Hastings Public Library

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Intergenerational

Lore of the Land: A Look at the Culture of Nebraska and Its People

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Samantha Rundle, Programming Librarian, Hastings (Neb.) Public Library

Lore of the Land was a speaker series made up of 12 sessions. Each session focused on the cultural, historical and musical events that formed the state of Nebraska.

Our speakers were brought to us through Humanities Nebraska. If you want to conduct a similar speaker series at your library, try reaching out to your state's humanities council.

Advanced Planning

There were two goals for this program: draw patrons back to the library after the pandemic by offering them a front-row seat to the human experience through cultural, historical and musical presentations. The second goal was to educate patrons on the unique events that formed our state and why these events were important.

This program began in April 2022 and planning started in January 2022. We had to coordinate and book presentation dates for 12 speakers from Nebraska and surrounding states. 

The 12 sessions covered:

  • Trade Between the Lakota Sioux & Early White Traders Forts of Nebraska
  • Nebraska's Musical Smorgasbord
  • Nebraska & the Civil War
  • Andean Folk Music & Cultures of South America
  • British Isles & Irish Sampler
  • Medical Care on the Lewis & Clark Voyage of Discovery
  • Legends & Leaders of the West
  • Plains Tribes & the Homestead Act
  • Music of the Germanic Lands
  • Excess Baggage: Riding the Orphan Train
  • Growing Up Czech in Nebraska

Marketing

We promoted this event through the newspaper, e-blasts, television, radio, flyers, posters, bookmarks and word of mouth. 

Budgeting

We received an ALA American Rescue Plan: Humanities Grants for Libraries grant for $10,000. We used this funding to pay for our speakers and marketing materials.

Day-of-event Activity

Very little setup was needed for these events. We needed to set up our meeting room with chairs to accommodate at least 65 people. If the presenter needed tables, a laptop or a projector we would provide them.

One challenge we faced was not all presenters used a microphone. It made it difficult for those who are hard of hearing. We remedied this by purchasing a hands-free microphone system.

Program Execution

We had 410 patrons attend these presentations. Their feedback was full of praise, excitement and hope that we would continue these kinds of programs. We achieved our original goals and will work to continue to have a speaker series.

We were able to establish a partnership with a local company to sponsor future humanities presentations. To determine patron satisfaction, we offered audience feedback evaluations at each program. Patrons were able to identify what they enjoyed most and if there were improvements to be made and that they wanted the program to continue.

Advice

I would advise my peers to not be afraid to reach out and form partnerships with their community businesses for support. The more relationships you make, the faster positive word of mouth can spread.

Supporting Materials

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