Public Libraries

In the era of prolific adoption of Web 2.0 technologies, patrons are used to a reciprocal relationship with their online services. Currently, users cannot actively engage in libraries’ online public access catalog (OPAC), its contents are for the most part static and displayed without user input. By turning a library’s OPAC into a forum for active conversation, libraries can broaden patron engagement, increase usability by allowing patrons to collaboratively attribute unique tags, establish a deeper connection to the collection, and increase the library’s awareness of user needs. This presentation provides an instructional guide on how to turn your library’s OPAC into a dynamic conversation with your patrons.

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1r69s-dvAXDluX5EuCcfNIWCVCt3uo9v0W5A-YLZkxTA/edit?usp=sharing

A proactive and user-friendly online presence is critical for the long-term sustainability of all library types. Library websites are a crucial resource, embodying the public face of the institution. The library’s website provides the means to connect patrons with the institution's diverse services and online public access catalog (OPAC). It is essential that librarians are provided the resources to create and maintain an online presence that delivers the necessary materials to patrons in a visually appealing and user-friendly manner. This curated collection of free resources is intended to provide librarians with the initial tools to easily develop a simple professional website. 

https://sites.google.com/sjsu.edu/websitedevelopmentresources/home?authuser=1

Overview

This section is about online collections in public libraries: tips, examples from other libraries, and more. 

“Libraries are trying to connect, engage and collaborate with the community with ideas and information. The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged libraries in many ways, but the libraries and librarians are continually adapting to the circumstances to deliver on their promise to the community by offering contactless method to check out books and shifted programming from in-person to virtual, and creating a vast online database with large eBooks, audiobooks, and movies collections. Some libraries give a digital access card for customers to use the library’s extensive digital resources and eliminated library fines that functioned as a financial barrier for many residents. Libraries are trying to respond to the needs of all county residents and the ever-changing context of the world they live in to engage community members to prioritize community needs in a strategic framework” (MCPL, 2023).  

E-books Tip Sheet

An article focusing on electronic collections, giving a brief history of electronic collections and libraries, and moving onto important ideas to consider before pursing an electronic collection, such as budget, what is best for the community, and how many patrons will be able to access the electronic collection. 

Public Access to the Online Collection and Services

Examples Libraries:

City of Chula Vista Public Library

Livermore Public Library

Montgomery County Public Libraries (MCPL)

Washington County Cooperative Library Services (WCCLS) 

Virtual Makerspaces

This website can be used as a template for K-12 librarians to share virtual makerspace apps, websites, and other resources with their students. The resources are shared in a Google Sites format that can be copied and customized, and are organized in four grade-level bands: K-3, 4-6, 7-9, and 10-12. Additional resources in the form of tutorials on a variety of related issues and an annotated bibliography of research from the Library and Information Science literature are included.

https://sites.google.com/view/virtualmakerspaces/

Bilingual Storytime

In “From Outreach to Translanguaging: Developing a Bilingual Storytime,” authors Laura Kelly and Cinthya Bolanos call for library staff to advocate for inclusive spaces in the library for Spanish speakers, including storytime. This article suggests methods to not only create but sustain a bilingual storytime.

PDF available from https://journals.ala.org/index.php/cal/article/view/7437/10261

Virtual Storytime Services Guide

The ALSC began this guide in the beginning of the closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a regularly updated guide with submissions from librarians in the ALSC to create resources and ideas for librarians to make storytimes work digitally with innovation. 

www.ala.org/alsc/virtual-storytime-services-resource-guide 

Libraries Translated

We are committed to expanding library services, to be an inclusive, and collaborative environment. Allowing equitable access to information and library resources. This is an innovative, and sustainable, open access platform. Bring librarians and patrons together to contribute their translations to popular library service videos.

To increase public awareness of the value and impact of including others in the important role of translation of digital library services.

https://morganjstaylor.wixsite.com/librariestranslated

Spanish Language Collections

We all know that filling a library up with materials is more than just picking at random. If only it were that easy. But then again, we would not have classes like collection development.😉 I have asked myself what is it that people want in a collection? Then after giving that much thought, I had to take it one step further and ask, what is it that is missing from our Spanish collection? Who comes and uses the collection and services? How are their needs being met? What do they have to say about it?

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BEOviSngyvmzGerCvqUoJ7g0v5OwOP4obeDBzLaQymA/edit?usp=sharing

Weeding

The weeding process allows the maximization of your space because the collection is thought-out and intentional. After weeding, one may even notice an increase in their circulation activity. Think of it like cleaning out an overcrowded closet: keep the timeless works and get rid of the pieces no longer in fashion that cause unnecessary clutter. However, weeding the library stacks comes with a much greater responsibility. Evaluation, justification, and rationale must be skillfully approached. Our site hopes to guide you in your weeding process.

https://sites.google.com/oxnardunion.org/weedinglibrarystacks

ADULT LITERACY RESOURCE GUIDE

This guide discusses the role public libraries play in adult education. It lists resources library patrons can use to reach their educational objectives and resources librarians can use to assist patrons in their educational pursuits.

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1jYVKstWlG7pryxP8buRgda9utmWsRI_SqHMsuxUdEw8/edit#slide=id.p 

User authentication to network resources have been a point of frustration for many librarians and patrons alike who cannot access the digital resources from a remote or off-campus location. This article provides insight on re-imagining user authentication for e-resources.

Link: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1941126X.2019.1709738?journalCode=wacq20

Libraries have been having to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic in a myriad of new ways. Librarians are using Facebook Live and other various avenues to connect to patrons as well as trying to innovate and try out new technologies during this challenging time.

https://doi-org.libaccess.sjlibrary.org/10.1080/15228959.2020.1778600

Contributed by Grace Garner

Citation:

Jane Garner, Philip Hider, Hamid R. Jamali, Jessie Lymn, Yazdan Mansourian, Holly Randell-Moon, Simon Wakeling. (2021) ‘Steady Ships’ in the COVID-19 Crisis: Australian Public Library Responses to the Pandemic. Journal of the Australian Library and Information Association 0:0, pages 1-23.

Blogging for Librarians

This article defines what a “blog” is and discusses how blogs are useful for promoting library services and events, engaging patrons, and building new community relationships. As this article is written for librarians, it also provides advice on starting a library blog. Additionally, you will find convenient links to blog toolkits to get you started on creating your library’s blog.

https://www.infotoday.com/mls/nov03/fichter.shtml 

Cooking Club for Public Libraries

This virtual cooking library is designed to assist people who are interested in learning how to cook. Librarians, please feel free to use these resources in order to support people in your own community who would like to develop this skill. You will find several options for patrons who may be looking to join an online cooking club or partake in general discussions about food and cooking. 

https://sites.google.com/view/virtualcookinglibrary/home

Creating Virtual Escape Rooms

Welcome to the Collaborative Curation of tools for Virtual Escape Rooms! Here you will find a collection of tools, resources, and research designed to facilitate your use of interactive tools in your classroom or library.  Some are appropriate for ages 9-99!

https://sites.google.com/sjsu.edu/info266-virtualescaperooms/home 

Hosting Dungeons & Dragons Online

A librarian’s guide to conducting Dungeons and Dragons in an online setting.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cVP4azq8mNNQJz02udWvdOo2q1Jj4nPphuiMEUnXhpw/edit?usp=sharing

Social Media for Librarians: Art/Book Club

We created an Instagram account to act as a functioning proof of concept for the potential usage of a popular social media platform. It serves to show how a library can assign its management to a staff member or in a larger library system to a social media coordinator, as a means to advertise themselves while servicing their community. Our art/book club was designed to suit the chosen social media platform by understanding the type of user it attracts. The platform is highly visual and engages its users via photos and hashtags to demonstrate association. Therefore, the art aspect is used to serve this visual medium by showcasing artwork created by users who wish to participate in the club by using an assigned hashtag. 

Our Project: https://www.instagram.com/bookclubartweek/ (requires Instagram login)

Instagram Tutorial:  https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZVwhUMqkUN4qML2LBPUrlDjvaG9WBL_oUyZnhKuqMDg/edit?usp=sharing

Tutorials & Walkthroughs

As libraries turn more to digital services, out of both necessity and growth, there is a need to teach the public how to use the services available. Tutorial videos are a wonderful way to educate from a distance, especially ones that make use of screen recordings. By walking a patron through what they see on their own screen, videos can teach searching and information literacy skills that can be difficult to teach over a phone. These videos are easy to access and repost or share on social media sites as well. The Tutorials and Walkthroughs site has created a collection of such videos, with a Google Form to request tutorials on other apps and sites.

https://sites.google.com/sjsu.edu/tutorials-walkthroughs-info266/home 

Libraries as Health Equity Partners

US public libraries serve as connections between disenfranchised communities and social services and are essential partners for improving health equity for these disenfranchised communities. This article explores how libraries can be most effective as partners in health equity for their community.

https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2020.306004 

Service to Homeless Patrons

Libraries serving homeless patrons face a variety of challenges when trying to best meet their needs, from the basic need for immediate shelter to more complicated needs like searching for affordable housing, food, and other resources. This site compiles a number of helpful resources utilized by public libraries around the U.S. and it displays exemplary libraries who have come up with innovative ways to better serve their homeless patrons.

https://sites.google.com/sjsu.edu/libraries-serving-the-homeless/home 

African American Literature Book Club

This is a great resource for librarians that want to add more books by African American authors to their collections. They can find about recently published books, there are also reviews of the books on the site, as well as information about the authors. You can even purchase books on the website. They also promote events such as book festivals. 

https://aalbc.com/books/

No-and Low-Tech Backpacks as Outreach

No-and-Low tech backpacks are a concept to create outreach for under served populations. The backpacks are part of a program for creating outreach to under served populations by The ALSC. In the toolkit found for this particular program there are ideas for resources concerning students with autism and sensory processing disorders, families experiencing homelessness and financial insecurity, Spanish speaking populations, and access to technology. 

www.alsc.ala.org/blog/2021/03/no-and-low-tech-backpacks-as-outreach/ 

Moving the Third Space Online: How to foster community virtually for public libraries

Libraries have struggled with staying open and providing services both during and as a result of the pandemic, but one other aspect missing from this discourse is how libraries can recreate the feeling of the "third space," or a space that is neither work nor home but a comfortable community space to gather in, online when many patrons may become isolated as a result of lockdown or any other external factors. This video presentations seeks to provide some guidance for creating that space online.

Fostering Communities Online (canva.com) 

This guide will show you how to use Instagram to boost community engagement, promote library services, gain user input, and increase the popularity of your library and your book collection. This guide provides step-by-step instructions, examples, and tutorials that will show you how to use Instagram’s various features.

Site Link: https://sites.google.com/sjsu.edu/instagram-for-public-libraries/home

This guide gives tools and resources to learn about the principles of Indigenous Librarianship and building a meaningful collection in a public library setting.

Site Link: https://sites.google.com/sjsu.edu/info-266-sec-11-heather-harris/home.

This mini guide will give librarians a place to start in collecting free stock images from copyright free websites as well as offer several social media editing apps. This mini guide strives to create a starting place to tackling creating effective social media edits. 

Site Link: docs.google.com/presentation/d/1lhu6_Z5zwfS6xrhM1a-IIAHZVQUEgyxymRK4v7yBuL8/edit?usp=sharing 

This guide will introduce TikTok to people unfamiliar with the app. It will also demonstrate what libraries are doing with the app so far and encourage anyone who works for a library--public or not--to give it a try as a way to connect with their communities.

Contributed by Grace Garner

Video Link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1V2DRWdTYGj_SOzsy1BmiyBO1vhc_XI3g/view 

Public libraries have the power and influence to educate their patrons in more ways than they can comprehend. Bringing art into a library could be a crucial step in engaging the public and offering opportunities for the community to experience art. Enabling and encouraging libraries to create and curate their own arts exhibition as well as collaborating with other institutions will allow them to engage with curious patrons, or those who are especially interested in learning more. This guide will aid librarians in collection mapping for special collections/exhibits within a public library (i.e. art/architecture sections or mini art exhibitions within the library based on collection materials) for both physical and virtual exhibitions.

Site Link: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1kl0TjIa5F_ZhZyWSGKJsxY0aBRNVneYeKOWKYR_govM/edit?usp=sharing

This is a virtual space for gathering and creating books for beginning readers.  Explore our collection of guided eReaders that are both professionally published and written by users like you.

https://morganjstaylor.wixsite.com/readers4everyone

Library engagement is something we want to encourage not just in rural locations but everywhere. Encouraging patron involvement digitally is now incredibly easy given today's technology. From Twitter to YouTube many platforms offer libraries new ways to interact with patrons. This presentation touches on these points briefly then offers a simple tutorial on how to create a virtual escape room, which is one of the many ways some libraries have been engaging their patrons.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ai84C82DQ2paZQekaBHrgO425QESDuuJ/view?usp=sharing 

The following resources is a website named Ditch That Textbook. This website has been created by an educator and provides free and low cost technology trainings and support. This website has a variety of resources on how to conduct and improve upon: Remote Learning, Gamification, Google Ideas, Lesson Planning, and Virtual Field Trips. Public libraries can share and use this resource with both their staff and patrons. 

https://ditchthattextbook.com/

Biblioboard

Biblioboard is a tool that libraries can use to promote and provide access to free open-source literature and media.  Libraries with a membership can use the platform to circulate eBooks, much like an online streaming service.  What makes Biblioboard unique is that libraries can create "boards" with various items that patrons might find particularly interesting, such as a featured theme related to library events.  Libraries can also digitize and share local resources, like the winners of San Jose Public Library's young graphic novelist competition.

https://biblioboard.com/ 

The How-To Library

These are just a small selection of topics and useful instructional ideas to share with your information communities. Be sure to cater your ideas to those that you serve and listen to their questions and suggestions. Just as a physical library can help to point patrons in the right direction, this digital resource must take information from the people that they serve to help them learn new things! 

https://sites.google.com/view/the-how-to-library/home

How to Preserve Newspapers for Historians and Librarians

This article discusses how to preserve newspapers that have historic value for a community. Even though this article was written in mind for librarians and historians, it gives good tips for just about anyone who wants to preserve a certain moment in time. Additionally, the article also offers conversation resources to contact for more information.

https://www.mnhs.org/preserve/conservation/reports/nytimes_preserving.pdf

eBook Acquisition

This article is intended to inform you about the different resources for eBooks as well as a guide for how sharing eBooks works, and some challenges faced with eBook purchases including which companies make purchasing eBooks more difficult. 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/12Eknt0QG4Xh-pDOLhlF23FtVwd2I7GyhHJmLEy9HNmA/edit?usp=sharing

eBook Lending Guide

This project and website is meant as a way to give information to libraries seeking to expand their collection into e-book lending. This will give libraries pricing and access information to make a thoughtful and informed decision. 

https://sites.google.com/view/e-book-lending-guide/home

Educational apps & programs for children to use at the library or at home

These apps and programs are for education and entertainment.

https://sites.google.com/view/childrensdigitalresources/home

Tips for Producing Professional Storytime Videos

This blog post will help make the transition to virtual storytime video producer during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond a little easier for librarians everywhere. The Association for Library Service to Children provides excellent technical filming tips for librarians creating virtual storytime videos. In this blog post librarians will find important information regarding lighting and audio, as well as composition. 

https://www.alsc.ala.org/blog/2020/06/5-tips-for-filming-virtual-storytime/

Make it Engaging

This resource can help librarians produce professional storytime videos to share with library patrons online. The Ontarian Librarian breaks down the steps for producing an engaging storytime video that will hold even toddlers’ attention. Best practices on video editing, song choices, background setup, and animations are all shared here to help you make your library’s virtual storytime a success. 

https://ontarianlibrarian.com/2020/03/30/tips-for-recording-virtual-storytimes-due-to-covid-19/

Storytime Resources for Parents

This website is helpful for patrons who have young children. It provides storytime videos by grade, and is updated biweekly with new videos. There are coloring sheets and contests for kids, as well as how to do your own storytime resources for parents. 

https://sites.google.com/sjsu.edu/storytimeinyourcorner 

Tell Me a Story

The King County Library System (KCLS) in Washington state provides a story time companion for parents and caregivers. KCLS has created an archive of children's songs and rhymes. The videos and written text can help caregivers know how to sing the songs and do the actions with the children they care for. 

https://kcls.org/content/ 

Jbrary

Dana and Lindsey are children's librarians that share storytime resources with other members of the  library and education community.  Their hope is for parents, caregivers, and educators to “enjoy the songs and rhymes we share and use them with the children in your lives” (Jbrary, n.d.). 

Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/Jbrary/about 

Website: https://jbrary.com/

Instructables is a community built around participatory culture for people who like to make things.  Explore, share, and make your next project using instructables as a guide!  There are numerous projects that you can do virtually with your children or teen groups.  It is currently free.

https://www.instructables.com

Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC)

Provides resources for public children librarians on programming and planning ideas. It includes special topics on preschool storytimes, summer reading programs, and the value of early reading programs. 

https://wikis.ala.org/professionaltips/index.php?title=Children%27s_Services#Resources

Contributed by: Mariella Fajardo

Citation:

Children's Services. (2012, April 20). American Library Association. https://wikis.ala.org/professionaltips/index.php?title=Children%27s_Services

The Importance of Play, Particularly Constructive Play, in Public Library Programming

An article discussing the importance of play in young children and how it can be incorporated into public librarians' library programming to promote brain development. 

http://www.ala.org/alsc/sites/ala.org.alsc/files/content/Play_formatted.pdf

Contributed by: Mariella Fajardo

Citation:

Importance of Play. (2012, September 6). American Library Association. http://www.ala.org/alsc/publicationsresources/whitepapers/importance-play 

Serving Children with Disabilities and their Caretakers

This site serves as a resource guide for librarians working with children with disabilities and their caretakers. 

https://sites.google.com/view/childrenanddisabilities/home 

Contributed by: Mariella Fajardo