2019-10-25 SPLAT Curiosity Report: Volume 4, Issue 4

Featured Story

STEM-ify Your Library for Adults

Most libraries are pretty good at providing STEM or STEAM activities for kids and teens. For example, my library has a weekly Friday afternoon STEM activity where either one of the librarians from the children’s office facilitates an activity for kids or has a guest presenter come in with an activity. These activities range from fiber art projects to Lego robotics to building with cardboard and other materials. What most libraries lack is STEM for adults. At ICfL’s Futures Camp this summer there was a breakout session that focused on STEM activities for all ages. These activities and interactions with STEM do not always have to involve programming and they don’t have to cost a lot of money. One idea that I have started to implement at my library is a trivia question that appears in our monthly newsletter that draws attention to an adult display on our second floor. Our second floor houses our non-fiction collection, and I really wanted to draw a more diverse group of adults upstairs to encourage them to add a little non-fiction reading to their regular reading, especially if they feel like non-fiction is all textbook-like or difficult to read. Here are some examples of the trivia questions that I have included based on non-fiction displays:

August 2019 (Wizard of Oz display)

Did you know that this year the film “The Wizard of Oz” is celebrating 80 years of movie fame? Let’s test your movie knowledge: how many living actors made up the film’s complete cast?

You can find the answer to this question and many others by checking out our display on the 2nd floor.

September 2019 (Johnny Appleseed/Conservation display)

Did you know that the person known as Johnny Appleseed is really named John Chapman and he was born on September 26th, 1774? While many people think of Johnny Appleseed going about the countryside and randomly planting apple seeds wherever he went, do you know the real story of how he planted apple seeds? You can find the answer to this question and many others by checking out our display on the 2nd floor.

I also hope to branch out from just displays to featuring specific new non-fiction books recently added to our collection. Continuing to learn through reading is a great activity for keeping the mind active and strong. Even if patrons never pick up and read a non-fiction book hopefully they can at least get a little taste of the variety of materials available at the library. What are you doing to promote STEM or STEAM learning among adults at your library?

– Jackie Wood, Marshall Public 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.

I wasn’t expecting to talk about that…

Recently I prepared for a program on how to use Library equipment to do web conferencing. The intent of the program was to let the community know that the library had equipment and resources available to use video conferencing technologies in our study rooms. However, when the program started, I found that everyone that came to the program thought I would be teaching them about Google Hangouts and Skype!. I learned exactly how quickly I could switch gears and set-up an impromptu video conferencing lesson, instead of an equipment demonstration. In the future, I will definitely be more careful about how I describe a program…. And have more classes on video conferencing software, since it’s clearly a need!

– Mike Sloan, Nampa Public Library

Teen Summer Reading Kickoff Party

If Summer Reading was in Family Feud with the question, “Name the age group most difficult to reach,” a majority of librarians surveyed would say “Teens!” This librarian would have to agree. While participation from the under 12 and 18+ crowd is large, I inevitably come face to face with my white whale each summer – How on Earth do I get more teens involved in programming and reading? My fail-forward this year happened spectacularly with my Teen Summer Reading Kickoff Party. In an effort to get our teens excited about Summer Reading, I asked a special guest from Boise State University and his team to present on some physics topics – and they brought their “A” game. For my part: I requested publicity, posted all over social media, promised pizza and snacks, talked with my regular teens, the whole nine yards. My turn out yielded exactly 5 people in the 13-18 category. However, instead of hiding under my desk (which is what I wanted to do), I checked with my guest presenters and opened the program up to all ages. It was great! Kids and some adults came to learn about physics and enjoy pizza. The presenters were able to show off their knowledge and promote their department at BSU. While ultimately, I would have loved to have an exclusive teen program, acknowledging that any program at the library which brings patrons in to learn about a topic is an overall success. Two take-aways from this program: crack the code on where and how teens in my area consume information, and (while they flock to pizza like moths to light) make sure the program is what THEY want, not what I think they should like.

– Ellie Epperson, Caldwell Public Library

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!

Pacific Northwest Library Association Conference Networking

At this years Pacific Northwest Library Association conference in Spokane, Washington I liked how they developed networking into the conference. When registering for the conference you had the option of putting your session schedule online. This was through https://sched.com/ You could then see other people that were interested in the session and later make their acquaintance and network with them. I met all types of people this way from the northwest and Canada. It gave me an opportunity to put a name and a face to who was at the conference. There was time at the conference to network in a casual way during the day along with events in the afternoons like a field trip to the Spokane Public Library. It was a great balance of sessions and networking time.

– Eric Hovey, 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.