Categories Engaging Library Users

156 posts

Posts about strategies to get users involved in the library or thoughts related to serving library user’s needs

Michael Casey on Harwood Institute’s Innovators Lab for Libraries

Don’t miss Michael Casey’s piece at LJ: http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2015/01/shows-events/inside-the-harwood-institutes-innovators-lab-for-libraries/ The idea of asking people about their aspirations (“what kind of community do you want to live in?”) consumed much of the first day of training. Students participated in exercises designed to help them better understand the powerful responses that result from simply asking somebody about their dreams for the community. These conversations help the library focus outward and better understand the rhythms of the local community, gaining a wealth of public knowledge for the library. In one of the first exercises, students broke off into small groups to examine the “stages […]

Comics, Games, Art, Literature at Graphic Novel Symposium by TTW Contributor Troy Swanson

Since I have shared some of our planning on my library’s Graphic Novel Symposium in TTW posts (see Behind the Scenes of the Graphic Novel Symposium & Grahpic Novel Symposium–#comicculture), I want to share our final video that summarizes our event. You can watch our faculty lectures from the Graphic Novel Symposium at: Moraine Valley Graphic Novel Symposium, http://www.morainevalley.edu/comicculture/. Graphic Novel Symposium at Moraine Valley —– Troy A. Swanson is Department Chair and Teaching & Learning Librarian at Moraine Valley Community College. He is the co-editor of the upcoming book from ACRL, Not Just Where to Click: Teaching Students How […]

Behind the Scenes of the Graphic Novel Symposium: by TTW Contributor Troy Swanson

Our college’s design team has been doing a series of videos on our library’s upcoming Graphic Novel Symposium. (I posted video 1 back in May and video 2 in June.) Our library is fortunate to have such talented individuals who make us look good. Learn more about the Symposium at our website. Behind the Scenes: Graphic Novel Symposium Event Planning —- Troy A. Swanson is Department Chair and Teaching & Learning Librarian at Moraine Valley Community College. He is the co-editor of the upcoming book from ACRL, Not Just Where to Click: Teaching Students How to Think About Information. You can follow […]

Graphic Novel Symposium — #comicculture by TTW Contributor Troy Swanson

We are very excited about our upcoming Graphic Novel Symposium, which will be in September of 2014. Check out our website, http://www.morainevalley.edu/comicculture. We are aiming to create an academic event that can be utilized by our faculty members in the arts and humanities (and maybe other areas of the curriculum).  We’ll be featuring faculty lectures, local comic shops, a gaming event, and a cosplay event. We’ve been working on the marketing for this ,  and we recruited one one of our awesome catalogers, Brenda Lozano, as our model for our images. Yes, it’s true. When Brenda is not cataloging our […]

The User is Still Not Broken by Brian Kenney

Don’t miss Brian Kenney’s new column: http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/libraries/article/60780-the-user-is-still-not-broken.html Meet People Where They Are—Not Where We Want Them to Be Libraries are very good at organizing and presenting content in anticipation of users’ needs. From cataloging resources to creating booklists, to offering workshops and classes, we’re all about meeting people where we think they may be. The trouble is, not all individuals fit into our elaborate schema. It’s difficult to genuinely meet people where they are. It’s far easier to set up a system that we think might help most users—and a whole lot cheaper. Meeting people where they are can take […]

One Book, Many Zombies by TTW Contributor Troy Swanson

In May, I posted about our simulated zombie outbreak (see: Humans vs Zombies as an Active Learning Event by TTW Contributor Troy Swanson). We adapted the popular Humans vs Zombies game into an experiential-learning event. I am happy to report that we survived our own zombie apocalypse. I wanted to share our write up in American Libraries, One Book, Many Zombies . I am also wanted to share this video we created that summarizes our zombie game. World War M: Humans vs Zombies (Summary Video) Troy A. Swanson is Department Chair and Teaching & Learning Librarian at Moraine Valley Community […]

Laptop & iPad Checkout Machine at SJCPL

Posted to Facebook via the South Bend Tribune: Laptop and iPads have long been available for free in-library use at the St. Joe County Public Library, but now they’re available via these new vending machines in the lobby at the Main Library. Patrons must be at least 18 years old and have a county library card. Each laptop computer or iPad may be checked out for three hours for free. There is a $1 charge for each hour after that. Is this a service you think you’ll use? South Bend Tribune photo

#YLIBRARY Writing Competition Winner: What will never change?

I am LOVING this: The winner of the #YLibrary of the Future Writing Competition is Sophie Manion. Sophie will receive an iPad mini. Congratulations Sophie! Here is her winning entry: I want to hear the voices of a million lives. I want to brush their hearts with the tips of my fingers and feel as they feel, with their skin and their lungs and their ears. It takes a moment – a light on a screen, a battery cord plugged in – but then I can. In a moment I am timeless. The library is a passport to worlds that […]