Do you want your livestreams to look more professional? Whether you’re using Zoom, Facebook Live or YouTube, these tech products are relatively affordable, easy to use, and can greatly improve your virtual content.
Matt Mazur, co-founder and director of Turtle Dance Music, shares tech products in a 10-minute video, or scroll below to view highlights.
In “Going Virtual: Programs and Insights from a Time of Crisis” (ALA Editions, 2021) ALA’s Public Programs Office (PPO) presents a handpicked cross-section of successful programs from library workers who met a host of challenges in the wake of COVID-19. Join us for this free webinar to learn about five of the programs featured in the “Going Virtual” book.
A year and a half into the pandemic, I’m contemplating a fall semester that might be more like fall 2019 than fall 2020, though the COVID-19 delta variant continues to loom like a specter over my financial literacy programming plans.
Through it all, I’m mostly thinking about what to keep from a fully remote year and how to most effectively prepare for a potential pivot back to remote delivery or other unexpected changes.
You don’t need expensive gadgets or software to make your virtual story times a hit. What makes your story times really shine are the low-tech ways you connect with your audience, says Matt Mazur, a children’s entertainer with a graduate degree in autism intervention and early childhood development, and co-founder and director of Turtle Dance Music.
Read on for seven low-tech ways to make your virtual story times engaging, or watch Matt’s full 15-minute video below.
Evaluating programs' success is an important part of a programming librarian's work. Knowing what worked — and having information to back up your claims — can help you explain your successes to bosses and board members, apply for grants, and plan programs that serve your community even better in the future.
Money Smart Week is a national public education program coordinated by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and delivered by a network of supporters that empowers people with the knowledge and skills to make better-informed personal financial decisions.
This year, like so many other things, Money Smart Week has gone virtual.
With COVID-19, libraries quickly pivoted to move their programs and events online. The early months were about figuring out "the how" and getting new routines in place; now it is time to find meaningful ways to evaluate and assess the success of what we are offering.
Just counting attendance will never tell a holistic story of whether a program succeeded or failed. There is so much more data that we can collect to tell a complete story about library programming to funders and board members, to prepare to apply for grants, and to plan for the future.
Your community is full of influencers who are fantastic advocates for public library services at many different levels, including elected officials, business leaders, local celebrities, and power users from your own patrons. We decided to cash in on this market and help use their personalities and library passion to advocate and promote our library for National Library Week 2020.
Most in-person programs for older adults have been put to a halt for the better part of a year. No worries, however! They can still be done online or by phone, says Jon Kay, director of Traditional Arts Indiana and associate professor of folklore and ethnomusicology at Indiana University Bloomington.
Communities thrive when their members understand how money works, know who they can talk to about specific financial topics, and have access to quality, consumer-friendly learning materials.
ALA, in partnership with the FINRA Investor Education Foundation, has released a collection of free online games to teach children basic financial skills related to earning, saving and spending money.
The four interactive games — part of a series called Thinking Money for Kids and available at tm4k.ala.org — are designed for children ages 7 to 11 but are appropriate for other ages as well.
Deaf Storyslam is a free community event, created in 2019, in which Deaf individuals of varying backgrounds share personal stories and experiences with the broader community. The 2nd Annual Deaf StorySlam happened in September 2020 with new tellers and stories but with a virtual twist.
The 2020 Deaf Storyslam included storytelling coaching for Deaf community members and three free virtual public ASL storytelling workshops leading up to the Storyslam.
Partnerships with community organizations can often enhance the financial literacy programming that libraries can offer their patrons themselves.
The beginning of 2021 is packed with great state humanities council events! You may be surprised at the range of virtual options, whether you’re looking for a smart lecture to while away a quiet afternoon or an engaging event to share with your patrons on social media.
Below is a selection of virtual events just from the week of January 11, 2021. Find your state humanities council here.
Imagine that you are working at the reference desk when a patron comes to you with a question. They cite a “fact” that has been widely debunked, mentioning an article from a publication that you know to be untrustworthy. What can you, as a library worker, do to educate and inform them?
Adult Spelling Bee Virtually! is a friendly competition conducted in three rounds of easy, intermediate and advanced words.
The program's goal was to bring community members together for some fun competition and companionship as a diversion from the current pandemic.
Join us for a free webinar presentation and panel discussion from Pennsylvania Humanities Council members and library practitioners.
For the past four years, Monique Sugimoto has commuted to her job at the Palos Verdes Library District on an electric bike — a scenic ride along the cliffs in her coastal California town. As she rode, her librarian brain was hard at work.
“When I came across historic locations, I would devise these little tours in my head,” Sugimoto says. “When the pandemic struck, I thought, how great would it be if I could bring these tours out of my head and into people’s homes?” And that is exactly what she did.
You've heard of Elf on the Shelf. I've found that the elf is the best low-cost passive program to engage patrons through pandemic times and advocate for our library. My library elf, Tinsel, promotes programming, library services and reading.
The inspiration came from how teachers utilize their elf for classroom management around the hyperactive holiday season. Libraries can use an elf to promote library events and excite patrons with the silly hijinks that the elves get into.
If you’ve hosted an author talk or moderated a panel discussion in person, rest assured: online, the drill is pretty similar.
“Nothing is more important than preparation,” says Donna Seaman, Booklist’s Adult Books Editor and an award-winning literary critic who has interviewed hundreds of authors throughout her career. “The more fluent you are in the writer’s work, the better the conversation.”
