2022-02-12 SPLAT Curiosity Report: Volume 10, Issue 7
Featured Story
Editor’s Note:
Curiosity Chats is a new initiative from SPLAT! Join members of the Special Projects Library Action Team in discussion on topics that have given them the opportunity to flex their curiosity.
Our first chat will be February 22 at 12:30 p.m. MT/ 11:30 a.m. PT.
Jessica Martinez will lead an open discussion about the struggles and joys of balancing caregiving and parenting with work, and how the struggle has become even more apparent the past few years.
Eric Hovey will start a discussion on the importance of libraries for teens and how to draw them to the library. Sharing ideas and thoughts on making your library a space for the teens in your community.
Lastly, Gretchen Perkins is ending her time with SPLAT and shares some of the amazing experiences she has had from the last 6 years.
Use this Zoom link to join the discussion.
– Deana
Exploring Libraries Digitally!
One of the things that I have missed most during the COVID-19 pandemic is the time spent traveling and visiting other libraries. Every town I vacation at, I try to visit the local library and see what amazing things they are doing for their community, how the library is configured, and what fascinating local collections are available.
Because I haven’t been able to visit libraries, I’ve been looking to see what is available online. Digital collections are growing all the time! Instead of going into a dusty basement or sorting through file cabinets full of historical photos and documents, libraries are digitizing these materials and making them available online. These materials are then indexed and searchable, making them available for more patrons all over the world. Digital collections are a way of getting local history out there in a modern way. Libraries are also finding innovative ways to share talent from their community online, through streaming platforms. Here are a few of the great digital collections I’ve been exploring.
Library Journal published an article in October 2021 about the Kent District Library in Michigan. KDL created a streaming music platform to showcase local music. Local bands can submit their music to the library. If chosen, the band receives a small honorarium, and the music is available for at least two years on the streaming service. The library plans to start with a collection of about 50 artists and will have regular submission sesions twice a year to continue to grow the collection. The KDL Vibes service was built using the MUSICat plaform, which many libraries have used to create their own streaming music services. I checked out their website, and found links to local streaming throughout the country, including Seattle, Salt Lake, Austin, and Pittsburgh. Locally, the Boise Public Library has a streaming collection of local music called Half-Gig Audio.
The Nampa Public Library is working to digitize and index Oral history tapes from their historical collection. These oral histories are being preserved in a digital format, and then added to a YouTube channel to make them available via streaming. This process has allowed the library to match historic photos, when available, to the audio. The library is also adding other video sources, such as storytelling videos, photo slideshows, and more to their historic digital collection. As the collection grows, the library will be preserving some of the virtual programming, such as podcasts and recorded puppet shows, into the collection to make it available for years to come!
The Digital Library of Idaho is a collection of digital libraries from across the state. Their goal is to provide access points to the various collections through the state. They refer to themselves as a Collection of Collections and are available for more submissions. They currently feature over 158 collections from 6 different organizations. On their website you can search or browse by subject or timeline.
– Mike Sloan
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.
Author Visit
We had a local Idaho author come for a visit to promote the release of their new book. Between the author’s efforts and our own marketing, we expected a turnout of around a dozen people and ended up with just two. Thankfully the author was very gracious about the low turnout and took the opportunity to talk at length with the people who came. Despite this, I couldn’t help but feel a bit defeated and have been brainstorming ways that we can get the word out more consistently and to a larger audience. There was a positive, though – the author had the chance to discuss their series and experiences with attendees in a way that higher attendance wouldn’t have allowed which made for some pretty satisfied attendees.
– Mallory Snow
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!
Looking Near and Far
Looking at Libraries near and far is one of my favorite pastimes. I decided to look at somewhere that is very geographically different so I randomly chose St. John’s, Canada Public library (https://nlpl.ca/).
It looks like they are still not doing a lot of programming because of the pandemic but I saw that they have a huge collection of instruments in their library of things.
Sun Life Financial has a long history of supporting arts and culture in Canada, and believes arts and culture should be celebrated within our communities and made available to everyone, regardless of their means. The Sun Life Financial Musical Instrument Lending Library at the Public Library is made possible with support from the Sun Life Financial group.
I also started looking at their teen space online. I found it and it looks like they are celebrating teen art through teen submissions on the webpage, teens are making Teen-zines for the library. This library has a strong tie to arts and culture in St. John’s. https://guides.nlpl.ca/welcomekids/teen-space
– Eric Hovey
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.