A huge thank you for being part of the SPLAT presentations! I had the privilege of enjoying the technology at the Ririe City Library and it was phenomenal. Thank you to you and all members of the SPLAT team for making these things available to our community!
Being part of SPLAT taught me many valuable lessons, and one I appreciate the most was being exposed to the many creative ways library staff serve their communities.
Being a member of SPLAT has been one of the most valuable experiences I have had in my school librarian career, one that I enjoyed immensely. What I learned through our meetings and conversations with amazing library folk not only helped me grow as a professional (and a human being), it will also help shape my goals as I continue as an educator.
History of SPLAT
Here are some of the projects and initiatives SPLAT has supported over the years.
In the beginning, SPLAT offered a self-paced six week online course covering internet technologies. Each week included 1-3 hours of activities, including creating a blog, editing a wiki, and adding titles in LibraryThing. Over 100 people completed at least 5 of the 6 topics and earned a certificate of achievement. In March 2009 SPLAT offered a reprise, making the courses available online for others to discover.
In 2012 SPLAT started offering borrowable kits of e-readers and tablets with the goal of introducing this technology to library staff in rural Idaho, with ideas for how to incorporate new technology into library programming. There were many conversations about ebooks, formats and access.
Starting in 2013, SPLAT came to you with face-to-face outreach to 44 libraries. We divided SPLAT members into teams, who offered professional development for library staff and library events for the public. You can read about our road trips here.
In 2015, SPLAT began offering borrowable kits of robots, circuits, 3D printers, and more. This was an evolution of Gizmo Garages that focused on emerging technologies, especially robots and 3D printing.
In 2017, SPLAT expanded beyond technology to begin thinking about the future. Inspired by growing trends and forecasting, SPLAT began thinking about how we can help introduce libraries to more emerging trends, and how to encourage a growth mindset. This work is currently ongoing.
Starting in 2018, SPLAT began sharing the inspiring and cool things we find with a regular newsletter. This offers an opportunity for community submissions so SPLAT members get to facilitate cross-state communication, and helps SPLAT members share their expertise without travelling. Most of all, SPLAT is interested in helping libraries be future ready.
