2020-03-27 SPLAT Curiosity Report: Volume 5, Issue 5

Featured Story

Editor’s Note: The Idaho Commission for Libraries has launched a new webpage just for you! ICfL’s COVID-19 Resources for Libraries has sections based on questions our staff has received, and information and resources the ICfL wants to make sure you’re aware of.

The Struggle is REAL!

Rural Programming: Down in the Dumps.

Getting my 6 month calendar organized before Christmas was NOT happening. Other emergencies were getting pushed to the top of the “to-do” list. Feeling frustrated and melancholy about programming was also getting me down. Dwelling on the negative things that happened in the past year: “No one came to this program,” “collaborations are SO HARD,” “budgets are SO SMALL,” and I am only ONE PERSON, and sometimes “I just don’t WANT to anymore.” Planning programing in a rural or small library has its own set of challenges. And let’s face it everyone experiences burnout. Luckily for me I recently ran across the Programming Librarian Blog: When Programming isn’t Fun Anymore, and it saved my library life! Chelsea Price, Director, Meservey (Iowa) Public Library, in her June Blog discussed fighting burnout and threw a lifeline to programming librarians and really all librarians. Here are a few highlighlites to remind us how to get back on track!

  1. Stop Taking Work Home with You!
    I do this all the time and I have vowed to stop!
  2. Clear up the Clutter: Stay Organized.
  3. Ask for Help:
    This is especially difficult for me. This will be my new years resolution.
  4. Bookmarking Helpful Websites:
    “I keep a long list of bookmarks on my laptop of library blogs I love, webinars to take and articles on a new or innovative program. Sometimes all it takes to bring back that programming spark is browsing through those bookmarks and getting excited about a new idea. Pinterest is also an amazing tool for this, or you can view what’s trending on Google and see if anything stirs up a program idea.
  5. FOCUS ON THE POSITIVE:
    Why didn’t they come to my program? They must not like my ideas. I must be bad at planning things.
    Stop doing this! Negative self-talk serves absolutely no purpose. I keep a Word document on my computer for just this reason. That document is a list of compliments, positive things that have been said by patrons about our library, as well as funny things our young patrons have said that I wanted to remember (“Aww, I don’t want outer space for our summer reading theme. What about … the Great Depression?!”).

Finally take care of yourself! Take on a new approach, or get some new inspiration. Breathe, have fun, and remember “you’re doing a great job and your community is lucky to have you!”

– Rasheil Stanger, Valley of the Tetons 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.

All the Songs Sound the Same

One of the failures that we have experienced during Storytime planning is a failure to make the stories and songs different enough to keep the children’s attention. When Amanda presented a storytime recently, she chose songs that sounded very similar to each other. She learned that if her songs were not distinct enough, the participants in Storytime stopped paying attention, and began to wander around. It was very hard to regain their attention once it happened.. In the future, Amanda has made sure to differentiate the different parts of her Storytime for maximum participation.

– Amanda Bizeau on behalf of Mike Sloan, Nampa 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!

Muskogee Public Library – Learn Create Share Summer Tech Camps

Muskogee Public Library in Oklahoma hosts summer tech camps every year covering topics from photography to making video games. I love how they adapt their camps every year to match the interest of the teens in their community.

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