creating more adaptive public services.

The conference featured many presentations on the concept of community engagement. Killman and Venditti’s presentation in particular, outlined a comprehensive structuring of the various methods and techniques used to build meaningful relationships with communities. At the core of their message, they convey the idea that libraries and other public services are responsible for garnering relationships with their surrounding community members. In their presentation, they talk about defining community engagement, establishing a mission, vision, and shared values, CEN action, practical advice, and activities that can be implemented to improve a library’s practice of community engagement.

Killman and Venditti’s concept of community engagement is defined by the various aspects of relationship building and the components that lead to community mobilization and goals. Along the way, they gave helpful tips for initiating conversations and building rapport with community members in order to establish trustworthy relationships. As a Communications Specialist II for the Anaheim Public Library, I found this presentation to be very helpful in determining new strategies for engaging the Anaheim public library’s own community leaders and members. I seek to establish new relationships on a daily basis, and always consider the quality of dialogue between public services and the public itself to be integral to the successful integration of community-oriented services and activities.

Most importantly, the presentation describes the key to relationship building as engaging residents, meaning you must meet people where they are, and not be afraid to work on a small-scale, individual basis. This offers community members the opportunity to voice their opinions about what needs attention or improvement from their public services. This kind of interpersonal communication can be extended to local leaders, including government officials, school boards, law enforcement and other public service members, nonprofits, local businesses, and religious organizations. Once a relationship has been established, the next step is to plan for community mobilization, which puts these valuable relationships to good use. Community mobilization is at the core of librarianship, and seeks to connect local residents with public resources.

Many of the relationships we build are for the purpose of creating social capital, which is the idea that an individual or group has the capacity for change, reflected in the relationship by measuring access to resources and knowledge of how to use them. Once there is room for social capital to exist, it can be applied to goals of improving the library’s services and ability to meet the needs of the people, a concept called “asset mapping.” Asset mapping is a visual technique for brainstorming creative solutions to meet the community members’ needs. The success of asset mapping requires the ability for vision, one that is particularly geared toward community engagement, more specifically partnerships. This leads to mutually beneficial programs and services that enable libraries to share resources with partnerships and creatively solve problems of the community. Asset mapping can lead to the creation of a successful community-responsive public service, which is and should be the vision of all public libraries.

In addition, the presentation gave examples of how to implement these concepts, such as readings of African-American authors, Safe Place for Teens, and Pop-Up Game Days. All are examples of community engagement that had been conceived through asset mapping. The practical advice for asset mapping is described as “meet everyone, define your vision, set attainable goals, and tell your story and solicit feedback.” At the end of the presentation, attendees were given an opportunity to have an open session with the presenters in a large group workshop, practicing some of the techniques and providing creative answers to common questions and unfulfilled community needs.

In summary, the public library acts as a conduit for community change, as it is a space that can be used to express community pride, provide a platform for open dialogue, access to free community resources, and open channels for communication with community leaders. It remains the responsibility of public services professionals to meet the needs of its community members by establishing healthy relationships with them.

The post Building Meaningful Relationships through Community Engagement first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

Much of the conference was organized around the unique concerns of library staff in sparsely populated areas. At breakfast on the morning of the first full day of the conference “solo librarians” could gather together to discuss the challenges associated with being a staff of one. At least one session was led by a volunteer librarian, Dianne Connery, who runs the Pottsboro Area Public Library in Texas with an annual budget from the city of $60,000 (supplemented heavily by donations and grants). The library was a finalist for Library Journal’s Best Small Library in America 2017.

Results from a Collaborative Brainstorming Session on “How might the library rebuild mainstreet?” led by Betha Gutsche during a session on how Small Libraries Create Smart Spaces at the Association for Rural and Small Libraries 2017 Conference. Photo Courtesy of Noah Lenstra.

The ARSL embraces this hands-on ethos. The website urges members (the most expensive individual membership is $49 a year) to “Get Involved: ARSL is a volunteer driven organization! With the exception of some administrative functions, ARSL’s work is a result of volunteers who roll up their sleeves and make it happen!” The association’s Twitter (@RuralLibAssoc) asks “Did you know ARSL’s Annual Conference is staffed, planned and organized by volunteers?”

The sessions of the conference itself covered the gamut of public library functions. A common theme centered on rural and small libraries transforming themselves to become vibrant community hubs. Vanessa Adams (Batesville, AR) spoke on how her library went from “virtually no programs and little community support to a thriving hub of activity.” Anna Yount (Brevard, NC) discussed how her library developed  “a dynamic new road map for community success.” Hope Decker (Canandaigua, NY) discussed how to “make the most” of a small library space. Betha Gutsche from OCLC/WebJunction presented preliminary results from the ongoing Small Libraries Create Smart Spaces initiative. She highlighted the public library in Bellingham, WA, which removed two book shelves to create a SkillShare space in the library, in which community members share their skills to offer everything from Tai Chi to Baby Sign Language classes.

Librarians in other sessions discussed taking their services outside through things like library community gardens and partnerships with parks. Still other sessions focused on advocacy and marketing, preparing librarians to tell the stories of the successes they are experiencing, as well as the social and economic issues they are helping to address, such as rural poverty, digital literacy, and multiculturalism.

Work is already underway to plan next year’s conference, which will be in Springfield, Illinois, September 13-15, 2018. Conference attendance rose from 503 in 2016 (Fargo, ND) to over 550 in 2017. Check ARSL out on Facebook and Twitter to stay in-the-loop with this dynamic and growing group of rural and small town librarians.

References

http://arsl.info/about/get-involved/

http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2017/09/lj-in-print/bestsmalllibrary2017/#_

http://www.webjunction.org/explore-topics/smart-spaces.html

https://www.bellinghampubliclibrary.org/skillshare

The post Libraries as Vibrant Community Hubs: A Report From the ARSL Conference first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

Three times a year, library staff do end up talking specifically about what is happening in the library. This can be new activities and services, but more often it is reminding people of the many resources available at the library. This is often a more interactive presentation because people are asking questions throughout or adding bits of information to what is being talked about that they think is particularly important for the other audience members to know. Sometimes the questions are quick but sometimes they are philosophical. “Why are you doing _______,” or “What was the rationale for doing ________?” Not everyone in the audience wants to ask these questions or hear what turns out to be the long answers, but each question is equally important. Often it is the people who ask these questions that staff end up seeing in the library days or weeks after the presentation.

The remainder of the year, two types of presentations occur. Some are technology-based. Either a staff member with a technology background comes to answer individual questions about devices or they talk about helpful websites and apps. The other type of presentation can loosely be described as “saving money or extending your budget with library resources.” The idea with these programs is that a staff member takes a library resource, either a material to circulate or a service we provide, and presents it to the group to help them save money. There is always a handout with websites on the topic, but there is also a list of books or other items people need their library cards to use.

Sample presentations include:

• What else can you do with a cake mix? Discussion centered around the library’s Cake Mix Doctor cookbooks.
• Container Gardening – Highlighted gardening books available at the library as well as the books on upcycling.
• It’s Time to Insulate –  This program focused on the library’s the home improvement books and DVDs.

Finding books to fit different topics is always a challenge, but it can be fun for staff to find ways to relate different materials to each other. Again what makes these presentations enjoyable for the presenter and the audience is when audience members participate, adding their knowledge and insight to the presentation. Regardless, attendees are always invited to visit the library and are always welcome. It is gratifying to library staff when people they met at the food center seek them out in the library to say hi or to ask about where to find items mentioned in presentations.

The post Food Center: Meeting Food Insecure Patrons Outside the Library first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

A side of Hemingway with that corn dog? Park-goers can get both in one place, and are encouraged to share pictures of themselves, the librarian, and their books (which are free, and they don’t even have to return) using the hashtag #PopUpLibrarian.  Here are some tips for replicating their success at your library:

Use Creative Outreach

The Wichita Library may be using a unique approach, so consider that a pop-up library may not work in your town or city. But there is definitely something you can do to reach patrons and draw them in. You must get creative, but you can even piggyback off the creativity of others.

• Pay attention to your community calendar and participate. Every community has events that offer vendor booths or other outreach opportunities. Be a constant part of them.
• Don’t be afraid to go outside. There are probably places within easy walking distance of your library where potential patrons are engaged in everyday activities. Whether they are visiting food trucks for lunch, picnicking in a park, or riding bicycles on a riverside trail. Go meet them, offer them books, and remind them the library is still alive and well.
• Give away what is given to you. Often libraries get donations of dozens of books they can’t put in their collection for various reasons, or maybe your library needs to weed books that have aged or been damaged. Giving them away at events activates the law of reciprocity — people who have been given books are more likely to return to the library.

Using creative methods of outreach and thinking outside the box and beyond the Internet and digital library offerings will bring in more library visitors. These visitor counts are usually vital to funding and community support.

Use Social Media to Spread the Word

Often, people are very willing to share their experiences on social media, tag you or your organization, and even use specific hashtags. But you have to put the request out there — complete with the hashtag you’d like them to use. You should also plan to follow up and thank them on social media. Social media is just that: social. If you never talk back to your patrons, they can’t tell that you appreciate them sharing what you are doing.

This means you must actively post and respond to messages, Tweets, hashtags, and other social media communication. This is a part of social listening, a technique used by many businesses to learn more about their customers. Libraries should be no different. This will also help you create and target events in the future.

Invite Patrons In

Librarians in Wichita can’t issue library cards in the park. They can, and do, invite patrons in to the main library branch that is easily in walking distance to obtain or renew cards.

The purpose of outreach is engagement and to bring more visitors into the library. If you have events or special programs going on, hand out flyers or bookmarks with the free books as a reminder. Those things are all good, but they are not enough. When at outreach events of any kind, extending a personal, warm invitation for the person to visit the library in person. Give them a reason to visit. In marketing, this is known as a “call to action” and you need to do the same. Outreach is marketing and advertising for your library, and though it is often neglected, libraries need advertising for the same reason other businesses do.

The Wichita librarians saw a unique outreach opportunity and also used the power of social media to ultimately invite patrons to visit the library. Let their ideas and innovation inspire you in your community as well.

Further Reading:

The Psychology of Sales – Why Reciprocity Matters

Eight Ways to Use Social Listening for Your Business

The post Pop-Up Libraries: Meeting Patrons Where They Are first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

Public libraries have a tremendous opportunity to supplement STEM programming with the event before and after. Possible classes/workshops include viewing eclipses safely, the history of NASA, how stars form, how to operate a telescope, and how to identify constellations and other celestial bodies. Inviting local astronomers and university professors to talk to the community is also a great way to engage a library’s community and network for possible future collaborations.

Kenton County Public Library (KY) is using the opportunity to engage its community by distributing free eclipse viewing glasses obtained through STAR_Net. According to STAR_Net, they have distributed over 2 million free pairs of glasses and more than4,000 education kits to 7,000 U.S. libraries. The Erlanger Branch of the Kenton County Library began offering programs at the end of July, and will continue through August 15^th. The first of three classes was geared toward children and included space themed art, discussion, and book resources. The second and last classes are for general audiences and include history of eclipses, crafts, games, and distribution of free safety glasses.

What about libraries who are not able to participate in next week’s eclipse activities? There are still opportunities to use the eclipse and the publicity it’s been getting to benefit your library. You don’t need a large budget or access to free safety glasses. Resources for the eclipse and STEM activities are available on the STAR_Net website. In addition, your library can host post-eclipse discussions with local astronomers, and offer astronomy themed crafts and programming with normal STEM activities.

Resources

https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-prepares-for-aug-21-total-solar-eclipse-with-live-coverage-safety-information

https://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/safety

https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-prepares-for-aug-21-total-solar-eclipse-with-live-coverage-safety-information

http://www.fox19.com/story/35906498/local-libraries-offering-free-glasses-to-view-the-solar-eclipse

http://spacescience.org/software/libraries/map.php

http://www.kentonlibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/meowmeow-page-001.jpg

The post Get Your Library In On the Eclipse Action first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

Your library may be a good partner for an organization that provides summer lunches. Sometimes these groups are looking for something for the children to do while they are eating or a further incentive for them to come and get lunch. The library can be that draw, especially if it is difficult for the children to get to the library otherwise. In this case, it is the library outside the building. Using a set-up like a boxmobile can allow a library without a dedicated bookmobile or outreach services to circulate books and provide library cards to people. Especially in a community where public transportation is not an option or there are many single car families, bringing the library to lunch may be the children’s only option while school isn’t in session.

In our case, we partner with the local ministerial association, which hands out lunches in two different parks in town. Unfortunately, both locations have only limited foot or bike traffic, but a growing number of families are finding a way to get there each afternoon. Lunch seems to be weather dependent. If it’s nice weather more come for lunch. If it’s raining or cold, hardly anyone comes. However, thanks to the commitment of the church members who hand out lunches everyday, they remind children when the library will be visiting and how great it is that they can take out books.

The ministerial association supports many programs and projects throughout the community to help children and their families be successful, and having the library at their summer lunch program is very much a part of that. It took a while to get everything aligned so the library could partner with them on the lunch program. Part of the challenge was the library works and plans about three to six months ahead of an event whereas the ministerial association didn’t know for sure they were going to be permitted to hand out lunches and at what locations until a few weeks before the program began. They chose where the library was going to visit to make sure it had the greatest impact on the greatest number of children.

Children are coming back from week to week to borrow and return books. They and their parents are getting library cards for the first time. Even for the children who do not borrow books, they stop and talk with the library staff about books or when they saw library staff last in the community. For both the people eating lunch and the people running the program, they are seeing the library as meeting the community where they are and doing what they can to help meet the community’s needs.

The post Summer Lunch: Partnering with Community Agencies first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

To limit participants and raise some money for the library’s Friends group, spellers pay a $5 fee to enter the bee. Audience members get in free, but can donate money to sponsor spellers who cannot afford the fee.[iv] Spellers can also purchase cheats at the time of registration, ranging from a $3 ‘Ask a Friend,’ where a friend in the audience can spell the word for them from their own knowledge, to a $15 ‘Mulligan,’ where a speller can stay in the competition after misspelling a word.[v] A “Big Cheat Deal” package gives contestants several cheats at a discount, and was so popular in the second year of the event that nearly everyone bought it, said Bonnie Brzozowski, a reference librarian at the library and one of the spelling bee coordinators.[vi]

These fees brought in enough money to allow the event to break even in its first year, after the Friends donated the proceeds back to the library’s programming budget. In its second year, with a change in venue, the event ended up costing the library $1000.[vii]  This year, the event cost between $500-750, Brzozowski said.[viii]  Although the event doesn’t raise as much money as it costs, the library will likely continue doing it in the coming years as it attracts a hard-to-reach demographic.”People react to the event as something to keep going because it brings people to a library event that we never see at a library event, the 20-  to 30-somethings,” Brzozowski said.[ix]

With the bee’s large number of contestants and the benefits of the cheats, a big challenge has been timing. In the second year, Brzozowski said the event lasted nearly four hours before a champion was crowned. This year, an “end-of-bee” round was introduced, in which 20 words are given and all remaining contestants at the end of the round are declared winners. This allowed staff to limit the event to two hours.[x]

Another important consideration is the bee’s word list. Official Scripps spelling bee lists are difficult to come by, so the library’s spelling bee committee makes its own list of about 500 words per year to challenge contestants.[xi] Committee members ask for suggestions of difficult words from friends and coworkers, look up lists of frequently misspelled words, and use their own leisure reading time to collect words. “Any word I find that’s a great spelling word, I write it down and keep a list all year long,” Brzozowski said.[xii]

References

[i] “Sip & Spell: An Adult Spelling Bee | Programs That Pop.” Library Journal.  Accessed June 22, 2017. http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2017/05/opinion/programs-that-pop/sip-spell-an-adult-spelling-bee-programs-that-pop

[ii] Bonnie Brzozowski, Reference Librarian at Corvallis-Benton County Public Library, in an e-mail interview with the author, June 22, 2017

[iii] Bonnie Brzozowski, Reference Librarian at Corvallis-Benton County Public Library, in a phone interview with the author, June 20, 2017

[iv] “Sip & Spell: An Adult Spelling Bee | Programs That Pop.” Library Journal.  Accessed June 22, 2017. http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2017/05/opinion/programs-that-pop/sip-spell-an-adult-spelling-bee-programs-that-pop

[v] “Sip & Spell Official Rules.” Corvallis-Benton County Public Library. Accessed June 22, 2017. https://cbcpubliclibrary.net/pdf/SipandSpellOfficialRules2017.pdf

[vi] Bonnie Brzozowski, Reference Librarian at Corvallis-Benton County Public Library, in a phone interview with the author, June 20, 2017

[vii] “Sip & Spell: An Adult Spelling Bee | Programs That Pop.” Library Journal.  Accessed June 22, 2017. http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2017/05/opinion/programs-that-pop/sip-spell-an-adult-spelling-bee-programs-that-pop

[viii] Bonnie Brzozowski, Reference Librarian at Corvallis-Benton County Public Library, in a phone interview with the author, June 20, 2017

[ix] Ibid.

[x] Ibid.

[xi] Ibid.

[xii] Ibid.

The post Library Spells Success with Sip & Spell Event first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

The communities libraries serve are becoming more diverse. In seeking to move beyond the tired label of being “just about books,” libraries must engage with these communities through outreach and engagement. One way is the implementation of an English as a Second Language (ESL) or civic program which would help immigrant communities better adjust and assimilate to life in the United States. But in today’s volatile political climate with tenuous funding for public programs and social services, the question remains as to how cost-effective would such efforts be to libraries in the long term?

As a former teacher who has taught both elementary and adult education, Melanie Brown offered her perspective from her experience in working as a volunteer with the San Jose Public Library, the largest public library system between San Francisco and Los Angeles. “I think any ESL program would be really beneficial,” said Brown, who has been with the library for more than year. “Programs like that provide for greater sociability, and foster a sense of community amongst people from different backgrounds.”

Conversational classes are a helpful way for English Language Learners (ELLs) to gain skills in the everyday usage of English. Libraries with tighter budgets may want to look into conversational classes as an alternative to the classroom-based model, as it can be facilitated by dedicated volunteers. However Brown said there is a downside to this model of instruction—such as students are not given a structured environment in which they may gain progress. “I find that while it is more relaxed, and people do not feel so nervous when they come for the first time, not having the same people each day and not knowing where the group is as a whole, makes it difficult.”

Our global community is becoming smaller, and libraries can potentially play a key role by further embracing their roles as community hubs, and centers of education and free information access.

The post ESL Programs Position Libraries as Welcoming Places first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

Thanks to the clear divisions in our country, there has recently been a lot of talk about bringing people together. In the spirit of that call for camaraderie, I’ve been reflecting on the opportunities the library has to partner with others on programs and efforts. We have strong partnerships with our local school department and our senior center as you probably do. It’s a great relationship to have, but in a lot of ways it’s the low-hanging fruit. They are our natural allies in town, ​but it’s important when possible, to go a step further.

Take a step back and look at the different groups that operate in your town or city, whether official departments, community groups, not for profit entities, or even local businesses that might be willing to partner. Here’s a few relationships that we’ve worked to develop in our small Boston suburb of Belmont, Massachusetts:

Recreation Department –

In the past we’ve offered library storytimes and mobile circulation opportunities in the community pool space and also at  a busy community playground. The local recreation department also uses space in our building to cover their programming needs.

Garden Club

On our site is a memorial garden that is open to the public. The local community garden club maintains the garden and they use space in our building for storage. They pay for the plants and we pay for the water. We also have agreed to split any further costs that arise. This small amount of funding and effort allows us to be regular partners with a large group of citizens in the community and often leads to joint programming and other partnerships.

Gallery of Art

We often work with our local Gallery of Art to promote their exhibits. This has strengthened our relationships with patrons interested in art programming and also has provided the chance to cosponsor events held at the gallery.

Veterans

By far the most enriching partnership we formed in 2016 was with the veterans department in our community. We wanted to redo some of the lettering on a stone slab in front of our building, as the previous copper lettering was decades old and in need of a refresh. Since our public library is actually a memorial building, we thought it made sense to reach out to the veterans department agent to see if he’d consider a rededication ceremony on the day the new letters were installed. Not only did he love the idea but we had 80 attendees turn up for the event.  Further, the agent contacted us the next week and asked if we’d lend some space for a Purple Heart ceremony to honor Purple Heart recipients later in the year. More than 50 people showed up that day, and we’ve determined that the library will now be the permanent home for the annual Purple Heart ceremony. Later in the summer, we nominated our veterans agent for an award at the state level. He won the award and the town government joined me at a ceremony to see him receive it. This has caused a great new relationship with our town’s veterans and it all came from a little idea. We will continue to look for these sorts of opportunities for partnerships and hope you can too.

The post Library Partnerships Bring People Together first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

During the last decade, technology has provided us with tremendous individual power, and this has encouraged the development of what is being called the Maker Movement. This movement is having a profound effect upon the manufacturing sector as well as the individual’s ability to explore and share creative ideas using computer-aided design and an online network of collaborators. In response to interest in participating in self-directed projects that utilize digital tools and knowledge, libraries and other community-based organizations have created makerspaces. These facilities provide users with the physical tools and space to pursue their interests and collaborate on projects. Educational research shows that this type of activity can facilitate learning, but little is known about what the users themselves perceive to be the benefits of access to makerspaces. This exploratory study examines users’ perceptions of their experience in public library makerspaces.

In order to determine the usefulness of makerspaces in their current form, it is necessary to understand the reasons people participate in “making” and the benefits they feel come from this activity. The growing popularity of makerspaces in recent years, and of the so-called Maker Movement as a whole, indicates that these facilities meet a need or address an interest shared by a large number of people. To explore the reasons that people use makerspaces, and what impact that use has on their lives, the following questions should be considered:

• What motivates people to use makerspaces?
• In the opinion of users, what specific skills or attitudes are fostered through use of a makerspace?
• How do makerspace activities affect the lives of users?

Gathering to collaborate on shared interests may have personal benefits and also encourage the development of new skills and attitudes. Intuitively, it makes sense that the interactive and social nature of making encourages active learning, and educators find active and collaborative learning to be an effective way to develop skills in experimentation and problem-solving.¹

Significance and Rise of the Maker Movement

A look at the developments that led to the creation of makerspaces can help us to understand just what goes on in makerspaces. These developments have really just occurred over the last decade, and were set in motion by the tremendous individual power provided by technology. Digital tools give people the ability to adapt ideas and designs quickly and easily. With minimal investment
of time or money, ideas can be tried out and then discarded or tweaked for optimal results. Although “makers” (under the names
“inventor” and “tinkerer”) have existed for as long as there have been people, they have a new ability, through the use of digital
tools and the Internet, to share and combine ideas as never before. Instant communication, unimpeded by distance or even language barriers, allows like-minded individuals to collaborate on projects, improving the outcome and drastically reducing the time required to refine ideas. Experts in many fields make their designs and ideas freely available, open to being adapted and improved by an online community of makers.² Freely shared information is a hallmark of the Maker Movement, which advocates open access to software and adheres to the notion that any idea can be improved through collaboration. Altering existing designs to suit the user produces satisfying customized results, while collaboration adds new richness to ideas.

Interest in making has spread rapidly since 2006, when the first Maker Faire was held in San Mateo, California. Maker Faires are gatherings, often held annually, at which makers can display their projects, interact, and share ideas. Maker Faires have spread all over the world, with dozens now held each year. South America’s first Maker Faire was held in 2013 in Santiago, Chile, and Tokyo’s second annual Maker Faire was also held in that year.³ In June 2014, the White House hosted its first ever Maker Faire.

Maker Faires increased interest and enthusiasm for making, and as a result there arose a demand for spaces where makers could gather to work together on projects, using equipment that they were not likely to have in their homes. Depending on the requirements of a given project, makers might want access to 3-D scanners and printers, digital routers, laser cutters, welding and soldering equipment, or other specialized tools.

As important as the availability of tools is the need for a physical space in which to gather and collaborate. To meet this need, entrepreneurs established commercial makerspaces that give users access to a wide variety of tools, along with instruction in their use, in exchange for a monthly fee. TechShop is one example of such a space. The first TechShop opened in 2006 and there are now several locations in major US cities. In addition to giving people a place to work on leisure-time interests, workspaces like these have been instrumental in the development of new product ideas and small business ventures. The idea of makerspaces as incubators is an important facet of their story.

As interest in making continued to grow, public facilities moved to provide their users with access to digital tools and making activities. The first makerspace in a public library was established at the Fayetteville Free Library in upstate New York in 2011, and since then dozens of makerspaces have been established in libraries, museums, and schools.⁴ The equipment and services provided at these facilities vary greatly, and depend upon available funding, space, and the needs and interests of users. This, combined with the relatively short time that they’ve existed in their current form, makes it difficult to precisely define makerspaces. However, some common elements can be found:

• Physical space.
• Access to equipment and instruction.
• Responsive to user interests and skill levels.
• Opportunities for collaboration.
• Self-directed work.

Based on these common elements, a satisfactory definition for makerspaces might be as follows: A makerspace is a physical space that provides access to equipment and guidance in a flexible format that responds to the interests and skill levels of users collaborating on self-directed projects.

The connection between makerspaces and public libraries or other cultural institutions may be puzzling to some initially, but their inclusion supports the overall goals of these institutions: equity of access, community development, creating relationships among patrons, and encouraging lifelong learning. These are all potential benefits of public access to makerspaces as well.⁵
Evidence of the beneficial effects of makerspaces is beginning to be documented. In a 2013 report, high-school-age users of YOUmedia at the Chicago Public Library listed these effects:

• Feeling of safety, community, and belonging.
• Greater involvement with chosen interests.
• Improvement in at least one digital media skill.
• Improved academic, communication, and writing skills.
• Better understanding of opportunities after high school.⁶

The Chicago report relates makerspaces to the Connected Learning Model, which is further described by the authors of Connected Learning: An Agenda for Research and Design:

Connected learning is realized when a young person is able to pursue a personal interest or passion with the support of friends and caring adults, and is in turn able to link this learning and interest to academic achievement, career success or civic engagement. This model is based on evidence that the most resilient, adaptive, and effective learning involves individual interest as well as social support to overcome adversity and provide recognition.⁷

The role of makerspaces in education has yet to be fully established, but we do know that the type of active learning that can take place in a makerspace has many benefits. Collaboration and experimentation are powerful learning activities, and they can result in a higher level of engagement and more sustained interest.8 Active learning has been the subject of many decades of research in education.

Benefits of Active Learning

We know that learning has both individual and social components, and each is essential. Engagement and exploration should be followed by reflection and application. For decades, educational studies have shown the importance of the opportunity to learn through interaction.

Considerable work has been done in determining how active learning affects student outcomes. In his 2004 survey of the literature on this topic, Michael Prince discusses the various attributes of what may be called active, collaborative, cooperative, or problem-based learning. Although their focus may vary slightly, these terms are often used interchangeably and they all require student engagement, interaction, and some degree of self-direction. Prince finds “extensive empirical support for active learning,” including these major points:

• Academic achievement is enhanced when students work together in small groups.
• Cooperation promotes higher quality individual problem solving than does competition.
• Active learning leads to better student attitudes and improvements in students’ thinking and writing.
• Cooperation improves learning outcomes relative to individual work across the board.
• Cooperation also promotes interpersonal relationships, improves social support, and fosters self-esteem.⁹

More recently, David W. Johnson and Roger T. Johnson have examined the effects of cooperative learning activities on individuals in terms of achievement as well as individual behavior. They found that achievement was higher in “cooperating individuals.” Additionally, they found that “cooperative experiences promote more frequent insight into and use of higher level cognitive and moral reasoning strategies than do competitive (effect size = 0.93) or individualistic (effect size = 0.97) efforts.” The cooperators also spent more time on task and tended to have better outcomes in terms of these measures:

• long-term retention;
• intrinsic motivation and expectations for success;
• creative thinking (i.e., process gain);
• transfer of learning;
• positive attitudes toward the task and school.¹⁰

Relating cooperative learning to Social Interdependence Theory illuminates its social and behavioral benefits. Cooperative learning creates positive interdependence, which has favorable effects on motivation, and “facilitates the development of new insights and discoveries and the more frequent use of higher level reasoning strategies.”¹¹ Johnson and Johnson cite extensive research showing that positive interdependence also influences social development and behavior among collaborators: it’s characterized by individuals acting in trusting and trustworthy ways, exchanging needed resources and information more effectively, assisting and encouraging other group members, striving for mutual benefit, having low levels of anxiety and stress, and being better able to explore others’ points of view.¹²

Research into the benefits of self-directed, collaborative learning indicates that this sort of work contributes to the development of strong problem-solving skills. In a series of studies, researcher Sugata Mitra tested the ability of children to learn to use computers and the Internet collaboratively, without intervention or instruction. The learning generated by this peer interaction, despite the children having no previous access to technology or schooling, was significant, and suggested that self-directed learning in a group of peers is often the most effective approach for acquiring new skills.¹³

Further studies conducted by Mitra’s colleagues confirmed that “young children learn most effectively when they are engaged in interaction, rather than in merely receptive or passive activities.”¹⁴

In an extensive study of thousands of college students, Alexander Astin found that interaction with peers was shown to have a positive effect on such student attributes as knowledge of a field, analytical and problem-solving skills, critical thinking skills, interpersonal skills, and overall academic development.¹⁵

Potential Contributions

There can be little doubt that collaborative activity can be an effective way to learn new skills. This, along with the social benefits implied by the popularity of making, creates a strong argument for the value of providing makerspaces. Participation in making can enhance people’s lives socially as well as intellectually, so its value to individuals is clear. Value to society as a whole can also be seen when we consider the increased demand in many emerging occupations for just those skills that collaborative, self-directed learning can produce.

Technology has become a part of nearly every modern occupation and related skills are essential for success, particularly in the so-called STEM fields—those related to science, technology, engineering, and math. These occupations represent much of the work that helps to improve society as a whole, and are the source of innovations in medicine, manufacturing, transportation, and many other critical areas. Jobs in these areas are among the fastest growing and best paid of all occupations. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in 2010 that STEM jobs increased at more than twice the rate of non-STEM jobs in the previous decade, and projected that their growth would accelerate in the coming years. The same report shows that the average earnings for STEM workers exceed those of workers in other areas with the same level of education.¹⁶ The skills that best prepare people for these types of jobs mirror those mentioned in the discussion of active learning outcomes above.

The Accrediting Board for Engineering and Technology lists many of these skills in its criteria for effective engineering programs:

• ability to design and conduct experiments, as well as to analyze and interpret data;
• ability to design a system, component, or process to meet desired needs within realistic constraints such as economic, environmental, social, political, ethical, health and safety, manufacturability, and sustainability;
• ability to function on multidisciplinary teams;
• ability to communicate effectively;
• ability to use the techniques, skills, and modern engineering tools necessary for engineering practice.¹⁷

The potential for makerspaces to foster positive attitudes toward lifelong learning, interpersonal and collaborative skills, and vigorous problem-solving skills suggests that they can help fill the skill gap currently seen in the STEM fields. In response to the need for workers in these critical fields, the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is providing a total of ten million dollars in grants to projects designed to establish makerspaces in one thousand high schools by 2016.¹⁸

A Closer Look

With their potential for enhancing learning as well as improving communication and collaborative skills in users, makerspaces merit the attention they receive, and the enthusiasm of their proponents is understandable. As their use becomes more widespread, it is worthwhile to examine how well makerspaces are measuring up to expectations. This study sought to determine the benefits of makerspaces, as perceived by their users. It involved conducting a focus group at an urban public library makerspace recognized for its innovative approach; the 4th Floor at the Chattanooga (TN) Public Library. This site was selected because it includes a dedicated space and extensive array of equipment, is staffed, and has been in operation for more than one year. The makerspace is known as the 4th Floor, and its vision, as stated on its website, reflects the priorities and unique advantages of the space:

The 4th Floor is a public laboratory and educational facility with a focus on information, design, technology, and the applied arts. The 12,000+ sq. foot space hosts equipment, expertise, programs, events, and meetings within this scope. While traditional library spaces support the consumption of knowledge by offering access to media, the 4th Floor is unique because it supports the production, connection, and sharing of knowledge by offering access to tools and instruction.¹⁹

User opinions were gathered through a focus group discussion held at the makerspace. To recruit participants, library staff members were asked to inform their users of the upcoming meeting and create a list of those interested in participating. An anticipated minimum of five participants was not met, so the focus group consisted of four participants. Two staff members at the location were also interviewed. This yielded useful information about the 4th Floor, including when it was started, what equipment is available, and how it is staffed.

The discussions were recorded, and eight core questions related to the participants’ usage of the makerspace and what specific benefits they derive were discussed in the focus group. Transcripts of focus group discussions were reviewed and coded to uncover themes and similarities among responses. The following sections include quotes from interview and focus group participants.

Findings

Staff

Staff interviews provided background information on the 4th Floor, as well as insight into operations and services. Interviews were conducted with the library’s associate director and its project manager, both of whom are deeply involved in developing the 4th Floor.

Their discussions primarily focused on three areas: (1) community engagement, (2) experimentation, and (3) flexibility.

Community Engagement

Much of the associate director’s work related to the 4th Floor is concerned with forging relationships with community groups and making the facility a well-known asset in the community. The space can be called a “Civic Laboratory,” because of its public availability. The library’s associate director mentioned two current collaborative projects, both associated with the fact that the city has one-gigabit Internet, which opens up a whole new world of functionality and applications—he calls it a “next generation network.” The first project is funded through a grant from Mozilla and the National Science Foundation to establish a Gig Lab for exploring these possibilities. An area of the 4th Floor is being refitted to accommodate the lab and equipment is beginning to be purchased.

In partnership with a local startup called CoLab (Company Lab), the 4th Floor is organizing a “Gig Tank” group, which will collaborate and explore the use of such a powerful (unlimited) high-speed tool.

Experimentation

The 4th Floor is an experimental space, and there is an element of trial and error in the library’s practices. The staff is building policies as they go, and often amend and improve them over time. One example involves the procedure for determining the fee for 3-D printing. Access to the equipment is free, but the library asks users to pay the cost of materials. The staff started out allowing open access and free use of their 3-D printers; this gradually evolved into a system in which users are asked to reserve a printer in advance and pay a small fee for the consumables. For 3-D printing, the user is charged by the gram of material used. The 4th Floor developed a method for determining the cost of a given project automatically, based on information in the design file, and this method is now being used throughout the city’s library system.

The 4th Floor often serves as a beta space for the rest of the library branch and system. One example of this is the design and setup of a recording booth for the library’s teen floor, which was completed and debugged by the 4th Floor staff.

Flexibility

The 4th Floor staff members value flexibility, since it allows them to be responsive to user needs and interest and also to capitalize on partnership opportunities. Because many of the ongoing projects at the 4th Floor do involve grants and partnerships, the staff must consider varying levels of funding in any long-term plans. They strive to align these plans as much as possible with the interests of their users, and provide programming and instruction in those areas as well. It is often the case that a patron will have more experience in a given area than any staff member, and workshops and projects led by users themselves are common.

A third staff member, working part time and exclusively on the 4th Floor, spoke from his perspective as both a staff member and a user of the space. He stressed the benefits to the community and the opportunities to learn from other users on the 4th Floor. He described some of the users that frequent the space, and what they do there:

One person is working on a violin, using 3-D printing and laser cutter.

• An engineer designed and printed a part for an eighteen-wheeler that he sells to truck drivers.
• A father made pieces for his child’s train set.
• A woman printed personalized Legos as a gift for her husband.
• An art student uses the laser cutter for school projects.
• High school students work on senior projects here.
• Ezra Reynolds created a prosthetic hand for his son.

This staff member also commented on the following topics:

• Noise Issues: The staff usually doesn’t have to deal with this. The rules for who can use the space are very minimal and flexible. Generally, if anyone is being disruptive, the other users talk to them. The space is self-policing in that sense.
• Programming: Staff, community experts, or users run the 4th Floor programs. Content of the sessions is tailored to attendees. Types of programming and events:
  • Hackanooga (in cooperation with NSF, Code for America, Open Chattanooga, and other groups).
  • Arduino Nights.
  • 3-D printing intro.
  • Community Pi (Python coding class).
  • Digital Map-Making.
  • Bitcoins Meetup Group (formed by users).

Focus Group Discussion

Four 4th Floor users participated in a focus group discussion, sharing their impressions and experiences in using a makerspace. The most common themes derived are listed in figure 1.

Social interactions are a big part of what draws these users to the 4th Floor. One user compared the space to a garage: “This is the big collective garage—like this is where projects happen, it’s the physical space, it’s got the tools and it also has —you know—your neighbor sticking his head um, over the fence and giving you advice. . . and finding out what’s going on.”

The exchange of ideas that takes place among users was an important feature for the participants: “Honestly, I think that’s where the makerspace in the library makes the most sense—it’s the sharing of knowledge. It’s the. . . you know, yeah, there is an expectation. You come up here and you work, and somebody walks up and asks you what you’re doing, . . . that’s the price you pay (to use the space), that’s exactly what it is.”

This interaction among people with widely varying backgrounds and experience provide a “much . . .wider perspective on this idea of what—I don’t know—making something or even technology is.”

The 4th Floor brings together people with interest and people with expertise. Focus group participants expressed appreciation for the fact that people could apply skills to help other users. The Arduino Nights program was first facilitated by staff, but was eventually taken over by high school students who had come to work on senior projects (building robots): “So then they started hanging around for Arduino Night, which turned into them doing stuff on Arduino Night, which turned into them teaching Arduino Night. And I think that’s—I don’t know, that to me is a really cool thing that can happen in a place like that.”

Users value the opportunity to pursue and share their interests at the 4th Floor. Working alongside people engaged in a variety of activities also leads them to expand their interests and try new things:

“The staff kind of supplements a lot of the things that happen up here, and not necessarily runs them.”

“I’ve had the background of having access not to definitely as much—not to 3-D printers, which weren’t around, definitely laser cutters—that’s awesome, but soldering irons, that sort of thing, growing up, but then kind of rediscovering that and being able to come explore those things with others and share what I’ve learned over the years with others [has been very interesting].”

Sharing expertise and the access to the knowledge of other users and community experts is a benefit of the 4th Floor, according to the focus group.

The idea of community came up frequently in the discussion. The users see the 4th Floor as a point of community pride and an indicator of an innovative spirit in the city:

“The library having a makerspace is a good indicator of the culture that we see that makes some of our economic development initiatives work, actually. So, that collaborative learning . . . our community’s kind of permeated with the spirit of collaboration, I think.”

The respondents mentioned that people from out of town frequently come to see the 4th Floor, and a wide variety of community groups make use of the space. This leads into the idea of providing access:

“Something like this happening in [our city]—that community service aspect of it. This is . . . that we can give public access to some of these incredible things . . . that you can come and learn without having to belong to a paid makerspace or be in school or . . . you know it is just an equity of access kind of thing.”

Access to space for creative work is valued, as users pursue projects related to a small business, create prototypes, and experiment with new equipment. Often, the 4th Floor is where they have their first encounter with this technology.

“That was definitely the first time I’d ever seen a 3-D printer work, or a. . . laser cutter, so having access to technology I’ve never even thought about before was just mind-blowing to me. . . . But it was just amazing to me that we could have this here, you know? And that it was possible.”

Implications

The results of this exploratory study may lead to a better understanding of the actual benefits users receive from their experience in makerspaces. With this information, libraries and other institutions can design their makerspaces and plan programming that maximizes these benefits. This will help make the most of limited budgets.

Proof that users derive life-enhancing benefits from access to makerspaces will be a powerful tool for attracting funding, both from public and industry sources. Helping people to develop their potential in problem-solving and improve their ability to work collaboratively has potential benefits for many stakeholders, as is evidenced by the emphasis being placed on these efforts through various government and education initiatives.

The focus group discussion brought to light the fact that the presence of a free, publicly accessible makerspace reflects upon the overall community’s attitude toward innovation. This public library makerspace serves as a resource to local entrepreneurs as well as a partner in large-scale projects, like the Gig Lab. It provides a place for people with ideas to make contact, and helps to create a community environment that attracts them.

Other benefits perceived by users at the 4th Floor include many of those associated with active and collaborative learning. As Generation Z comes of age, providing opportunities for collaborative work should be an educational priority. This information on the potential role of library makerspaces may be useful in developing facilities that not only contribute to social and personal growth but also serve as centers for the development of critical thinkers who are empowered to make full use of the digital tools at hand today and the many others that are just over the horizon.

References

1. David W. Johnson and Roger T. Johnson, “An Educational Psychology Success Story: Social Interdependence Theory and Cooperative Learning,” Educational Researcher 38, no. 5 (June 2009): 367, doi:10.3102/0013189X09339057.
2. Chris Anderson, Makers: The New Industrial Revolution (New York: Random House, 2012).
3. Sabrina Merlo, “The Year of 100 Maker Faires,” Makezine, Jan. 1, 2014.
4. Sarah Hashemi Scott, “Making the Case for a Public Library Makerspace,” Public Libraries Online, Nov. 11, 2012.
5. Ibid.
6. Penny Bender Sebring et al., Teens, Digital Media, and the Chicago Public Library (Chicago: University of Chicago Consortium on School Research, 2013): 35–39.
7. Mizuko Ito et al., Connected Learning: An Agenda for Research and Design (Irvine, CA: Digital Media and Learning Research
   Hub, 2013): 4.
8. Michael Prince, “Does Active Learning Work? A Review of the Research,” Journal 1. of Engineering Education 93, no. 3 (2004): 224, doi:10.1002/j.2168-9830.2004.tb00809.x.
9. Ibid., 223–231.
10. Johnson and Johnson, “An Educational Psychology Success Story:” 371.
11. Ibid., 368.
12. Ibid., 368–369.
13. Sugata Mitra and Ritu Dangwal, “Limits to Self-Organising Systems of Learning: The Kalikuppam Experiment,” British Journal of Educational Technology 41, no. 5 (Sept. 2010): 672–688, doi:10.1111/j.1467-8535.2010.01077.x
14. Ritu Dangwal and Preeti Kapur, “Learning through Teaching: Peer-Mediated Instruction in Minimally Invasive Education,” British Journal of Educational Technology 40, no. 1 (Jan. 2009): 19, doi:10.1111/j.1467-8535.2008.00863.x.
15. Alexander Astin, What Matters in College? Four Critical Years Revisited (San Francisco,: Jossey-Bass, 1993).
16. David Langdon et al., STEM: Good Jobs Now and for the Future, Economics and Statistics Administration Issue Brief #03-
    11 (Washington, DC: U.S .Department of Commerce, 2011).
17. “Criteria for Accrediting Engineering Programs,” (Baltimore: Accrediting Board for Engineering and Technology, 2012): 2.
18. Dale Dougherty, “DARPA Mentor Award to Bring Making to Education,” Makezine, Jan. 19, 2012.
19. “4th Floor,” Chattanooga Public Library, accessed Nov. 4, 2015.

The post Why Make? An Exploration of User-Perceived Benefits of Makerspaces first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

Libraries have the awesome opportunity to reach these budding novelists by providing space to write, access to the Internet, assistance with research, and informational programming. Libraries can also become Come Write In (CWI) spaces. These are spaces for group write-ins (chunks of time in which Wrimos brainstorm and write). Group write-in sessions allow participants to network and to meet others in the local writing community. Libraries interested in becoming CWI spaces can register at the CWI registration page.

The fun doesn’t have to end on November 30! You can plan to keep the momentum going after November by offering programming like editing workshops; book cover design 101 classes; Q&A sessions with visiting published authors; copyright workshops; self-publishing tutorials; traditional publishing/finding a publisher tutorials; and eBook creation workshops. Libraries that have access to a print-on-demand book machine, like the District of Columbia Public Library (DCPL), can offer Wrimos printed copies of their completed novels.

Finally, you might want to create a special display of any finished books. This will draw attention to the library’s involvement in NaNoWriMo and perhaps entice next year’s participants. It will also give a nice bit of promotion to the newly minted novels. Even though November has already started, it is not too late to get your library involved. Get more information here.

The post November is National Novel Writing Month first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

The Sonoma County library system is not the first to include fitness classes in their programming. Jessica Zaker, a 2015 Library Journal “Mover and Shaker” and supervisor at the Sacramento Public Library’s Arcade branch, created their popular Punk Rock Aerobics class and a Zombie Survival Fitness class. The Alamance County Public Libraries in North Carolina have had an extremely successful adult Zumba class in the evenings, as well as a dance and exercise class for kids called “Moving and Grooving.” The Programming Librarian discusses this growing movement as kinetic or physical literacy. “Physical literacy gives us an awareness of our bodies in time and space; it allows us to ‘read’ what is going on in any given environment and figure out how to respond…This self-awareness can go a long way toward empathy for others and self-acceptance.”[1]

Taking your library in a health-minded direction can also offer new partnership opportunities. Many of the libraries mentioned in this post, including Sonoma County, partnered with outside groups including the YMCA, a junior college, and the Northern California Center for Well-Being. Public libraries already practice outreach and often connect with outside groups to enhance their programming and broaden their reach, so this is simply another avenue with a different focus. You don’t need a $30,000 federal grant to get started, although it certainly helps.

References

1. (1)http://www.programminglibrarian.org/blog/kinetic-literacy

Additional Resources:

http://sonomalibrary.org/events/programs/healthy-living-at-your-library

http://www.alsc.ala .org/blog/2016/06/yoga-storytime/

http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2015/03/people/movers-shakers-2015/lori-easterwood-jessica-zaker-movers-shakers-2015-innovators/

https://publiclibrariesonline.org/2014/02/getting-fit-the-library/

https://sonomalibrary.org/about/strategicplan

http://www.sonomahealthaction.org/content/sites/sonoma/cnha_2016/Sonoma_CHNA_FINAL_Report.pdf

Link to source article: (1)http://www.pressdemocrat.com/lifestyle/6121752-181/get-fit-healthy-at-sonoma

The post Promoting Health and Fitness Literacy at the Library first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

At Queens Library (South Hollis Branch), I was glad to connect two such groups recently, our Basic English Class and our local Gardening Club. To explain, across the street from our library, an abandoned building was recently converted to a shelter for homeless veterans — it is now called The Hollis Garden Apartments. At that point, I was just a spectator, wondering what would happen. All 120 units got filled in no time. Of course, I was really excited to have more patrons to serve. The more people we can help, the better for the community.

One thing that I learned a long time ago is to take a step back and observe first. To help people, first I need to learn about them. From day one, I made sure that all the veterans and all the workers involved with the shelter felt welcome at the library. I love talking to people and hearing their stories. Every person who comes to the library is like a walking book, just waiting to be opened up!

Since the Hollis Gardens Apartments do not have a meeting space, often their regular events like tenants meetings and special programs like acupuncture are held in the library’s meeting room. Our door count went up as well as program attendance, circulation numbers, and library card registrations. I also attended the special events at the apartments, such as the grand opening ceremony. It was really special to hear workers from Hollis Gardens thank the library for its support.

Members of an English class and a local gardening club worked together to convert a plot of land into a garden near the Queens Library in South Hollis. Photo Courtesy of Kacper Jarecki

Another special thing that Hollis Gardens did was to create a Gardening Club! They converted an empty plot of land into a real garden. They built raised beds with wooden planks and got fresh new soil to create an edible garden in conjunction with trained gardeners. I was there when they first met and I threw some pennies in the soil for good luck. The Gardening Club met twice a week, and I would visit to help out. Even though it was warm in the summer time, it was fun to have an excuse to go outside and work the soil, plant little seedlings, and to water the plants. The veterans were also very friendly and I had a good time working with them.

Our library also has regular English classes ran by a volunteer instructor. I talked to the instructor, and she was showing me pictures of her garden at home. I told her about the community garden and she wasn’t even aware of it. So we decided to go together and we brought along the English Class. The class was excited to be outside.  They walked around and observed all the plants. The gardeners even asked the English Class to make labels for the garden. The class learned about the different plant names in English, and they told us the plant names in their native language. It was a special event and I was happy I could make it happen. Everyone went home with fresh basil!

The library is already a force that connects people with books and movies. The library also connects people with other people, where they make friendships through different clubs and events. The library can bring different organizations and community groups together!

The post Connecting Community Groups at the Library first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

I had an opportunity to speak with Steven Potter, library director and CEO of the Mid-Continent Public Library in Kansas City, Missouri who recently co-authored a book on the subject. The purpose-based library connects with the community, collaborates to better reach goals, measures what is useful and shows value, and continually improves. Summing up, Potter says, “It is all about re-embracing the vitality of our profession.” [1]

Sound familiar?  Over the past few years, there have been several campaigns, reports, and training opportunities on similar thoughts, some through our own professional organizations, and some through other arenas. Libraries have a plethora of tools at their disposal right now – all of which speak to the need to be more community centered and valuable. If you are looking to transform your library, measure outcomes, be the center of your city, or be more purpose-based, the following organizational programs are some great ways to get started.

The Libraries Transform campaign, an initiative of the American Library Association under the leadership of then-President Sari Feldman, was designed to increase public awareness of the value, impact, and services provided by libraries and library professionals. The highly graphical Libraries Transform campaign provides great ready-made pieces libraries can use to showcase the transformative nature of today’s libraries and elevate the critical role libraries play in the digital age.  This is an easy way to get clear, colorful graphics that you can use in your building, on your website, or in your print items right out of the box.

Project Outcome is the Public Library Association’s latest field-tested outcome measurement initiative. “The goal of Project Outcome is to help public libraries understand and share the true impact of essential library services and programs. While many public libraries collect data about their services and programs, what is often lacking are the data to support what good they are providing their communities, such as programs serving childhood literacy, digital and technological training, and workforce development. With Project Outcome, patron attendance and anecdotal success stories are no longer the only way libraries can demonstrate their effectiveness. Developed by library leaders, researchers, and data analysts, Project Outcome is designed to give libraries simple tools and supportive resources to help turn better data into better libraries.  To start measuring the true impact of your public library, join Project Outcome today!”[2]

The Harwood Institute for Public Innovation is not a library organization, but libraries are finding that the premise of the institute, a desire to “turn outward” to your community, dovetails beautifully with the movement to be seen as more relevant to their communities.  Turning outward means using the community, not your conference room, as the main reference point for decisions – from the strategies you and your partners pursue, the partners you choose, how you start and then grow your efforts over time, and even how you structure and run your internal organization.  The Midwest Collaborative for Library Services (MCLS), along with the Library of Michigan, believes greatly in turning outward and becoming more relevant and valued in the eyes of the community.  They have embarked on a collaborative project to train a cohort of Michigan librarians in the Harwood method – offering scholarships, training, and coaching calls in order to assist their member libraries in becoming more outward looking and purpose-based.

Seeing so many similar ideas grow organically out of our field during a rather short span of time,  make it clear that the library field as a whole is feeling the need to reshape how we tell our story, and how to best show the value in what public libraries do.  If we don’t tell our story well, who will?

References

[1] Steven V. Potter(Director) in telephone interview September 2016.

[2] http://www.ilovelibraries.org/librariestransform

Resources

https://publiclibrariesonline.org/2015/09/project-outcome-helping-libraries-capture-their-community-impact/

www.theharwoodinstitute.org

The post What Is The Purpose-Based Library? first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

We realized cooking shows, cooking podcasts—cooking everything—are very popular these days. Tutorials, demonstrations, and photos of cooking are all over television, social media outlets like Facebook and Pinterest, and sites like BuzzFeed and Tasty. We thought, why not appeal to the masses and give them what they want, and  decided to move forward with this project. I teamed up with two of my staff members and we got to work. Honestly, the whole process was very simple.

We pulled out multiple cookbooks and found some pretty easy recipes. When we decided what we wanted to make first (pancakes and a smoothie), we took a trip to the grocery store. The total cost of supplies was only about nineteen dollars.

We then set up shop in one of our library’s storage rooms with our library’s Canon XA10 camera and ZOOM H1 microphone. Very primitive, I know, but the result was actually quite spectacular. After our two-hour shoot, we were ready to post to our YouTube channel and Facebook page. Our initial episode was so raw and unscripted that it made the whole experience more appealing. The comedy of it all sucked viewers right in, and we had over one thousand views on Facebook in under twenty-four hours.

The video was shared over twenty-five times and had more than sixty likes. Since we are not the largest library, these numbers were staggering, and they let us know that we were on to something great, or, as we started saying, “We’re going viral.” Our second episode, in which we cooked up a southern-style grilled cheese sandwich to pay homage to our region, was just as popular. We now have the community asking about and recommending the dishes we will be making next.

The community engagement has been great. Not only do we get to cook up some great food, but we also have the opportunity to promote our library’s cooking literature. Since we aired our first episode, we have seen an surge of cookbook checkouts. Our goal had been accomplished.

Libraries are constantly innovating and coming up with new services and programs to appeal to their communities. It is a smart move to take what is trending and incorporate it into your library’s events and programming. We felt food and cooking were trending, so we made something unique and simple out of it. Millennials love food, and they love to gather ideas from social media on a daily basis. In an interview with Eve Turow by The Atlantic, the food writer demonstrates how college perspectives towards food have changed in just five years:

Back when she was in college, she was content subsisting on “gelatinous brown rice, pre-cooked mushy pinto beans, [and] blocks of bouncy tofu.” But if she were in college now, she says, she’d be taking rice-bowl inspiration from Pinterest and making good use of the nearby farmer’s market and the greenhouse attached to the science library.^[1]

The cooking blog Bon Appetit claims that, “On average, Americans spend only 27 minutes a day preparing food, compared to 60 minutes in 1965.”^[2] Those are sad numbers. We want people to get excited about cooking again and show them that they can cook up something tasty and filling with just a few ingredients and in less than twenty minutes. We hope our community gets excited about cooking again and enjoys our future videos.

Our first two episodes:

Cooking With Ben Episode 1

Cooking With Ben Episode 2

References

[1] Eve Turow, “Why Are Millennials So Obsessed with Food?” by Joe Pinsker, The Atlantic, August 14, 2015.

[2] Elyssa Goldberg, “Why Americans Don’t Cook as Much as We Used To,” Bon Appetit, February 17, 2016.

The post Cooking With Ben: Our Library’s Cooking Show Adventure first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

Communities across the nation face many of the same challenges: lack of high-paying jobs, low civic engagement among residents, and increasing poverty levels. But within the unique fabric of our communities, more specific issues may arise, such as youth obesity, low high school graduation rates, and drug and alcohol abuse. Librarians can help their communities as they work alongside their city governments, nonprofit, and educational communities to find solutions.

If you are looking for a few good ways to get started, select one of the activities below.

Connect with your community today!

1. Connect with your city’s or town’s office of economic development to discuss how the library can support workforce needs and support for entrepreneurs and small business start-ups.
2. Meet with your town clerk or local archivist and discuss possible digitization projects and upcoming grants you can collaborate on.
3. Read recent city council, boards, and commission minutes to identify the pressing needs of the community. Attend meetings if possible.
4. Identify nonprofit, governmental, and educational organizations that share in the library’s mission. Meet with leaders and attend their meetings.
5. Align the goals of the library to that of your town or city’s strategic plan. Ensure library representation during the strategic planning process as well as ongoing participation.

Helpful Resources:

Libraries Transforming Communities: “Communities have challenges. Libraries can Help” Look for lots of upcoming training, case studies, and blogs.

A Step-By-Step Guide to ‘Turning Outward’ to Your Community” (Harwood Institute for Public Innovation, 2015). The tools in this workbook are designed to help libraries strengthen their role as community leaders and bring about positive change in their communities.

Action Guide for Re-Envisioning Your Public Library (Aspen Institute, 2016). This guide is intended to help libraries act on the report, Rising to the Challenge: Re-Envisioning Public Libraries (2014).

The post Five Ways to Connect With Your Community first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

Schools, churches, individuals like Ms. Estella and her Brilliant Bus, as well as public libraries are on the forefront of introducing these services to communities, but it’s really public libraries that can take advantage of this as an opportunity to better their community and do something special. This is a chance to partner with other groups and corporations, such as Best Buy or local organizations, that can bring in money, supplies, and mentors for patrons to really help add to the tech lab/mobile lab experience. And public libraries are in the unique position to receive subsidies for providing this service. The article  “Can ed-tech inequality be solved by roving buses with Wi-Fi and loads of equipment?” discusses this in context with comparing programs that schools are now starting to provide as well as outside groups like the City of Chicago’s Destination: Chicago Mobile Van which is run through the Digital Youth Network. “Federal e-rate subsidies for educational Internet can’t be used for buses or other off-campus applications. Oddly enough, bookmobiles are eligible for e-rate, because they’re considered a mini branch of the library.”

This seems like a great time for public libraries to bust out the old bookmobiles and revamp them for the modern digital age. Although this service may not be green in the long run and can be very expensive, it’s a hole for public libraries to fill before hopefully access to the Internet becomes more of a utility like water or gas for all Americans. Examples of public libraries using mobile labs to their benefit include the San Francisco Public Library’s Techmobile that offers classes ranging from Basic Computer Skills, to Intro to 3D Printing and LEGO Robotics. Kokomo, Indiana has a bookmobile that beams out free Internet in low-income neighborhoods, and in Providence, Rhode Island, their bookmobile loans out 4G mobile hotspots.  This is so important when we have what the ed-tech inequality article discusses as “technology deserts” in lower income neighborhoods that often hold minority or immigrant residents. And it’s a great way to connect with and get those patrons to come to the actual library once they understand the types of assets that the public space can provide them. Beyond that, it’s an opportunity for public libraries to advertise just how important and pertinent they still are in these modern times.

Source article:

Berdik, Chris. “Can Ed-tech Inequality Be Solved By Roving Buses With Wi-Fi and Loads of Equipment?” The Hechinger Report. Last modified October 21, 2015.

Further resources:

http://sfpl.org/index.php?pg=2000795701

http://hechingerreport.org/kids-no-internet-home-parking-wifi-enabled-school-bus-near-trailer-park/

http://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/mayor/press_room/press_releases/2015/july/mayor-emanuel-launches-destination–chicago-mobile-van-to-bring-.html

http://estellasbrilliantbus.org

http://estellasbrilliantbus.org/about-our-ceo/

http://news.microsoft.com/features/microsofts-super-bowl-ads-feature-the-inspiring-stories-of-estella-pyfrom-and-braylon-oneill/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cw4jmKQs0E

The post From Bookmobile to Techmobile first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

Retail marketing is often uses this type of information to make many decisions on how or where to place products. It also focuses on where complementary products or impulse purchase products should be placed. It questions whether there is a way to drive customers to high demand products by way of other things. Retail marketing explains why milk and bread tend to be in the back corners of the grocery store. Using some of these same general principles, what can your patrons tell you about your library through their behavior?

What do your dirtiest carpet and rattiest furniture tell you? If you’re in a cold weather climate, where are there white salty circles or carpet that never dries out from snow? In general, your carpet shows wear patterns even if you don’t live in an area with a lot of snow. It shows where patrons stop and how they travel within your building. Those are the places where the dirt never quite comes out no matter how many times it gets cleaned. Should you make sure there are more displays in this area or information about upcoming activities? Is this the place to put the OPAC, if people are already stopping nearby? The same is true of your furniture. Are there permanent indentations in some of the chairs from constant sitting or scratches on tables from where watches and other jewelry bump and scrape? If you know what chair everyone sits in, should you put materials or displays near it? If everyone stops where the new movies are located, do you need even more copies than you’re already buying?

Are there patches of grass that never grow or footprints in one of the flowerbeds? Your patrons are using the outside of your building as well. If everyone stands in the same spot to wait for the building to open, do you want to pave that place instead of trying to grow grass there? Should you purchase a bench? Should you place advertisements for library services there? Do you want to put an “ash can” in a different place because there are always cigarette butts getting caught in the lawnmower? Probably you don’t want to put outdoor signage, no matter how helpful, in the flowerbed that everyone seems to step through as they take a shortcut to the library, but putting pavers there may make life better for everyone involved.

Why do they keep moving the furniture? If you find at the end of most days that there is always a conglomeration of chairs in an area, it’s a good sign that you need to consider reorganizing your furniture or space a different way. Your patrons are congregating in a specific area for a reason. Groups are meeting somewhere. Should you find out why? Is there no other place to gather? Is the material there supporting the purpose of the gathering? Can the library support this group?

Why is this area always a mess? A surefire sign that people are using your materials is that they are in disarray. Do you let things get a little messy just to see what people are using? If things are still in order, then people aren’t using them. Sometimes order hides valuable information you can use. Magazines are a great example. What magazines are all crinkly with issues out of order? Those are the ones people are reading. Where do people leave their piles of materials they have looked at but are not taking home? Are you consistently finding materials from one section of the library being left in a different part of the building? It could be that the messy place has better lighting, more comfortable seating, or a better sightline to watch small children. Is there an array of cell phones strewn somewhere in your building? Does that tell you there needs to be more accessible outlets for people to use? It is frustrating to find your “house” a mess, but it is telling you what your patrons are using.

Most librarians love cleanliness, tidiness, and order. Look at what the absence of these things can tell you. How do you want to integrate what you know about how your patrons use your library into what you are doing at the library?

The post Being a Library Detective first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

One issue that recently came up for my library involved appropriate number of open hours. With a population base of a bit over 5,000, my library is open fifty-one hours a week. But one board member felt this was inadequate; they suggested being open sixty hours a week, while another argued that being a small, relatively rural library our resources were already strained and we should reduce our hours. The discussion turned into one of obligations. What began as a discussion of the library’s obligation to patrons evolved into a discussion about the institution’s obligations to staff.  With a small staff (4.5 FTE), increasing hours would put additional strain on library workers and in particular the director, who would in effect, become ‘on call’ seven days a week.

For me, the discussion raised another issue: is the library’s obligation to the existing demographics of the community or to a more diversified perspective?  Specifically, consider collection development, programming, and displays. Should we offer only that which applies to our known community’s demographics? Or should we try to broaden outlooks and horizons? Many times our decisions in these areas are shaped by our users.  We might put up a holiday display because we believe our community expects or supports that perspective. But are we sure? Should we, in fact, be displaying alternative views as part of an obligation to support lifelong learning? Would we draw more users if we expanded beyond our perceived local culture?  Is this not part of obligation, also? While it may be easy to say we should do both–support our community’s demographics and expand on the status quo–the finances and/or politics of many libraries may not allow for such a broad spectrum of activities or materials.

We can also expand this question out to larger professional organizations. Is the obligation of a state agency to all institutions within its jurisdiction? One might answer, yes, of course!  But the question becomes whether this is a feasible possibility.  In most states there are urban and rural libraries, large bureaucratic establishments, and small independent organizations; there may also be municipal libraries and libraries in nonprofit organizations, with differing structures and needs. On a national level, the issue is confounded as there are an even greater number of variations.  Consider something as mundane as where a national event will be held?  The problem arises that no one location can inherently serve everyone.

Personally, I believe all public library organizations of any size have the obligation to provide a broad base of perspectives, as reflected in materials and activities, and the obligation to strive for as much diversity as is feasible. To that end, on the national level, I support organizations that make mindful efforts to rotate conference location. On a local level, I support state agencies that offer diversified support to different levels and kinds of libraries.

On the daily level of library operations I make a conscious effort to assure my collection is diverse in terms of the topics and peoples it represents. I seek out programs that are unique or unusual. I am ecstatic when I find things that most people have not encountered and thrilled when I hear patrons speak of finding something they never knew about before. I am considerate of all holidays and celebrations–not only putting out the materials or iconic images of those who most participate or that which is most common.

When I consider my obligations for my library I think about challenging common thought patterns, offering a path into places unfamiliar, and helping to support diversity; those considerations shape my obligations to my library.  I see this as my obligation not only to my library, but to my community and the well-being of our world.

The post The Obligation of Libraries first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

One of the great aspects to this program is that not only are they reaching out to young girls, but they are also inspiring the girls’ mothers, providing an opportunity for both generations to learn in a fun environment. This ten-part workshop series provided opportunities to learn about circuits, engineering, architecture, art, and more. Many of the classes had the participants considering ways to better their worlds, like the first program where attendees considered how to make human experiences better in public spaces, or the workshop where they worked on posters highlighting shelter animals up for adoption.[1] Looking at the pictures in the Make-HER blog shows a glimpse of the fun had by attendees while learning.

Leading the instruction was a group of ladies who all have myriad experiences that enabled them to teach various skills to the attendees. Looking at their bios, one of the impressive things about the instructors was that they all had different backgrounds; some of them had studied their field of expertise, while others were self-taught.[2] What a great way to showcase the wide variety of ways you can learn and be excited about a topic!

While writing this post, I was thinking quite a bit about why a program like this is important. Providing an opportunity for girls and their mothers to work and learn together is a huge benefit. However, knowing what I’ve heard about girls and women studying and working in careers in STEM fields, I decided to see what kinds of articles I might find on the topic. Several pieces came up regarding girls and the maker movement, many of which focused on using making as a way to get girls interested in STEM studies.

One article that provided some insight came from Kristin Houser for iQ by Intel. The article mainly discussed findings from a report called, MakeHers: Engaging Girls and Women in Technology Through Making, Creating, and Inventing. This report says that the maker movement “could help bridge the gender gap in STEM fields.”[3] By hosting programs for girls, Sunnyvale is contributing to closing this gap. Houser also had information from Forbes stating that girls don’t often have female mentors or role models in the STEM world.[4] By having all female instructors for the Make-HER program, Sunnyvale Public Library has provided the participating girls with women they can look up to as examples.

Not only did Sunnyvale hold all these programs, but they put much of the information on their website. Check out the activities at home (or maybe in your library, too). A listing of some of the major materials used for the various projects is also included. I know looking at the different projects definitely got ideas flowing for me!

[1] “Blog.” Make-HER. 2015. https://sunnyvalemakeher.wordpress.com/blog/ (accessed August 19, 2015).

[2] “#LadyMakers.” Make-HER. 2015. https://sunnyvalemakeher.wordpress.com/ladymakers/ (accessed August 19,      2015).

[3] Houser, Kristin. “Girls in Technology: Maker Movement is a Natural Entry Point.” iQ. January 16, 2015.

http://iq.intel.com/report-shows-maker-movement-natural-entry-girls-women-technology/ (accessed August 20, 2015).

[4] Ibid.

The post Make-HER at Sunnyvale Public Library first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

Bibli is a homemade robot. It uses a Roomba-branded floor vacuum base, just like the disc-like vacuums that roam household floors sucking up dust balls. It was built by library patrons for library patrons with the assistance of Jalali Hartman of Robauto, Inc. Hartman describes himself as “Chief Human” of his company.

A combination of industry, librarians, engineers, and patron-families collaborated together over the last twelve months to build Bibli. The common goal was to create a robot for the library to increase engagement in its patrons. Many of the kids on the small team that helped create this robot were on the Autism Spectrum. A lot of research shows that ASD kids engage as well or better with robots.

This prototype, which debuted with human library staff members at Denver Comic Con in May, is being tested at the Longmont Public Library according to Hartman. Bibli will be commercially available in 2016. A portion of the proceeds will go to benefit autism research in schools and libraries.

#imetbibli pic.twitter.com/FryUmjTUDA

— ROBAUTO (@ROBAUTOPROJECT) July 22, 2015

Road to Creation: Weird Science

When Jalali (his name is pronounced Juh-lolly) first contacted me about building a robot for the library I was intrigued. Building a robot with almost no money, in a library for the library with kids on the Autism Spectrum, seemed like a very strange and light-hearted discussion. Now I take both Jalali and robots very seriously and he takes libraries seriously. He hadn’t read a book in years (that has changed since of course). Don’t be afraid to approach your leadership and potential funding sources just because your project hasn’t been attempted before. Don’t shut down an idea just because you don’t know what you are doing. We are librarians: if we expect our patrons to dare to learn new ideas and concepts we had better show the way.

Low-cost Robot Creation

While other companies spend millions of dollars in testing and research to make social interaction robots Bibli cost less than three thousand dollars. Most robots after research and development cost over $6,000 each—even at reduced educator’s rates. Manufacturing robots can cost $25,000 each or more. Most families, and most libraries, can’t afford a robot.

Social robots on the market today include “Milo” from Robokind and “Nao” from Aldebaran.

Most of the money for Bibli came from a grant from the C’AND Aid Foundation written for its “Total Canarchy” grants division. This foundation section is described for “UnCANventional (sic) projects that make a difference.” Money was also granted from the Friends of the Longmont Public Library towards this project.

Industry-Library Collaboration

In many libraries funding is decreasing, not increasing, and public-private library ventures may be a source of necessary revenue for public libraries thrive. What it requires is innovative public library leadership as well as a business, such as Robauto, experienced with these types of partnerships. Hartman states that non-profit colleges and universities use and encourage partnerships with businesses regularly and it is a model that can be adapted for library partnerships as well.

Robots in Industry

Robots have long been employed in other industries such as manufacturing. An example of this is “Baxter.” It is a robot built by Rethink Robotics. It works primarily for the manufacturing industry but can be repurposed across jobs and does not require programming.

Three robot receptionists will greet guests in July at the Henna-no Hotel in Nagasaki prefecture in Japan. According to the Japan National Tourism Organization, “Initially the hotel will have 10 robot members of staff,” but Huis Ten Bosch company President Hideo Sawada told a news conference, “In the future, we’d like to have more than 90 percent of hotel services operated by robots.”

The use of robots, just like the use of computers decades ago, is increasing. Libraries will be no exception. While libraries are not hotels or manufacturing they are in the business of educating, engaging, and entertaining their patrons. Robots in the library, at least in one library, seem well on the way to doing just that.

References:

Robauto.co

http://www.timescall.com/longmont-local-news/ci_28261766/bibli-robot-is-longmont-librarys-newest-employee

https://www.aldebaran.com/en/humanoid-robot/nao-robot

http://www.robokindrobots.com/robots4autism-home

http://foundation.oskarblues.com/funding-areas/total-canarchy/

http://www.seejapan.co.uk/jnto_consumer/media/press-releases/press-release-detail/15-01-30/hotel-staffed-by-robots-opening-in-japan

The post Build a Robot and Add It to Your Staff first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

One way of connecting with people interested in comic conventions is through partnerships. San Diego Public Library worked with convention organizers to host the Art of Comic-Con, which contains forty-five years of Comic-Con art. This free show includes art work from some of the best known illustrators and comic writers in the business, including many works that haven’t been seen before.[1]

Another way to become more involved is to be at a convention in whatever way you can. During 2015, many Colorado libraries were able to do outreach at Denver Comic Con (DCC) through a booth arranged by the Colorado State Library (CSL). With attendance of over 100,000, this was a fantastic opportunity for participating libraries.

Ashley Kazyaka from the CSL explained that the inspiration for getting libraries into DCC came out of the 2014 Colorado Association of Libraries Conference (CALCON). “Library staff from multiple districts expressed interest in Comic Con, but were unsure about how to coordinate the effort,” explained Kazyaka, so she took it on. DCC is run by a non-profit called Pop Culture Classroom, which focuses on literacy, and they were supportive of having libraries involved. To highlight some of the new technology that libraries have and people don’t necessarily know about, Kazyaka specifically talked with libraries involved in the maker movement, as well as people who had expressed interest at CALCON 2014. Kazyaka also put together a Google map of Colorado library makerspaces and handed out information for people to access it.[2]

When asked about the experience, Kazyaka said, “Nearly all of the interactions that I witnessed between library staff working the booth and DCC-attendees were not just positive but enthusiastic…There were times that people would be drawn to a particular activity, get engrossed in it, then suddenly have an excited realization, ‘THIS is the library, really?!’” Kazyaka is convinced that being at DCC is worthwhile, and all the participating libraries are interested in doing it again in 2016. If you’re interested in trying to get involved with your local comic con, Kazyaka recommends planning early and making sure your promotional materials reflect everyone involved.[3]

Some libraries have taken this kind of event a step further and started offering their own conventions. Just do an Internet search for ‘libraries and comic con,’ and the results pile up. Libraries all across the country are experiencing great success with everything from panels, to signings, to cosplay! Publishers Weekly even had a 2014 article called, “How to Throw a Comic Con at Your Library.” If that’s not enough, Diamond Bookshelf of Diamond Comics also has an article to provide ideas for libraries.

Connecting with people is one of the specialties of libraries. What better way to connect with new users and add a new service for those who are already library lovers than through comic cons!

Sources

[1] Yarbrough, Beau. “Comic-Con 2015: Comic Art Show at the San Diego Library, No Badge Required.” Los Angeles

Daily News. July 8, 2015. http://www.dailynews.com/arts-and-entertainment/20150708/comic-con-2015-

comic-art-show-at-the-san-diego-library-no-badge-required (accessed July 15, 2015).

[2] Kazyaka, Ashley, email interview by Becca Cruz. Project Manager (July 16, 2015).

[3] Ibid.

The post Comics, Super Heroes, Pop Culture, and Libraries first appeared on Public Libraries Online.