3:15 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
This fast-paced mini workshop shares many engagement case studies with tips and lessons learned! Baer discusses the art of digital storytelling and how a number of California public libraries partnered with Berkeley-based StoryCenter to create opportunities for engagement through digital stories.Library staff and community members learned to capture meaningful life stories using recording equipment and a video editor to create customized, multimedia, digital artifacts of these experiences. To expand libraries’ capacity to collect digital stories and conversations, StoryCenter collaborated with several of the California Listens libraries to develop the Listening Station, an iPad-based recording kit and app, which facilitates the recording of stories, StoryCorps-style conversations and interviews, in audio or video formats, and which automates the upload and delivery of recordings to participating organizations and individuals. Hear how leveraging user-friendly tech to collect and share community stories can help libraries build better relationships with the people they serve. McNamara discusses the creation of a Democracy Wall Project using a low-tech approach as a means to engage public discourse, build community capacity, and support civic engagement. Questions asked on the wall focus on city services and neighborhood issues, and it acts as a simple whiteboard where questions and responses are written using a dry erase marker. The project utilizes social media as a marketing tool to promote the project. Lynch discusses reaching out to patrons digitally via Google Tools. He’s been using the tools provided with Gmail to extend the reach of a special library, enabling him to provide outreach to people both local and visiting from outside the area. Get tips libraries of any size can use to extend reach beyond traditional means with minimal budget outlay and much appreciation by patrons. Ward covers strategies that a college uses to address the information needs of freshmen and transfer students. The digital portal provides essential support to students in navigating their way through their first year of college, increases freshmen GPA scores, and aids in retention efforts. Ward discusses the creation of a comprehensive Library Guide as a platform for library instruction for freshmen, faculty, and staff.
