2019-02-08 SPLAT Curiosity Report: Volume 2, Issue 8
Featured Story
Editor’s Note: Are you dreaming of summer? Grab your sunscreen and sleeping bag because applications for the Idaho Libraries’ Futures Camp are now open!
Tips for Collaborating on Projects and Writing in Libraries
Are you interested in crafting and writing library research? The Librarian Parlor, is a new blog focused on tips, tricks, and trends surrounding library research. And if your library is like mine, a lot of the work you do is collaborative. I recently read a great article posted there about what conversations you need to have with team mates when beginning a project or writing something together. In the article Conversations, negotiations, and giving credit where credit is due, author Melissa Bowles-Terry outlines the necessary conversations to have before beginning collaborative work, the negotiations to have before you begin, and how to ensure that everyone on the team gets credit for their share of the effort. Check out the article for more tips and a list of resources for starting difficult conversations, but I wanted to share a few of my favorite suggestions for conversation to have when collaborating:
- What is the timeline for the project?
- How will the writing or other work be divided?
- Who will speak for the project?
The author wraps up the article by saying that What you pay attention to grows and I think that is essential to remember for any project’s success. Happy collaborating!
Fail Forward
We’ve all been there. You pour your heart into a program, and no one shows up. You try something new, and you fall on your face. Sound familiar? Fail Forward is the place to share your failures, and give you the opportunity to share what you learned from them. Did you promote your program in a different way after no one showed up? Maybe you took a new approach to the new thing you were excited about? Awesome! Share your story via our online form so others can learn, and realize that failure is often part of the process.
Well, I Thought It Turned Out Great
Have you ever worked really hard on a project, been proud of how it turned out, and then had someone really important point out a major flaw after it was too late to fix it? Me too…and I didn’t die or lose my job!
I volunteered to help promote a major event for my library by designing the postcard invite. My undergraduate degree is in fine art, so I jumped at the opportunity to combine my library and art sides! I set about gathering feedback on what information should be included, how it needed to be presented, and so on. I came up with a few design ideas, a group of us reviewed them, and we decided on the final design. After completing the final draft, I sent it around again for feedback. Everyone signed off on it, and we sent it off to be printed. The post cards looked great! We got them mailed out, relaxed a bit, and then got ready for the big day.
During the event, someone pulled me aside to let me know the colors on the postcard weren’t up to brand standards. I was horrified! This feedback wasn’t coming from any ole colleague, it was a really high up colleague. All that work on the postcard and event, and the only thing they cared about was the color? I thought it was the end of the world. However, upon further reflection, I realized it wasn’t! I remembered that a growth mindset is key to success, and giving myself time to grieve was OK, so long as it resulted in an action that was future focused. So, I came up with a plan to avoid a similar mistake in the future. I committed to increasing my own knowledge of brand standards, and gaining a better idea who to double check with on future projects. Life went on, and I continued to create many printed materials. All of them up to brand standards.
Crush Corner
Is there a library you follow on social media who is always doing new and exciting things? How about a blog you follow that inspires you? What about a new idea, book, or resource that you want to share? Library Crush Corner is a place for those working in Idaho libraries to share what inspires them, and who or what they’re crushing on… in a professional sense. Share your story via our online form so we can publish it in a future issue!
Meridian Tiny Library
I saw this article and feature about the Meridian Tiny Library.It is an interactive learning library aimed at children ages 0-5 to help kids be ready to read when they enter kindergarten. Items and activities are focused on ages 0-5 (board books, Easy Readers and picture books) with a small Parent-Teacher collection. Collections and interactive activities are focused on the five early learning practices: talk, play, sing, write, read. In the spirit of tiny houses we now have tiny libraries that will be a big influence from a small space.
What a HUGE asset to the community! Bravo!
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 was made possible, in part, by 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.