Library Innovation Subcommittee Minutes
February 14, 2023, 9:00 am
BlueJeans
Present: Bailey Anderson (BER), Melissa Roelli (MTH), Renee Daley (ROM), Leah Fritsche (DEE), Elizabeth Clauss (MNT), Laura Fuller (PLO), Alicia Woodland (MCM)
Recorder: Tamara Ramski
SCLS staff present: Tim Drexler, Jean Anderson, Mark Jochem, Tracie Miller, Shawn Brommer, Craig Ellefson, Tamara Ramski
1. Call to order time: 9:01 am
a. Introduction of guests/visitors
Bailey Anderson (BER), representing Cluster 8
b. Changes/Additions to the Agenda: None
c. Requests to address the Committee: None
2. Approval of previous meeting minutes: December 13, 2022
a. Changes or corrections: None
b. Approved by motion : Leah Fritsche, Laura Fuller
3. Action items
a. Item 1: Make recommendation about Lego/Playmobil kits.
i. Motion: Consensus to move ahead with purchase of a kit.
ii. Discussion:
1. Original suggestion came from Suzanne Holland (MON).
2. Shawn and Alicia: Playmobil has been chosen over Lego.
3. The kit will be for team building events and shared throughout the system.
4. It can be hard to find in the U.S., might have to order from abroad (Britain or Germany). So it may be a while until the kit is available.
5. Melissa recommended looking into Brown Dog Gadgets.
4. Reports (for Committees only)
a. Social Work Intern Cohort (Report given by Mark).
i. 14 libraries opted in for the pilot.
ii. Alicia: Are member libraries signing documentation, or contracts, to participate (Yes).
iii. A field placement questionnaire has to be completed to participate.
iv. Shawn/Jean: Interns have a supervisor (a licensed social worker) who serves as a mentor.
v. See the link on meeting page for the full report.
b. IDEA Team (Report given by Mark).
i. This is a LSTA funded grant that provides statewide CE opportunities.
ii. For 2023, Talk About Race: Active Allyship.
iii. Will be rolled out mid-spring,
iv. There will be one or two webinars and two in-person workshops.
v. See the link on meeting page for the full report.
5. Discussion
a. Suggestion from Jessica Gretzinger & staff (MTH). An idea: “My staff were brainstorming the other day and we were talking about an interactive smart board that you could borrow from SCLS (like one of the kits) and put out in the library to patrons to create polls, get feedback about library services.”
i. Melissa: Ideal if it is fun and easy to use. Something that is bigger than a tablet so it is useable for patrons with limited vision.
ii. Melissa: Can be used for voting/data collection during strategic planning, would check it out for one or two weeks.
iii. Alicia: Transportation of something large could be a problem. Is a roll-up smartboard possible?
iv. Recommended projectors that allow for interaction with projected images.
v. Craig: Options might include digital whiteboards with projection capability or screens (like tables/tvs).
vi. Craig will reach out to vendors if there are specific suggestions.
vii. Mark: Tablets stations can be set-up with services like Slido or Mente)
viii. Laura: Something that is appealing and eye catching to collect patron feedback is a GREAT idea.
ix. Bailey (Cluster rep for this suggested item): Does it need to be a full size Smart board, or could it be smaller for these purposes? Transportation will be an issue.
x. Laura: What about a few handheld devices and using our own monitors to post the responses graphically?
xi. Melissa: What we ended up doing (during strategic planning) was a QR code to a website.
xii. Alicia: Shared a link for Ideum, with a product at a "reasonable" cost (see the link in the meeting page).
xiii. Laura: No room at small libraries for a huge screen, tablet size will work better. Leah agrees-prefers tablet size.
xiv. Jean-options can be researched and discussed at the next meeting.
b. Challenges & solutions for staffing makerspaces.
i. Alicia will take suggestions from anyone. “Please help!”
1. Staffing/time management (set-up/tear down/during).
2. Noise issues.
3. Set-up for use by individuals versus set-ups for groups.
4. Having policies (time limits) while still making it accessible.
a. Suggestions:
i. Jean will put Alicia in touch with Josh Cowles (Fond du Lac) Idea Space manager.
ii. Melissa: Use policies similar to meeting room policies (example: 2 hour limits).
iii. Other SCLS libraries with makerspaces that could provide suggestions: DeForest, Madison
iv. Laura: What about (staffing) with the UWSP computer club? Or student interns?
v. Melissa: If there have not been noise complaints, maybe it is not bothering people.
vi. Melissa: Can you do 'open' days that are for anyone, could advertise that it's not a quiet time
vii. Shawn has some colleagues in mind that might offer suggestions.
viii. Laura: Create Portage County in Stevens Point offers a MakerSpace and might be of help.
ix. Shawn: The SCLS Professional Collection has books about makerspaces.
c. Library visits.
i. Alicia visited a library in Florida, was not impressed (no maker space or teen space, not welcoming from the exterior signage, librarians not professional or personable, no teen space).
d. SCLS Annual library visit question suggestions:
i. Alicia: Best Practices in Wayfinding
ii. Suggestions can be sent to the committee after this meeting.
iii. Questions will be decided on (by SCLS staff) before the April LIS meeting.
6. Items from clusters (for Committees only): None
7. Plan for next meeting: April 11, 2023 (Blue Jeans)
a. Update on Playmobil kit
b. Continue discussion: Interactive whiteboards
c. Continue discussion: Challenges & solutions for staffing makerspaces
d. Library Visits
8. Adjournment: 10:00 am.
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.
2023-02-14-lis-minutes