Embracing the old saying “the more you know, the more you grow” holds true for Libraries, but with just a little adjusting, “the more you are known, the more you’ll grow.” Expanding outreach allows the community to know and acknowledge the Library as a thriving community service. Using this idea the Floyd County Library Director Melissa Merida will share their library’s expansion of services over the last 5 years through creating unique service locations including an art museum, a digital library branch, and a satellite library in a local college library. Their approach through a low cost commitment to deliver creative outreach points of service without a bookmobile will be highlighted and tools for successful events will be shared . “Our growth in branches, funding and services is not due to any one thing, it is due to staff being committed to dream big and finding a way to say “yes” to community events and partnerships.” Allowing people to SEE the Library in new and unique ways that has people asking for library locations in their neighborhoods. The ideas that will be shared can be duplicated or may inspire your own creativity.
Date Recorded: 4/12/2023
Format: Archived YouTube Video
Presenter: Melissa Merida, Library Director / Floyd County Public Library
Tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs) are an immersive tool to help students engage with and experience curriculum material in an enjoyable way while also practicing key social emotional and problem-solving skills. Join Steph Campbell, an engineering professor, a TTRPG writer, and owner/writer for TTRPGkids as they share their experiences from both pre-K and college level applied TTRPG experience.
Libraries give their communities access to amazing online resources with enormous potential to improve lives and build skills, but these databases and digital courses are a challenge to promote and often underutilized. The St. Joe County Public Library has had success with Bendable, a life long learning platform that pairs online learning with in person connections. Community engagement and outreach are at the heart of our strategy, and we work directly with community members, organizations, and businesses to curate learning opportunities. These strategies focus on workforce development and partner networks. This webinar will provide an introduction to Bendable and also explore strategies for learning-centered engagement and outreach that can be implemented by any library.
The programming section on the Indiana Public Library Annual Report has always been a bit tricky to navigate – even before recent years saw the addition of virtual programming to the mix. In this webinar, we’ll focus on how to determine if something is considered a program, what statistics to track, and how to break them down for the report. We’ll also address common questions related to programming section and preview the (relatively minor) changes coming in the 2022 report.
More and more libraries are incorporating Makerspaces as part of the available resources for the public. With a focus on lifelong learning, creativity, and innovation, makerspaces can offer people an opportunity to explore new hobbies, interests, and job skills by providing tools and resources that they may otherwise not have access to. Is your library looking to begin or expand a makerspace? Not sure where to start or how to take the next step? In this presentation we will share an overview of the La Porte County Public Library Exchange, a makerspace located in La Porte, Indiana; what the Exchange offers; and lessons learned along the way that may be helpful to consider when starting or expanding your library’s makerspace.
The staff of the North Manchester Public Library strive to meet the needs of their community in a variety of innovative ways. Unique programs and resources strengthen community relationships, center the library as an integral part of community life, and undergird literacy. In this webinar, Sarah Morbitzer, Children’s Department head, will share the ways NMPL is working to promote food security, physical activity, sensory integration, accessibility, and curiosity in learning.
Libraries aren’t just hubs for learning and knowledge sharing, but places where imagination, curiosity and play should be front and center. Join Elan Lee, CEO and Co-Creator of award-winning gaming and entertainment company Exploding Kittens, as he explores how libraries can integrate gameplay in unique ways and demonstrates how to use regular objects to turn the ordinary into extraordinary.
Do you need summer program ideas for your youngest patrons? Look no further than the Indiana Early Literacy Firefly Award! This Indiana book award comes complete with an entire manual packed with ideas and resources for ages 0-5. This webinar will dive into the manual, discuss voting methods, and more about this great picture book award voted on by Indiana children ages 0-5.
In this webinar, Katie Lehman of the Muncie Public Library’s Ready Readers program will explore a variety of methods used by the program to engage children in reading in creative and fun ways. Participants will learn different ways that these approaches can be incorporated into their own library’s programming.