2019-09-27 SPLAT Curiosity Report: Volume 4, Issue 2

Featured Story

Board Games Collection at the Library

This past spring, the University of Idaho Library (where I work) decided to implement a board games collection. Many other libraries, both public and private, have done this in the past few years, and it seemed like a fun way to bring students into the library. Our goal with the collection is to build community, enhance critical thinking, recruit and retain students, and support the mental health of all our patrons through stress relief. Learning to borrow a board game from the library can also be a gateway for learning how to use the library for other purposes. The board game collection teaches patrons about reserves, using the catalog, acquaints them with library spaces, and breaches the barrier of communication with librarians and staff. We’ve also used the board games to host related events, like Back to School Board Games this fall, which was the last event of our Welcome Week activities.

The games collection has been a big success– it is one of the most highly circulated collections in the library. We’re always working to improve our policies and collection, as well as let everyone on campus know that we have board games for them to borrow. If you’re interested in learning more about how we implemented the collection, come say hi to me and my colleagues at our poster at ILA in October. We’d love to talk to you about games!

You can also check out our cool infographic and library guide here: https://libguides.uidaho.edu/Games

– Jessica Martinez, University of Idaho Library

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.

The Success of Failure

Gavin Woltjerg, the Director of the Billings Public Library, did a presentation at the Pacific Northwest Library Association Conference called The Success of Failure. He could be writing this article because that is what Fail Forward is all about. We fail daily, even by the minute, he said. We fail when working with public, with our colleagues, with the management team, even with our family and friends. We have to teach ourselves to step back and reflect on how we fail and teach ourselves that failure is not bad.

Gavin spoke about how we can’t change, learn, and adapt when we are scared, stressed, and live in fear. He shared that when there is success at his library he puts the spotlight on his staff and they get the attention and credit for the success. When there is a program failure or something happens at the library he takes that failure on and then works with people to reflect, grow and turn that failure into a success. He had a hard time changing the culture and way of thinking of failure at the library with his staff. We have grown up in a society to not fail and we need to change that mindset. Gavin is working towards this change in culture at his library.

– Eric Hovey, Ada Community Libraries

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!

Jennifer LaGarde, Library Girl

Currently I have a very professional crush on Jennifer LaGarde of librarygirl.net. I had the opportunity to hear Jennifer speak at Summer Summit 2019. For those of you not familiar with Summer Summit, it is a wonderful yearly conference for school librarians put on by the Idaho Commission for Libraries. Ms. LaGarde was a very dynamic speaker whose topics included using data in school libraries, genrefication, and “Creating a Library Space that Serves and Represents Students.” She was also very approachable, and you can tell she just wants to see school libraries survive and thrive. She is also co-author of Fact vs. Fiction: Teaching Critical Thinking Skills in the Age of Fake News.

– Gretchen Perkins, Caldwell School District

Meridian Library District

Meridian Library District @ Cherry Lane offers a weekly “Library Low down” on Facebook! They use this to promote special programs, library card perks (LiLI tools), how to use self checkout, information literacy, early learning literacy, the list goes on and on; I love to tune in every week and would like to do this at our Library too!

– Christine Hoxie, Ada Community Libraries

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-00-19-0013-19). The views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily represent those of the Institute of Museum and Library Services.