2021-06-04 SPLAT Curiosity Report: Volume 8, Issue 6
Featured Story
School and public library partnership tips
In my tenure as a school library staff person, there has been one suggestion that I have heard in many trainings and read in several different articles: partner with your public library. It seems simple enough, right? After all, how different can school and public libraries be? While school and public libraries do share commonalities, their resources and responsibilities can be different. These differences can make it challenging for school and public libraries to establish supportive, productive, and lasting partnerships.
While school and public libraries form successful partnerships all the time, the true benefit for both libraries is when these partnerships equate to a lasting collaboration, particularly in rural areas. Recently Jenna Kammer and Denise Moreland took a look at the experiences of school and public libraries that have shared collaborative experiences. They shared their findings, and application for practice, in the November/December 2020 issue of Knowledge Quest.
Here are three takeaways from their findings that are great suggestions for schools and public libraries that are interested in establishing a connection.
Good communication is essential. Kammer and Moreland found that one of the challenges for public librarians was knowing who to contact at the school. School librarians can be the one to reach out and make that initial contact, remembering to be flexible in their methods of communication. Email, web conferencing, and phone calls give librarians at both libraries multiple ways to communicate.
Seek the support of your administrators. Make sure school and public library administrators understand your mission, vision, and goals, and help them to see the benefits of collaboration for all parties involved.
Create opportunities for library staff to participate in professional development. This could be as simple as inviting the children’s librarian at the public library to a school district library staff meeting. As Kammer and Moreland point out, When public librarians understand current educational standards, they can design programming that supports these standards. Simultaneously, school librarians can learn what the public library offers and how it can support their school community. This level of understanding can best be accomplished if we work to include one another.
Successful public and school library collaborations are possible and are needed now more than ever. As publicly funded institutions like schools and libraries struggle to emerge from the past pandemic year, it is imperative that we find ways to share resources, promote services, and strengthen connections. The ultimate benefactors will be students and library patrons alike.
Works Cited
Jenna, K., & Denise, M. (2020, November/December). The Experience of School and Public Library Collaboration. Knowledge Quest, 49(2), 52-53.
– Gretchen Perkins
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.
Spaces with New Energy
You put new books on the shelf. But they don’t circulate like you thought. You move the book, move the shelf, move the display: suddenly your energy has caused a ripple effect that breathes life into a space. The books are seen! Success. TWe have been changing almost everything about the library in Driggs, and our maker space too. The library has moved the Maker Space into the building next door. The librarians have rearranged it multiple times. Once we figure it out someone comes in and says, hey did you think to?? Huh?? And we reconfigure. Point is, it’s all good. This positive flow of ideas creates an energy that helps us to think creatively, and we let it-even if we have to move that shelf-one- more-time.
Makerspace playroom, is it functional yet?
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!
McCall Public Library
I set out to find cool, fun, interesting library things in Idaho again. I came across the November 2020 newsletter for the McCall Public Library. Across the top of the page is what brought a smile to my face.
Image: https://www.mccall.id.us/media/Uploads/topps.png
What a clever and fun way to wear masks I mean it. I’m guessing they were dressed up for Halloween, but I give the staff props because I haven’t seen anyone incorporate masks into their costumes yet.
The other thing I thought McCall deserved kudos on was their Tutor Mobile! I know it’s probably not running because of COVID restrictions, but what an ingenious way to help patrons outside the library! Read the rest of their November 2020 newsletter.
– Vanessa Thiele
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.