Lightning Rounds
2021 Regional Conference
July 29, 2021
Virtual Volunteering at the Public Library for Community Service Credit
One irony of the pandemic is that while how we must conduct ourselves in public has changed, some educational requirements and deadlines have not. Volunteer hours are still needed prior to graduation and colleges seek students who participate in meaningful community service to gain insights not taught in the classroom and impact the future of their neighbors and neighborhoods. These opportunities disappeared with the onset of Covid-19 in 2020, but the Miami-Dade Public Library System found ways to reconnect with youth to offer such engagement. Through virtual programming linked to attaining volunteer hours, librarians started an at-home recycling craft project. The expected outcome was our ability to provide a school requirement and fill in a supply chain gap for a bigger community service project. After the pandemic closed the library system from walk-in services for ten weeks, reopening meant social distancing. In-house volunteering and programming remain on hiatus. Along with community service hours, a successful library program dedicated to charitable works for the homeless also came to a halt. Using required volunteering hours as the incentive, one MDPLS branch coordinated training students to recycle plastic at-home through Zoom and YouTube.
Presenter: Ellen Book
Improvisation and Adaptation in Developing a Successful Long-Term Laptop Lending Program
The University of Miami Libraries (UML) has been offering a short-term laptop lending program that lends laptops for in-house use by patrons. With COVID-19, and the instructional model shifting to an online delivery mode, there was a need for longer-term laptop lending. The need was driven by some patrons not having access to personal computers, or personal computers not being adequate for online learning. One example would be the wide adaptation of online exams and the use of remote monitoring software, such as Respondus monitoring, which were not supported on platforms such as Chromebooks. In addition, patrons would need administrative access to laptops to use them efficiently over a lengthy period. These needs paired with IT security standards posed a unique technical challenge. In line with the conference theme on Improvisation in Improbable Times, UML Technology department designed and executed an enhanced workflow of long-term laptop lending. The modified workflow allowed patrons to use laptops over an extended period, without the technical restrictions available on short-term lending laptops. At the same time, an internal workflow was developed to ensure that devices were re-imaged in between loans, to maintain the privacy and the security of patron data. This talk will frame the challenge, the steps and the methodology adopted to overcome the challenge.
Presenter: John Buckard
Staff Development Day at a Distance
Planning a staff training event during these virtual times? We will take a look at transitioning from traditional in-person learning and events to virtual/hybrid models. This lightening round draws on experience from transforming our Staff Development Day from in-person to hybrid. Let’s work to create engaging training events, centered around user experience, while avoiding the dreaded zoom fatigue.
Presenter: Mo Curley
Virtual School Outreach: Successfully Reaching Teachers and Parents
The needs of schools changed significantly in 2020, with distance learning creating gaps in accessibility to educational resources. To support academic success, the Orange County Library System (Florida) offered schools virtual library workshops for teachers and parents. These informative sessions explained how to make the most of library programs and services while social distancing and learning from home. Workshops provided a ready audience for library staff to promote the new virtual format of storytimes and the Summer Reading Program.
Presenter: Jennifer Schock
Virtual Instruction Delivery – Workshops and Consultations
The Data Services unit at the University of Miami Libraries conducts workshops on data analysis and visualization. Historically, these workshops were conducted in a collaborative lab setting with students following the instructions along with the instructor. But the COVID-19 concerns forced us to move the workshops online. Learning a new programming language/software is challenging when the students don’t have a good foundation and can easily get lost trying to follow instructions. How did we alter our workshop material and teaching methodologies to deliver the content to the students effectively? How did we minimize the distractions for the students while keeping them engaged? Did moving consultation online help us reach more patrons? You will find answers to these questions during the talk. I will talk about tips for successfully conducting workshops and consultations via zoom.
Presenter: Thilani Samarakoon