2018-10-19 SPLAT Curiosity Report: ILA Annual Conference Reflections 2018

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Editor’s Note: Nine SPLAT members attended the Idaho Library Association (ILA) Annual Conference in Moscow, Idaho earlier this month. They developed and delivered a preconference workshop, “Dream, Design, Do, Defend (Done Dirt Cheap)”, ran a SPLAT BINGO game with prize drawings of gift baskets, presented several more individual and group sessions, and connected with library folk throughout the state while wearing their own custom SPLAT apparel. I am excited to present this special issue of The Curiosity Report featuring their reflections on the conference. Regular issues of The Curiosity Report will return on Friday, November 2nd with the launch of our second volume- tell your friends!

Focus on People, Not the Stuff

One of the many things I’m still percolating on after ILA is Jim Neal’s keynote. I don’t know about you, but I snapped a ton of photos of his slides! Here are a few key points I’m holding on to, and trying to figure out how I can help support in my new position at ICfL as the Emerging Trends Consultant.

  • Libraries need to grow as research and development organizations. They can do this by taking stock of assets, like spaces, people, information. Then reimagine how they might be used in a more user focused way.
  • Need to show value by showing the human component. This means showing how users are impacting their communities because of libraries, not the impact of libraries on their communities.
  • Social justice is a critical commitment of the new library landscape.
  • Cultural change vs. seeing libraries as a product. We’re more than books!

The one thing that struck me during his talk, and that made me proud of Idaho, was that I feel a number of us are already doing some of the things he mentioned as emerging trends. Pat yourselves on the back!

– Deana Brown

Decompressing with the Wonder Wizards

After a day of Pre-Conference planning and presenting and two more days of chatting, thinking, listening, presenting, and swag-scoring during the conference, I was pretty exhausted. I was thinking about ~maybe~ dipping out of the last session. Boy, am I glad I stayed!

I attended “How to Become a Wonder Wizard!” presented by Stacie Echanove and Bailey Gillreath-Brown from the Moscow Public Library. I cannot overstate how much I enjoyed their presentation about their Wonder Wizards after school club. They gave a very thorough run down of how they plan their meetings and maintain order with groups of upper elementary aged kids. Then they let us participate in some of their fun activities. We practiced speed portraiture, and then painted pictures of their mascot, the noble hamster. My effort is seen to the right. It was the perfect session to end the conference with!

– Kate Flower

Library Folks

Two words sum up the 2018 Idaho Library Association annual conference, “Library Folks”.

It was great to work with the amazing SPLAT team at the preconference and to collaborate on a presentation. It was even more productive to make new friends at libraries across the state. I made connections with the Community Library Network, and the Coeur d’Alene Public library. It was nice to meet people from the northern part of the state. The presentations were amazing and it was good to get new ideas to share with my library. But the most valuable was meeting new people. For me the ILA Annual conference, was about “Library Folks”.

– Eric Hovey

ILA Annual Conference Reflections

As a new Idaho librarian, this was my first time attending the conference, and I had a great time! Everyone I met was so friendly and I had many wonderful conversations and came away with heaps of new ideas as well as new friends in the library world. Part of what helped me connect to so many people was being on the conference planning committee this year. Since the conference was in Moscow, the UI Library (where I work) had lots of people on the committee who invited me to join when I started working there last fall. While it was lots of work (when is event planning not?) I made new friends from all over the state and got to see how things work behind the scenes at a conference. Volunteering at the registration table also gave me an opportunity to meet even more people and even talk to Emily Ruskovich (author of the exquisite and melancholy book, Idaho) before her beautiful lunch-time book reading. My favorite idea I’ll take away from the conference came from the last presentation I went to on Friday afternoon, from the Moscow Public Library Wonder Wizards Presentation. They spoke about modeling curiosity and kindness for the kids they work with on a regular basis and that’s an idea that I want to take with me into both my professional life (college students need curiosity and kindness, too!) but into all aspects of my life. I’m already looking forward to next year’s conference!

– Jessica Martinez

ILA 2018 Reflections

This was my first year at ILA, first time presenting at a conference, and first time playing Jeeves to a national organization president. The presentations were outstanding- I especially enjoyed the presentation on net neutrality from ICFL’s own Dylan Baker as well as Erin Downey’s session on providing media literacy. The whole SPLAT crew came together for a rockin’ presentation on design methods for library services, and I got to do solos on user experience and universal design. I missed out on the Friday presentations, but did spend my morning driving Jim Neal back to the airport in Spokane. It was great to get some 1:1 time with a library luminary. It was like The Cannonball Run with cardigans.

– Tyler McLane

Connections: ICfL Summer Summit and ILA

While the whole ILA conference was amazing with many sessions that were useful to me, the information in one particular session has stuck with me, mostly because of how it connected to information I received this summer. As some of you may know, the Idaho Commission for Libraries hosts a Summer Summit for school library staff. At this year’s summit we each received a copy of the new American Association of School Libraries standards. It’s lengthy, very thorough, and I can see it being a huge asset to school library programs in general. Fast forward two and half months to the ILA conference where I attended a session on “Assessing Idaho High School Students’ Information-Literacy” led by Catherine Gray and Spencer Jardine from Idaho State University. In their session they outlined how they will be taking a closer look at the research and library skills curriculum in Idaho, and whether high schoolers are using these skills in college. From what they shared, it would seem that students they are seeing at ISU do not have adequate library or research skills. I also see this in our students at the middle school where I work. In previous years I would have been disheartened, particularly because the ISU researchers don’t have results yet and no recommendations on how to fix this. However, thanks to the summer summit I have the new standards. I can see where my students need to be and how I can help get them there. The information in this session was very eye opening. I had suspected that high schoolers were lacking in their library and research skills, but this session made this a certainty. I took Gray and Spencer’s session as a call to action, and will be evaluating the K-8 library program in my district. Eventually I will also be rewriting library lessons to better address the new standards.

– Gretchen Perkins

Information Seeking & Information Sharing

There was so much great in the Monsters and Microforms presentation by Erin Hvizdak and Erica Nicol that I’m struggling to encapsulate my favorite bits. One thing I’ve been thinking about a lot since then is how our information gets to us and how we get information to our patrons and customers. An excellent example from the session was that sometimes in Google Books the hand of the person scanning the books will accidentally be included, and I suddenly remembered- Oh, yeah. Someone scans in all those pages by hand. And it’s brought me to reflect on how our patrons get resources and information. Interlibrary loan sticks out in my head as a process that involves a ton of behind-the-scenes work, but for patrons, the book just appears (eventually) some weeks after they requested it. How do we continue to provide services with minimum process friction while also conveying the value and effort put into the service? While I don’t have an answer, the question is providing a lot of material for conversation with colleagues. I’d love to hear what you think.

– Kate Radford

Makers: Throughout Library Services

The Idaho Library Association conference in Moscow was great! It was amazing to meet wonderful library folk from throughout the state and hear about the wonderful and creative ways they are serving their communities. The biggest takeaway that I learned during the sessions that I was able to attend was how the Making community has really enhanced the outreach potential of the library. During the “Making Recruitment and Retention Rock!” session, I learned how the University of Idaho is using Makerspace tools and concepts during their recruitment outreaches in order to attract potential students. By including maker activities on their table, the students were more engaged and receptive to hearing about the resources the library could offer. During the “Thinking outside the book: Hosting non-traditional Programs” session Mandi Harris talked about how she created a kids Craft fair in which the kids would create, sell, and purchase crafts from the other student makers. The participants gained valuable experience during this event. These are just two ways that concepts that started in a Makerspace area have reached out to different parts of the library and increased engagement with library services.

– Mike Sloan

Non Traditional Programs for the Win

What a positive and instructive conference we all enjoyed this year at the ILA in Moscow. My tiny notebook of good ideas is brimming over with suggestions to take back and implement immediately at my home library. There was one particular session that really stuck with me. “Thinking outside the book: Hosting non-traditional Programs” with Emily Brock and Mandi Harris, was a homerun with relatable and useful ideas and a format for getting a program started today. They discussed the Pizza Trivia Night at the local pizzeria that is geared for families. They called it the “Smarty Pants Trivia Smack Down”. What a great idea with limited effort but a huge response. The second was the Community Baby Shower. This program is an idea that every library should have in their community. What a superb way to collaborate and create a single place to have multiple agencies reach expectant mothers. Bravo Mandy and Emily for an informative and creative session.

– Rasheil Stanger

Continuing Education Resources

Were you unable to attend ILA? Do you need help finding resources for continuing education? Here is a list that might help:

  • ICfL Continuing Education
    • ABLE Courses: “The free, online Alternative Basic Library Education (ABLE) Program provides basic library knowledge and skills for staff with no formal library education.”
    • Library Learning Online: “Library Learning Online is an expansion of the service previously known SABLE offering self-paced learning to expand the knowledge and skills of library staff on topics for today’s libraries.”
    • Idaho CE Grants: “Apply for funds to support first-time attendance at a conference, library science courses, or leadership development to support professional education in support of improved library services.”
    • Partner Training Opportunities: “Through agreements with outside organizations, ICfL makes free or discounted training opportunities available to Idaho library staff.”
    • The Collection: Ebooks for Idaho Library Staff: “Find ebooks on topics of interest to Idaho library staff.”
    • Info2Go! Webinar Series
  • LiLI.org libguides and tutorials
    • “This comprehensive guide covers the wide range of training topics for anyone affiliated with a school or public library in Idaho.”
  • Webjunction.org
    • “The learning place for libraries”
  • The League of Extraordinary Librarians
    • A self-paced reader advisory continuing education course

If you have not already done so make sure to subscribe to Libidaho for more in-person and webinar continuing education opportunities.

– Jackie Wood

SPLAT explores new ways to build capacity and support library folk as they serve their communities. Library folk throughout the state of Idaho volunteer to serve on the Special Projects Library Action Team (SPLAT). Learn more about SPLAT at splat.lili.org

SPLAT is brought to you by the Idaho Commission for Libraries and is funded in part with a federal grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (LS-00-18-0013-18). The views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily represent those of the Institute of Museum and Library Services.