2022-04-08 SPLAT Curiosity Report: Volume 11, Issue 1
Featured Story
Teens with Technology
Have you read any articles on teens and cell phones? You know that 75% of 12-17 year olds own a cell phone. If so many teens have cell phones and we are trying to get teens back into the library then we should be using cell phones to reach out to them. Wait, Eric we can’t be calling teens using our cell phones!
Well I found a way around this by using Google. Google has what is known as Google Voice a way to call or text numbers from your email. They assign you a Google voice number that is connected to your email account.
Here is step by step instructions:
- Go to voice.google.com.
- Sign in to your Google Account.
- Review the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. click Continue.
- You can search for available numbers by city or area code. …
- Next to the number you want, click Select.
- Follow the on-screen instructions.
I recently set this up and when I had my first Teen Council meeting I asked the teens for their contact numbers and then texted them. I have a nice little group chat going on Google Voice with teens.
Google Voice sends you an email when there is a new text message so you don’t have to monitor it all the time. Teens like the instant response I can give them when they ask questions, or ask if I am there at the library. It seems to be working well. I do get some crazy memes from the teens on Monday morning while the library is closed that they send me on the chat but it seems like an organic way to reach out to the teens. We have grown our teen group from zero to nine using Google Voice. Teens are starting to show up because they have heard we listen and talk to them using their phones.
Also, I am using it to communicate with our teen volunteers about special projects we need help on. Teens seem to be ready to communicate this way and this is a free application that we have by using Gmail. I can see this a great way to communicate not only to teens but other groups as well.
– 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.
Double Booked
I tend to be a relatively organized person, especially when it comes to scheduling. I have a color-coded calendar that shows when each of the circulation staff are scheduled to work. I track their weekly hours in three different ways. And I always have my back-up plan in place, just in case someone calls in sick.
However, last week, I realized I had made a big mistake. One of my co-workers was going out of town, and I had agreed to do his session of story time in his absence. It was a one-hour program, and I knew I could leave the circulation desk with one of the clerks and the research librarian while I was at the children’s center. Unfortunately, I didn’t remember until thirty minutes before my children’s program that I was the scheduled research librarian. One of my other co-workers had asked me to cover their shift, and I’d agreed- without fully taking the time to review the consequences.
This left me double-booked without much time to prepare. I was extremely disappointed, as I had to cancel on the children’s center at the last-minute. They were understanding and forgiving, but I was angry at myself that I’d missed that on my color-coordinated schedule.
Now that I’ve had time to think (dwell) on the mistake, I have come up with what I hope is a helpful solution. I plan to set all schedule changes with a 24-hour alarm within the calendar, so that I get a day-before reminder of my upcoming schedule changes.
– Brooke Urbaniak
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!
Denver Public Library
Denver Public Library continually impresses me with the amount of social services that they offer and the partnerships that they have. Recently we were talking about what we could offer for laundry assistance for those experiencing homelessness. While doing my research, I stumbled across a partnership with Denver public library and the Bayaud Enterprises laundry truck. While this service hasn’t been around since 2020, reading the news articles and the responses to the service was really inspiring! I am hoping someday we can find a similar solution for those who need laundry services here and that are experiencing transportation or housing issues. I love seeing creative social services solutions!
– Monique Gaddy
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.