3D Printer. Image credit: Altadena Library.

Recommendations for Makerspaces During a Pandemic

4 December 2020
Dan Bostrom
Comments: 0

The COVID-19 pandemic has radically changed how patrons and library staff utilize and learn in makerspaces or within their maker communities. Beyond topics of public health and politics, this pandemic has shown the importance of the skills and sense of community that one may gain in makerspaces. A perfect example is masks and other PPE supplies. In many ways, programs and classes where patrons have learned to sew are lifesaving! Let’s review some best practice suggestions to reopening a makerspace safely during this or any pandemic!

Timed Appointment Based System...

Image credit: Lisle Library District.

The Festive Readers’ Advisory We Need Now: Teen and Adult Book Boxes

30 November 2020
Dan Bostrom
Comments: 1

After Lisle Library’s Adult and Teen Focus Librarian, Noelle Spicher, started hearing about the success of teen book box programs in other libraries, she began crafting a procedure to try out the program at LLD and it went live in January 2020.  A few months after the launch of the teen program, adults began asking if they could have book boxes too, and Noelle went to work figuring out the logistics. The adult program has been running alongside the teen program since October 2020. The steps involved are: 

  • Patrons sign up for a book box using an online form on the website or...
Reading Colors Your World.

SRP Already? Lessons from the Pandemic

16 November 2020
Dan Bostrom
Comments: 0

Yes, it’s November. Yes, many of us are still recovering from the Summer Reading Program that wasn’t (or almost wasn’t). No, we don’t want to think about Summer Reading 2021, but like it or not, planning time is here.  Normally, libraries base their coming programs on participation and response rates of the program that just ended, but with a global pandemic raging, nothing is normal. Now is the time to make decisions for 2021.  Do you hope for the best and plan based on your 2019 B.C. (before COVID) program? Were you able to pivot and still provide an SRP in some form in 2020?  If so,...

My Library Is... Campaign.

Announcing the My Library Is... Grants for School Libraries!

9 November 2020
Dan Bostrom
Comments: 0

As part of the My Library Is… campaign, RAILS and AISLE are teaming up to offer up to ten $1,000 grants to help school libraries promote their value. My Library Is... Grants for School Libraries are designed to help libraries tell their stories in a more coordinated and impactful way.

RAILS and AISLE are inviting creative approaches that emphasize some aspect of marketing, promotion, storytelling, and/or advocacy. Examples could include (but not are limited to):

...

Effective Library Marketing Campaigns

26 October 2020
Dan Bostrom
Comments: 0

At the 2020 ILA Annual Conference, I had the privilege of co-presenting a program, Effective Library Marketing Campaigns, with two colleagues, Burgundy Hill from Quincy Public Library and Ann Reeves from Eureka Public Library District. Our presentation focused on how libraries can promote themselves through stronger coordination of communication channels, better brand building, and campaign planning tools that are easily available through the My Library Is... website. Here's a description:

Your core users love you, but what about non-users? What efforts is your library taking to...

Junior Justice League Infographic.

Get Out the Vote at your Virtual Library

19 October 2020
Dan Bostrom
Comments: 0

The Lincolnwood Public Library Junior Justice League, a community service club for 3rd-8th graders, works throughout the school year to highlight kids’ voices and interests to provide activism and agency. They choose the causes and projects to focus on - ranging from supporting animals in shelters to civic engagement. Their interests have driven the program’s events and projects; if you create a similar group at your library, start by asking your kids & teens what they care about and want to do! It is important for adults to have the opportunity to listen to young people and hear about...

My Library Is... Covnersation with Sasha Vasilic.

My Library Is... Conversation with Sasha Vasilic

30 September 2020
Dan Bostrom
Comments: 0

RAILS Member Engagement Manager Dan Bostrom speaks with Sasha Vasilic, the Public Relations and Marketing Supervisor, Niles-Maine District Library about the Best. Deal. Ever. campaign. This campaign won the Niles-Maine District Library a John Cotton Dana Award from the American Library Association for excellence in library public relations and strategic communication.

Learn more about this award. 

...
The Impact of COVID-19 Related Closures on Library E-Content Usage.

How E-Content Bridged the Gap During Library Building Closures

24 September 2020
Dan Bostrom
Comments: 0

When Illinois’s Stay at Home order went into effect on March 21, 2020 and public libraries were required to close their buildings, something happened. At RAILS we started to see a noticeable shift in user behavior on the eRead Illinois Axis 360 e-content platform. The number of holds being placed on items skyrocketed. The type of materials people were checking out shifted from the most popular best-sellers to more modern classics. And usage as a whole was way, way up.

We wondered - is this happening elsewhere? Are other e-content consortia seeing similar changes? And if so, how does...

Image credit: Matteson Area Public Library District.

Virtual FanFests: Taking the Superhero Size Event into a Virtual Space

21 September 2020
Dan Bostrom
Comments: 0

In 2019, the Matteson Area Public Library District organized its first comic-con event, MAPLD FanFest, in April. Initially, we weren’t sure  how our community would receive the idea of a FanFest. We hoped for at least 300 attendees but were pleasantly surprised that we had close to 1,000.

With the success of this program in mind, we started to plan what changes or additions we wanted to make for the 2020 event. We were excited and ready to make it bigger than the last, until everything came to a screeching halt on March 13th, the day our library doors closed due to the pandemic.  ...

My Library Is... Conversation with Dr. Mary Moen

16 September 2020
Dan Bostrom
Comments: 0

RAILS Member Engagement Manager Dan Bostrom speaks with Dr. Mary Moen from the School Librarians of Rhode Island about Overdue: The Value of School Librarians. The School Librarians of Rhode Island produced this short documentary style advocacy film to show the value of school librarians. Please be sure to watch the video (linked above) and check out the resources they've provided such as a discussion guide and advocacy letter. 

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