Dr. Maja Svrakic, board certified by the American Board of Otolaryngology, of Northwell Health discussed hearing loss and options with our older patrons through Zoom.
The library has had previous physicians lectures before. Because of COVID, they are now interactive virtual sessions.Â
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.
The 2020 presidential election brought into sharp focus the public's unease with the accuracy of polls. From underestimating sizable differences, to overstating levels of support, the role of public opinion polls in our democracy goes far beyond simply predicting the outcome of a race.Â
For over six years before the pandemic, our branch offered successful hands-on arts/crafts/DIY programs for families on Thursdays at 4 p.m. During the pandemic, I continued these types of programs in innovative ways online.
The STEAM Club at Home, which focuses on science, technology, engineering, art and math, offers enrichment activities for kids in grades K-5.
This month, I created "fossil bricks" by mixing a plaster and adding real fossils that I purchased online. Participants picked up the bricks and other materials in advance, and we met virtually to learn about fossils and excavate the fossils from their bricks.
Since COVID-19 struck, many libraries, like mine, have moved their author visits to virtual spaces. Cuyahoga County Public Library in Ohio has hosted about 50 virtual events since April, about three per week on average.
These have included major ticketed events for Hank Green, Jodi Picoult, Christopher Paolini and Connie Schultz and dozens of events for bestselling and award-winning authors such as Ibram X. Kendi, Jason Reynolds, Karin Slaughter and Meg Cabot, just to name a few.
Here are a few things I've learned in the process.Â
As 2020 begins to wind down, we can reflect on all that we’ve learned about virtual programming. Many of us entered the year as novices, but we're leaving it with some serious skills — whether from wrangling a boisterous virtual book club or shifting a cultural heritage festival from stage to screen.
But have you mastered the art of marketing your virtual programs? Or are you still struggling to get people to log in?
Over the past six months or so, library workers have bravely plowed into the world of virtual programming. Along the way, you’ve probably picked up more skills than you even realize. (Remember those awkward early attempts at leading a Zoom meeting or recording a story time with your phone?)
Prior to COVID-19, we talked about creating a junior art show that would be shown in our library's community room. Unfortunately, all of our community rooms closed to the public for safety reasons and we could no longer use them for programming.Â
I found that the most appropriate and safest way to display the talents of our young artists was through a virtual art show!
The kids would get recognition and get to display their art in a safe virtual environment that mimics a real gallery experience.
STEAM-Y Wonderful Wednesday is a video series posted on the Los Angeles Public Library's North Hollywood Regional Branch's Facebook page every Wednesday.
The videos show fun science experiments using everyday household items. Kids and their parents are strongly encouraged to follow along with the videos. We have been posting these videos for 14 weeks!
Tales & Travel Adventures is an online adaptation of the original Tales & Travel Memories program, which was designed to actively engage persons living with dementia in literacy activities. This is an ongoing series of excursions to US and global destinations, currently including Chicago, Italy and California.
BPL Piano Show is an all-request musical performance streamed every Thursday night on Facebook Live. It features Kaleen Dolan, a born-and-raised Chicagoan who has played at the top piano bars nationally and internationally. We began the program on May 7, 2020, and plan to continue offering it at least into August 2020.
Ellsworth Public Library and the local community health nonprofit Healthy Acadia partnered to present an online grocery store tour to share helpful tips about shopping healthy on a budget.
Nicole Gurerri, a Maine SNAP-Ed nutrition educator from Healthy Acadia, took participants on a virtual tour through a PowerPoint presentation, covering each food group and including tips for how to choose healthy options while saving money.
Since it's become clear that we won't be having in-person events at our library this summer, I wanted to find a way for the library to uplift community spirit from a distance.
The Spring 2020 Art Show is a digital display of art presentening works by Boyertown community members, open to all ages and media, inclusive of all ages and abilities. The art show can serve as a reminder to the community that, even under challenging conditions, we are capable of creativity, a hopeful spirit and uplifting one another.Â
We began having weekly virtual story times using the Facebook Live platform on March 20, shortly after closing for the COVID-19 virus. We wanted to give people a chance to be together synchronously, even if it was virtual.
We included books, interactive songs, fingerplays, dances, puppets and craft ideas. We also used a guitar and a ukulele and encouraged interaction by having participants pick which instruments we would use for certain songs.
Are you considering taking your book club online? Before you take the plunge, pause to ask yourself (and/or your participants) these three questions.
