2021-05-21 SPLAT Curiosity Report: Volume 8, Issue 5
Featured Story
Book Nerd Challenges
In 2021 the Treasure Valley libraries are having a reading challenges for the public. These can be called Book Nerd Challenges. The challenge is to read a certain number of books from different categories throughout the year. I first heard about these reading challenges at the Idaho Library Conference from the librarians who work at the Idaho Falls Library. I recently saw on social media that the American Falls Library District is doing a Book Nerd Challenge, also. These challenges are popular this year. I thought this is a great program to encourage people to read, and have people experience and expand new reading preferences.
I joined the challenge as a patron and as a staff member. Which sounds a little crazy. It is easy for me to find books that I enjoy reading but I am challenging myself to find books outside my comfort zone, to try things that I really don’t like. I enjoy sci-fi and Star Wars but I have a hard time reading mystery novels. This year I have to read a couple of mysteries. Yes I made myself read mysteries and they weren’t my favorite book this year but I feel like I have a better understanding of the genre. Some of these categories are hard but that is the hidden gems of these challenges to get people to grow, broaden their perspectives and learn.
In my opinion, I think people need to participate in these challenges to expand on their reading and learning. I hope that these book nerd challenges will help people get out of their lane and comfort zone and gain more knowledge along with expanding what they already know. It’s a goal for me to read outside my comfort zone. Reading outside your comfort zone is hard because we want to be comfortable. I hope we can all be a little uncomfortable and grow this year in our reading challenges.
– Eric Hovey
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.
Calendar love
I love my calendar. It’s how I organize my time and remember to complete tasks. Lately, it’s also where all the Zoom and Teams links live so I can attend virtual meetings. Just send a calendar invite with a Zoom link and you have a meeting planned! Somehow this past week, as I was scheduling a meeting, I forgot to include the other participant in the meeting. So there I sat this morning, alone in my Zoom room, wondering where she was. Luckily it’s a long-term project that won’t be too impacted by a missed meeting and it’s a good reminder to double check my calendar invites and maybe check in via email, too!
– Jessica Martinez
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 Somerville!!
As libraries navigate and stretch into the future we have been asked to reinvent ourselves many times. One idea that has really turned my head with envy is the Somerville Library’s outdoor wifi center. The PPS.org article talks about how libraries are reimagining ways to provide their patrons with services outside of the building itself.
In Somerville, a city adjacent to Boston, an estimated 18% of households have either no internet access or only a cellular connection according to the U.S. Census Bureau. These residents are left behind as almost everything- from jobs to social services and even vaccine appointments- has moved entirely online. Before COVID hit, the Library was an important source of free internet access to the community. When it closed, patrons would sometimes sit on the ground near the building, hoping the signal would be strong enough to use. They were, quite literally, being left out in the cold.
This makeshift outdoor library wifi center is perfect for patrons who are in need, some desperately so, for wifi and use of the computer. The little heaters and tables make it bearable during the cold winter. This is an idea I hope our library could replicate in the near future.
– Rasheil Stanger
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.