2019-08-09 SPLAT Curiosity Report: Futures Camp Reflections 2019
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Editor’s Note: Several SPLAT members attended the Idaho Libraries’ Futures Camp in June. I am excited to present this special issue of The Curiosity Report with some of their reflections on camp. For more information and resources from Futures Camp, visit our webpage. We’ll have another special issue of The Curiosity Report for you in two weeks. Regular issues of The Curiosity Report will return on Friday, September 13th with the launch of our fourth volume- tell your friends!
Flexible Library Spaces
Attending the Idaho Libraries’ Futures Camp was an amazing experience. Hearing library folk from throughout the state (and further!) come and talk about their communities, struggles, ideas, hopes, and dreams was eye opening. One of the topics that resonated with me was the idea of making library spaces flexible, inviting, and inclusive. Rolf Hapel’s keynote entitled Trends and Tendencies in Contemporary Libraries talked about how the Dokk1 library in Denmark makes use of open areas in the library for programming. I loved how a simple set of staircases could be used for everything from a performance stage, to a story time area, or a meeting space for a book club. By having these programs in an open space, it automatically invited patrons that were passing by to join in a way that an open meeting room door could not. It encouraged people to see what was going on in the library instead of needing to be invited to check out an ongoing program. One of the topics he discussed was how to make space for transformation, and not be afraid of un-programmed spaces. Even though there was not a specified use for these spaces, by being flexible and open to ideas the library was able to create better programming for their patrons.
Rolf Hapel’s Innovating Library Services in the 4 Spaces Model session later that day expanded on the idea of flexible placemaking. The participants of that session broke into several groups and practiced how to plan spaces based not on what we, as a library, think our community needs and wants, but how to put ourselves in the shoes of our patrons and plan a space that worked for everybody. I love how keeping library areas flexible allows patrons to configure library services to better solve their problems instead of continually adjusting our areas to try to meet individual needs. Libraries serve our communities, and we have the tools to create the best spaces for the community that we can.
– Mike Sloan, Nampa Public Library
I’ve been HIT! Libraries as Social Connectors
Taking a little bite from the fantastic feast that was the Future’s Conference is a little difficult, there were so many perspective changing ideas that really struck home with attendees. One transformative takeaway that made an impact was Libraries as Social Connectors. The premise presented is that as our society has slipped into ways to isolate ourselves from each other, we are now desperate for ways to gain back personal connections with humanity. It is interesting that as we spend more time on social media, it is actually making society more lonely and isolated than ever before. The statistics into depression and the use of social media are startling. The question now becomes; how can libraries bridge this gap? The book Palaces for the People by Klinenberg was recommended to attendees to help one understand and conquer this growing social dilemma. It states that, When people engage in sustained, recurrent interactions, particularly by doing things they enjoy, relationships inevitably grow. Another source with great information can be found here. The webinar presenters propose the idea of bowling alone, where we need to stop bowling alone: find leagues, and friends, and activities where you can have a shared experience. Now libraries are looking for ways to create these shared experiences for their patrons. Some programs that are making a big impact are Family Book Circle (a family book kit for families of all ages), Gaming with Friends, Family Maker Night, Alzheimer’s Group Sharing, Scrabble Night and of course my favorite…Nerf Battles at the Library! Libraries will close whole sections of their libraries, break into teams, provide Nerf guns, and its battle royale! These games in library spaces are creating a fun zone that is connecting communities with each Nerf bullet. One library even invited off-duty police officers to play. Every participant was paired up with an officer and prizes given to the last man standing.
Here lies the challenge, be a library magnet! Bring people to the library so they can share, create, and bond with your community. Even if it means the library staff can be heard to say, I’ve been hit!
– Rasheil Stanger, Valley of the Tetons Library
Openness and Inclusivity
I am very grateful for the opportunity I had to participate in ICfL’s Futures Camp 2019. I have been able to share what I have learned at a staff meeting a few weeks after camp as well as at a library board meeting about a month after camp. At both of these meetings I shared that the most important message that I pulled from the 3 learning breakouts that I participated in on Thursday morning of camp, which included Libraries as Social Connectors, Privilege and Service, and Opening Conversations about Mental Illnesses and Homelessness, was that the library is a place of openness and inclusivity. In the Libraries as Social Connectors session the presenters, Stephanie Bailey-White and Tammy Hawley-House from ICfL, talked about social connections being as important as food, water, or shelter and how libraries can be both a physical place to gather as well as a place to connect socially. One example that came up was the opportunity to have a parent activity during story time that would allow the adults present to connect socially while the children are engaged in their own activity. In the Privilege and Service session the presenters, Jax Perez of Boise Public Library and Jenny Liebig of the Meridian Library District, talked about recognizing microaggressions and how they affect our ability to give quality customer service to all we serve. I loved that Jax told us that we need to be willing to lean in to our discomforts as we work towards being more inclusive and having conversations that can be difficult. In the Opening Conversations about Mental Illnesses and Homelessness breakout the presenter, Eliza Ruby of Boise Public Library, taught us that Libraries are a welcome space for everyone. We respect everyone’s right to be here as long as everyone respects this space and its rules. It is because of these lessons on openness and inclusivity that I have particularly been contemplating the words of our keynote speaker, Miguel Figueroa of ALA’s Center for the Future of Libraries. In his keynote address entitled Collect. Connect. Prioritize. Act: Foresight to Change Miguel was asked about the one library trend that we should keep our eyes on, and his response was that we should be concerned about the privatization of 3rd spaces like in the case of Apple’s town squares. In looking into this topic I found that while Apple claims that their town squares are meant to serve the communities in which they reside by providing a gathering space their aim still seems to be product advertising and getting gain. There is just no place like the library where individuals from all walks of life can gather and feel welcome.
– Jackie Wood, Marshall Public Library
SPLAT explores the ever-evolving library world and supports library folks as they adapt to meet the needs of 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.