Highlighted Content

Turning Community Input into Workable Ideas: Community input can help to strengthen projects and planning, but it’s also likely to lead to more questions than neat, complete answers. Sorting through the tangle of community responses often results in “how do I make sense of so many seemingly unconnected, random ideas?” and “how do I process those ideas when they seem unrelated to the library?” It takes some interpretation and imagination to answer these questions and get to the heart of how the library might respond to what their community both needed and wanted. These examples from the Small Libraries Create Smart Spaces project can help make sense of your community input.
We’re Not Complete Without You: A Collaborative Puzzle Art Project: As libraries continue to look for ways to create meaningful community connections during the pandemic, it was exciting to see this wonderful idea shared in the Programming Librarian Interest Group on Facebook. Thank you to Paula Wagner, Reference Services Manager at the Barberton Public Library in Ohio, for outlining how she implemented a collaborative puzzle art project.

WebJunction Webinars for You

These upcoming webinars are open for registration. If you can’t attend a live session, all WebJunction webinars are recorded and available for free in the Course Catalog.

Mental Health First Aid and Trauma-Informed Approaches for Libraries
Tuesday, April 13, 2021 - 3:00 pm Eastern - 60 minutes
Registration: https://www.webjunction.org/events/webjunction/mhfa-and-trauma-informed-approaches.html

The mental health impacts of the pandemic are taking a toll on our communities, often compounding the physical and emotional effects of trauma experienced by many, including library patrons and staff. With increased understanding of mental health and trauma-informed care, library staff can be better prepared to provide unbiased service to those struggling to find help, information, and support. Join this webinar to learn how libraries can be better prepared to respond using the principles of trauma-informed care, and how Mental Health First Aid can equip staff with the knowledge and confidence to communicate with compassion, even in difficult situations. Learn ways to apply a trauma-informed approach to library services, internal and external policies and practices, and how to build connections with other community providers.

Smart Spaces are Community Places
Tuesday, April 27, 2021 - 3:00 pm Eastern - 60 minutes
Registration: https://www.webjunction.org/events/webjunction/smart-spaces-are-community-places.html

Transforming physical spaces and library programs into active learning hubs is a powerful opportunity to strengthen the library’s connection to the community. Through WebJunction’s Small Libraries Create Smart Spaces project, a range of free resources and tools—built from the project’s four years of real-life successes—are now available for libraries of all sizes to transform their spaces. In this webinar, we’ll share examples of design thinking and collaboration with the community, and the positive outcomes achieved, even through the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic. Gail Bruce, director of Laurel Public Library (DE), will describe the arc of discovering community needs and realizing multiple projects to meet those needs at her library. You’ll also be introduced to the Toolkit to Create Smart Spaces community collaborations for active learning.

Training New Supervisors for Success: Don’t Start from Scratch
Tuesday, May 4, 2021 - 3:00 pm Eastern - 60 minutes
Registration: https://www.webjunction.org/events/webjunction/training-new-supervisors-for-success.html

New supervisors need timely training as they step into their new role. Not only do they need to learn how to manage people effectively, they need to learn specific procedures particular to their library. Trainers know that it takes a lot of time, up to a year, to develop this kind of training. What if there were some existing training that one could build upon without starting from scratch? There is!

The Learning Round Table of ALA developed three self-guided Supervisor Success modules—Performance Management, Managing Conflict, and Encouraging Motivation in the Workplace (available on WebJunction). Join us as we explore how the Indianapolis Public Library Training and HR staff used this ready-made self-paced learning, added some library-specific context and group discussions, and created a successful new learning process for their managers. Presenters will share their lessons learned to help you implement this kind of supervisor training at your library.

This project was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Shannon White
Library Development Manager
Library of Michigan, 702 W. Kalamazoo, Lansing, MI 48909
Whites29@michigan.gov 517-335-1507 | www.mi.gov/libraryofmichigan