Library Innovation Subcommittee Minutes
February 9, 2021, 9:00am
BlueJeans
Action Items: None
Present: Kris Houtler (REE), Renee Daley (ROM), Nicole Ozanich (STP), Leah Fritsche (DEE), Melissa Roelli (MTH), Nathan Rybarczyk (BAR), Mehta Hess (MFD)
Recorder: Tamara Ramski
SCLS staff present: Shawn Brommer, Jean Anderson, Craig Ellefson, Jody Hoesly, Mark Jochem, Tracie Miller, Tamara Ramski, Rose Ziech
1. Call to order time: 9:02am
a. Introduction of guests/visitors
i. Mehta Hess (Marshfield)
b. Changes/Additions to the Agenda
i. Changes: Postpone-Libraries Transform Website discussion
ii. Additions: None
c. Requests to address the Committee: None
2. Approval of previous meeting minutes: December 8, 2021
a. Changes or corrections: None
b. Approved by motion; Leah Fritsche, Melissa Roelli seconded. Approved.
3. Action items: None.
4. Reports (for Committees only)
a. Inclusive Services Check-in Meeting.
i. Shawn reported that the first meeting was last week. Discussion was around inclusive and diverse collection development.
ii. Mark J. reported that there will be regularly scheduled meetings going forward, everyone is welcome to join.
b. Madison Public Library and Recollection Wisconsin dashboards.
i. Jody shared information about the SCLS dashboards shared on Tableau Public.
1. Madison Public Library has two data teams. Some of the focus of their dashboards is on COVID metrics. Those can be examples of dashboards other libraries might want to do.
2. Jody showed how dashboards can be saved, downloaded, and shared.
ii. Tamara talked about the Recollection Wisconsin dashboard that tracks item view counts and topics and formats of materials that have been added to the Recollection Wisconsin website.
c. First Social Services webinar: Whole Person Librarianship: Building the Relationship-Based Reference Collection, March 4, 2021, 10:00am, with presenter Sara K. Zettervall.
i. The webinar will be recorded and available for a few months. If someone cannot watch it on the 4th, they should still register to have access to the recording.
ii.
Jean will be
scheduling follow-up webinars.
5. Discussion
a. Advocacy ideas for libraries (from last meeting):
i. City- and county-level advocacy.
1. Jean: Even if advocating feels uncomfortable, just start doing it. Once starting and getting familiar with it, enthusiasm comes through and relationships more easily grow.
2. Melissa: It can be difficult to ask for help from people who are already giving. How do you ask people to go above what they’re already doing?
3. Tracie: It takes team support, staff and board need to be involved. Need to stress to the community that if they want services, they can contribute.
4. Nathan: Similar situations as Tracie. Some failed advocacy attempts were the result of a lack of library board support. Library board support is key. Important to have a board understand their responsibilities vs director’s or library staff responsibilities.
5. Renee: Her library has started to team up with groups in the community, such as the food pantry, local Romemakers group, and Senior citizen groups. They spread the word about the library and how the library is an important resource. It has been a great way to reach people in the extended community.
6. Rose: Having a specific goal everyone is working towards makes a difference.
7. Tracie: Columbia County libraries realize they are stronger together than individually.
a. Alex Le Clair (Lodi) is working on a “Humans of New York” type series to take to the county level to show the importance of libraries.
8. Melissa: Can more be done at the System level?
a. Jean: This is a continual thing. It involves helping individual libraries along with advocating for state support (like at Legislative Day).
b. Shawn: She’s been discussing with youth services librarians about tracking how libraries have provided services during the pandemic. It is important that the Legislature knows even when most things were shut down, library services were still being provided.
c. Jody: Stories are very important but they have to be supported with data. Need to know who to appeal to (at county and local level) and make them aware what’s happening in libraries. Make them emotionally and intellectually connected. Show ways to connect library services to other services the county provides.
ii. Library Legislative Day: Ask legislators to sign up for library cards and newsletters.
1. Rose: Do this with people at all levels in government. Get them involved in their library.
iii. Libraries Step Up Toolkit (advocacy around library closures, developed by OWLS & NFLS). (Link in meeting page)
1. See the link to the toolkit for examples of materials other libraries have prepared.
iv. Postponed-Input about future of Wisconsin Libraries Transform website.
b. Suggestions from Library Innovation Subcommittee form – Refer to Documents.
i. A board member at the George Culver Community Library (Sauk City) suggested that the library system have an app to track books read, with barcode scanning capabilities (like the 1000 Books app).
1. Shawn: This is a feature Beanstack is working on which may be available soon.
a. Leah: Her patrons like Beanstack.
2. Mark J.: SCLS is developing an app for LINKcat, could these features be built into the new app?
a. Rose checked with Amy Gannaway and was told this is not a feature the new app (from Solus) includes.
b. LINKcat keeps lists of books, but does not have the capability to do reviews or ratings. No social (friends) aspect. Cannot add materials that were not checked-out through LINKcat.
3. Tracie: Goodreads offers all of these functions.
4. Jean: LibraryThing does all this.
5. Shawn and Jean both suggest curating and sharing a list of existing apps.
6. Melissa: It would be nice if LINKcat had barcode scanning feature.
7. Mark J.: What if you could export lists from LINKcat to Goodreads? Is there a way to do that? Is so, could provide step-by step instructions to patrons.
8. Jean will create a Tech Bits about it (after Beanstack updates with the new feature).
9. Why does Jean prefer Library Thing?
a. She had 1000+ books in LibraryThing before Goodreads existed.
b. She was more interested in the list keeping function than the social aspects.
c. Played with Litsy a bit too (more of a social network for books).
10. Mark J.: Are libraries using Goodreads or Library Things for book clubs? Nicole and Melissa said they tried it for staff, but didn’t get used.
c. Ideas for using SCLS Foundation 2021 money: $4307.71.
i. Make recommendation at April Meeting.
d. Goals for Library Innovation Subcommittee this year.
i. Will be discussed at the April 2021 meeting.
e. Ideas for 2021 Library Visits (questions).
i. Will be discussed at the April 2021 meeting.
6. Items from clusters (for Committees only): None
7. Plan for next meeting: April 13, 2021 / BlueJeans
a. Input about future of Wisconsin Libraries Transform website.
b. Ideas for using SCLS Foundation 2021 money: $4307.71.
c. Goals for Library Innovation Subcommittee this year.
d. Ideas for 2021 Library Visits (questions).
e. Follow up on Library Aware (Schedule a presentation and get a quote in 2021).
8. Adjournment: 9:57-Shawn Brommer; Nathan Rybarczyk; Approved
For more information about the Library Innovation Subcommittee, contact Rose Ziech.
SCLS staff are available to attend cluster meetings to share information and answer questions pertaining to this committee meeting and other departmental projects.
Library Innovation Subcommittee/Minutes/02-2021