This week is National Library Week! Our library has had a library-themed book display up all month (featuring titles such as Susan Orlean’s The Library Book) and I will be surprising my colleagues on Tuesday with some edible tokens of appreciation. Luckily I do not believe any of them read this blog.
The theme this year is There’s More to the Story. ALA explains:
Libraries are full of stories in a variety of formats from picture books to large print, audiobooks to ebooks, and more. But there’s so much more to the story. Libraries of Things lend items like museum passes, games, musical instruments, and tools. Library programming brings communities together for entertainment, education, and connection through book clubs, storytimes, movie nights, crafting classes, and lectures. Library infrastructure advances communities, providing internet and technology access, literacy skills, and support for businesses, job seekers, and entrepreneurs. National Library Week 2023 will be a great time to tell your library’s multi-faceted story.
Individual days have their own themes:
Monday: Right to Read Day
Tuesday: National Library Workers Day
Wednesday: National Library Outreach Day
Thursday: Take Action for Libraries Day
Want more details? Interested in the ways ALA recommends taking action for each of these days? Want some social media graphics like the one featured in this post? Visit the National Library Week page for more!
How are you celebrating National Library Week in your library?
My first job after finishing my library science degree was at a public library in Camden, New Jersey. For many patrons, the library computers were their only access to computers and the internet. I helped patrons fill out job applications, write resumes, and more. I remember trying to help a patron book an appointment for an immigration interview. New appointments opened up at midnight, but by the time the Library opened, all of the appointment slots would already be taken. That job taught me digital inclusion involves more than providing access to computers, but also access to broadband and Wi-Fi, digital skills, technical support, and online content that enables all to participate. You can find a complete definition of digital inclusion on the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA) website.
In my current job at a community college library, we lend laptops, calculators, and hotspots to students, and many students use our space for access to Wi-Fi and computers. Our lending services have grown over the last few years, as the pandemic put a spotlight on digital inclusion. The 2023 Net Inclusion Conference organized by NDIA was held at the end of February. I did not attend, but discovered that many resources related to the conference can be found online and wanted to share these resources, as they are relevant to libraries:
The Word Cloud below is made from the conference session titles and gives you an idea of the type of information you can find on the conference website.
Interested in volunteering for a Community and Junior College Libraries Section (CJCLS) committee? Our 1st volunteer info session is today! Attend today or register for the session in February:
You are invited to volunteer for one of the committees of the Community and Junior College Libraries Section (CJCLS) of ACRL. Learn more about the CJCLS committees:
Awards
Communications
Conference Program Planning
Library Staff Education
Membership
Mentoring Program
Nominating
Open Educational Resources Committee
Scholarly Research
Tungilik, CC0, via Wikimedia Common
Information Sessions
Attend an upcoming information session to learn more about the committees and volunteering.
I became active in CJCLS in 2018 when I volunteered for the Membership Committee. I became the chair of the committee and have enjoyed working with community college librarians from across the country. Our libraries are very different, but also very similar. I’m so glad I volunteered.
Lisa Eichholtz – Jefferson Community and Technical College, Kentucky
I have been involved in CJCLS for the past three years. Meeting other community college librarians has been inspiring. As part of the Communications Committee, I coordinate the ACRL Community College section blog and newsletter to share stories and ideas from community college librarians across the U.S.
Suzanne Bernsten – Lansing Community College Library, Michigan
There are so many intelligent, thoughtful, and creative community college librarians out there and I’ve learned so much from them. I enjoy hearing about how other people meet challenges and I get inspiration and ideas to bring back to my library. I’m a better community college librarian because of my involvement with CJCLS.
By Molly Ledermann, Washtenaw Community College, MiALA CCIG Chair
The Michigan Academic Library Association (MiALA) Community College Interest Group meets virtually every other month to network, problem-solve, discuss hot topics, and learn together. In December, we decided to devote the entire meeting to experiencing a new misinformation escape room from the University of Washington’s Center for an Informed Public. It is the first of several interactive misinformation games that will be available through Loki’s Loop, a research project of the UW Center for an Informed Public with the UW Technology & Social Change Group, UW GAMER Research Group and Puzzle Break.
Loki’s Loop Escape Room Homepage
Three librarians, Suzanne Bernsten of Lansing Community College, Jen Fiero of Jackson Community College, and Laura Taylor of Macomb Community College, learned how to facilitate the escape room in advance so that they could run the activity for the rest of the librarians. So often as teaching librarians, we only experience learning activities that we have prepared, adapted, or created ourselves. As one of the participants, I can say that it was both fun and eye-opening to go through the escape room from the perspective of a student and have no advance knowledge of what was going to happen next!
The escape room is called “The Euphorigen Investigation.” Participants must investigate claims a company is making about the success of its newest supplement before the government introduces it to the public water supply. Puzzles challenge participants to use their information literacy, data literacy, and self-reflection skills, as they navigate misleading charts, identify deepfake images, reflect on the impact of social media behaviors, and recognize the influence of confirmation bias. The escape room took just under 45 minutes to complete and solving the puzzles was definitely a team effort. We did need an occasional tip from one of the facilitators when we got stuck on the mechanics of manipulating and moving through a specific puzzle.
During our debrief, everyone agreed that the storyline, puzzle construction, and images were outstanding. We discussed how the activity would be great not only for students as part of a class, but also as professional development for faculty or staff. Post-activity discussion could easily be tailored to a specific audience, or highlight particular puzzles in the game. The best part is that the Escape Room is available in both virtual and in-person formats so it isn’t tied to a specific mode of delivery. Everyone left the meeting brimming with excitement and ideas about how they could use the activity in their own institutions.
Time is one of the biggest challenges in a community college library. We all know how many webinars go unwatched, saved links go unclicked, and articles go unread. When we can set aside even a short amount of time to explore together, everyone benefits! Our MiALA Community College Interest Group is already looking forward to exploring more activities and ideas together in the future.
