2020-10-16 SPLAT Curiosity Report: Volume 6, Issue 8
Featured Story
When the Community Turns Against You
This might be a long one, so grab your popcorn and a drink, and sit back and read on.
So, I’m a COVID survivor. Well, a soon-to-be survivor as I’m still dealing with many of the effects of it. The worst flu I have ever had that laid me up for more than 2 weeks and has me struggling to breath doing simple things for more than a month later, made me realize that wearing a mask could potentially save someone’s life. It wasn’t just about following the rules.
COVID is unpredictable. No one knows how it will affect someone else. Others that I know that got it had little to no symptoms, a little bit of a cold, not anything major. But me? It knocked me out hard. Don’t get me wrong, I am truly grateful that I’m alive and didn’t require hospital care, but it made me realize the importance of trying not to spread the disease. I mean, most of us realize that it is probably inevitable, but if we can do something to help, why not? I don’t want anyone else to have to be as sick as I was, so I choose to wear my mask, just in case there is a chance that I could still spread it.
In the far north, in Bonner county, we don’t have any mask mandates. The number of cases exploded around the time I got COVID, but in the last couple of weeks have slowed. Our caseload here is not nearly as bad as it is in some places, thank goodness! However, our library DOES have a mask requirement policy to help prevent the spread of it to our staff and patrons. A huge part of our community has been accommodating and understanding about it and have worn their masks. Even if they don’t believe that masks help, they are more than willing to wear it for a little while so that they can enjoy the library. We truly appreciate these people!
Then there is a handful of loud people that are vehemently against wearing a mask and have gone to great lengths to show their displeasure in our mask policy. So much that a group of people, not from our community, showed up to protest. They absolutely have a right to protest, but they became disruptive, demanding, and belligerent. Staff was accosted, threatened, and called names.
While we did receive much support from the community, which was amazing, more folks started to voice their opposition within the community, spreading the divide even further. I watched social media and saw horrible comments about how we were communists, we were illegal in requiring masks because the county didn’t have a law, and even being shouted at while outside the library.
The community was turning against the library! Our staff has stood their ground while at work, but as off duty staff, what do you do when someone recognizes you and treats you poorly, regardless of your personal beliefs? It’s hard to just let it go because at that point, we’re not at work, we’re not technically representing the library (except that you still are!). Do you argue with those people? Do you smile and ignore them? Do you engage in a civil conversation? There are so many outlets you can take for better or for worse. Whatever outlet to take to deal with these people, I am reminded of the second agreement in Miguel Ruiz’s book, The Four Agreements.
Don’t Take Anything Personally –
Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won’t be the victim of needless suffering.
– Miguel Ruiz
Believe me, I know this is hard not to do, I’m right there with you, I tend to take things personally too sometimes. But when I stop for a moment and think about it, I realize that there really isn’t anything I can do about how anyone else feels about our mask policy (or anything else for that matter). Everyone has a choice – to follow the rules or break the rules (consequences are…well, let’s just say that opens a different can of worms) – either way, the eventuality is that the library is always willing to help the community and continue providing materials and services to their patrons no matter what because that’s what we do. Amazing people work at the library – always trying to help even the most belligerent or demanding patrons. So for everyone reading this today, or ten years from now, keep up the good work, don’t take it personally, ohhh and:
Vanessa Posted a Review:
COVID not recommended.
No consistency. – 5 stars!
Stay safe and healthy!
– Vanessa Thiele, East Bonner County Library District
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.
Covid Communication
As a middle manager, one of my challenges is striking the balance between too much and too little communication. This challenge has been amplified by Covid. Things change rapidly, new safety procedures disrupt our usual way of doing things, and there is often much that needs clarification. However, nobody likes being inundated by dozens of multi-paragraph emails. I’ve been working to keep my emails to a paragraph, minimize the number of clauses (and parenthetical asides) in my sentences, which is a bad habit in my writing, and generally keep things short and direct.
We library folk tend to be creatures of habit. Covid has been extremely disruptive to regular library business. Rather than delving into explanations of nuances and rationales, I’ve found it increasingly helpful to keep things regular, brief, and to the point.
– Tyler McLane, Coeur d’Alene 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!
Boise Library and Their Messaging about Book Quarantine
One of the most challenging things about the COVID-19 situation is how often things change, sometimes weekly. This can be everything from open hours, to library services, or Library items being quarantined. Libraries are doing amazing jobs getting information out about what goes on, even when patrons can’t see the process. One great example is a video that Boise Public Library added to their Facebook page showing the journey of books returned to the library going into a quarantine area. It was helpful to see the process and understand that returned materials have to stay somewhere before being returned to the shelves or checked out. https://www.facebook.com/boisepublib/videos/vb.127043238372/913983625751062/?type=2&theater
– Mike Sloan, Nampa 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-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.