2020-09-18 SPLAT Curiosity Report: Volume 6, Issue 6

Featured Story

Zoom – Go Beyond Meetings to Create Virtual Services!

Everyone is using Zoom to connect to the world outside their doors. From at-risk grandparents attending church services and birthday parties virtually, to kindergarteners attending school classes. Our patrons are fast becoming online meeting aficionados! One of the things that I’ve been contemplating lately is how libraries can use this newfound video chat capability to provide virtual services that normally would require face to face conversations.

One of the ideas that I discovered was using Zoom to set-up a Virtual Information Desk. The Virtual Information Desk gives patrons the face to face interaction that is missing with online or phone reference. Zoom adds the ability to share screens and information easily to show patrons how to access services and solve problems while still being socially distanced and safe. A Virtual Information Desk can be set-up through several phases of reopening, whether a Library Building is closed, limited opening, or provides a safe interaction for vulnerable populations. Zoom has several built-in tools that make Virtual Information services easier and safer for patrons. A recurring meeting will allow the library to set hours of operation and reduces the need to constantly update connection information. Setting up a Waiting Room gives the staff member the ability to help one patron at a time, only allowing the new patron into the video call when they are finished aiding. Library staff have more control over who can join the online meeting, which helps to combat the dreaded Zoom Bombers… people who look for unsecured online meetings to disrupt.

Another interesting idea is setting up Virtual Meeting Rooms for patrons to use. Like a physical meeting room, libraries can create Virtual Meeting Rooms and allow patrons to have their own private space. This service is designed to help patrons who have never hosted a Zoom meeting before. Library staff meet with the organizer before the meeting to share how Zoom works, answer any questions, and then leave the meeting once it starts. Virtual Meeting Room services provides patrons technical support and advice from library staff even when using a virtual space.

Library Journal published a very helpful article recently that examines Zoom meeting settings. The article talks about how each setting works and when you would want to enable them. They also go over recommended settings for a variety of service options, including a Virtual Information Desk. Check the article out for more information and ideas!

https://www.libraryjournal.com/?detailStory=how-to-make-the-most-of-zoom-for-every-kind-of-event

– Mike Sloan, Nampa 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.

Zoom Fails

Zoom Meetings — we’ve all attended our fair share of them this year. I started off strong with my Zoom game: I tried to keep my background professional, I still wore makeup and nice shirts, and with just my husband and (usually) quiet dog around, things were good. Then I had a baby in May, and then a steady stream of houseguests living in my home office/guest bedroom. All of a sudden I was sitting on the floor of my bedroom, hair uncombed, breastfeeding, and trying to attend a meeting. The ability to keep a camera turned off has been a life-saver. As I try to make lemonade out of the lemon that is the pandemic, the bountiful patience and acceptance of my personal life that my colleagues have shown me is right at the top of the list.

– Jessica Martinez, University of Idaho 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!

Crushing on Idaho School Librarians and ICfL’s School Librarian Summer Summit

Every summer the Idaho Commission for Libraries offers a two day professional development opportunity to school librarians called the Summer Summit. I have enjoyed attending for the last several years, and the ICfL always offers quality content while giving school libraries a time and space to network together and get to know one another. Even though the Summer Summit had to move online in the summer of 2020, school librarians all across the state were still able to attend and learn together. We spent two mornings practicing our Zoom meeting skills and learning how to create Zines (a noncommercial often homemade or online publication usually devoted to specialized and often unconventional subject matter, https://www.merriam-webster.com/). We walked away with the tools and knowledge to teach others how to make their own Zines. I am proud to be part of a profession and a group of educators that are so adaptable and eager to learn new things.

– Gretchen Perkins, Caldwell School District

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-246156-OLS-20). The views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily represent those of the Institute of Museum and Library Services.