Welcome to Season Ten of Linking Our Libraries! We are so happy to have you join us again! This is the Central Minnesota Libraries Exchange, and our members are all types of libraries and their staff. It’s so good to have you here also. In this podcast, we talk about the skills library staff need to be successful and to help them to serve their communities.
This season we are talking about library programs – giving you some ideas about different ideas you can try in your own library. It is always good to share ideas across libraries, and we are all better! Each week we will look at a different theme of programs.
This week, to wrap up the series, we are looking at a potpourri of different kinds of programs. As has been true all season, there probably isn’t anything too wild and radical here – just suggestions for things to try. Once you see that other people have tried some different kinds of programs, you may be more inspired to do the same! Your library needs programs – they can be a great way to fulfill your main mission: connecting your community with information, ideas, and entertainment.
One request: put these cool programs up on your library’s website! Facebook is a handy tool – but for people who don’t have accounts, we can’t see library information. And there are so many libraries, doing great things – but if it’s not recorded somewhere, it just gets lost. Share your good stuff with the rest of the profession, so we can celebrate with you, as well as adapting your programs for our own libraries!
Reading to Dogs
Reading Education Assistance Dogs (R.E.A.D.) Minnesota designed to improve children’s literacy through the reading of books to a dog. The program has demonstrated that:
- students who continuously read to the animals often show improvement in reading, communication, and comprehension skills.
- a child’s self-esteem and social skills can also improve.
- as a student reads to an animal, the student pets the dog and relaxes, causing oxytocin within the brain to flow. The fluency needed to read aloud occurs more easily.
- a child’s confidence in reading aloud to a nonjudgmental listener (in this case, a dog) often transfers to other arenas such as public speaking or reading enjoyment.
Therapy Pets
You see this in a lot of academic libraries, around finals time; and there are a wide variety of different animals that can be used.
Check out the Countway medical library at Harvard; their therapy pets are on the calendar every week!
From the article De-Stressing with Therapy Dogs:
““We really are hoping that this is the beginning of making Countway a more comfortable, inviting place to come, rather than people thinking of it as the typical library where you study or check out a book. We want it to be more than that,” said Meredith Solomon, outreach officer for the library.
The library is working with Tufts Paws for People and a nonprofit called Dog B.O.N.E.S. Both organizations help facilities such as hospitals, nursing homes and universities implement dog therapy programs.
According to Tufts Paws for People, therapy pets offer many benefits. Their companionship and calming presence has been found to lower blood pressure and help relieve stress and anxiety.
“It’s an unbiased participant. There is no judgment. They’re fun, they’re friendly, and they do have a calming effect,” said Solomon.
Miranda Mancusi works in the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and is the owner of a therapy dog named Jeter.
“They’re very straightforward and it’s unconditional,” said Mancusi of the effect therapy dogs have.
Jeter is a 5-year-old chocolate Lab, who will be visiting the library every other Friday, opposite Teddy, a 5-year-old coton de Tuléar.
“He’s just so happy to see everybody, and people are happy when they see him,” said Mancusi.
Library officials said students are welcome to come by and spend time playing, relaxing and de-stressing with the dogs.
“We have the ability to start and continue programs such as this one, to collaborate on programs with internal as well as external organizations, and to improve the health and wellness not only of the students but of the staff and faculty too,” said Solomon.”
Learn how to DJ at the Libraries: from NC State
If you’ve always wanted to try your hand as a DJ, this is a perfect chance!
This spring, the Libraries offers four interactive “Intro to DJing” workshops which introduce you to the basics of mixing, Serato functions, and the history and other fundamentals of DJing. You’ll get to play with Stanton vinyl turntables as well as Pioneer DJ controllers. These workshops are intended as an introduction, but are open to people of all skill sets. All the equipment involved is available for borrowing through our Technology Lending program.
Dinner at the Library
On Saturday, November 12th, Diver Library was thrilled to be invited to host one of Community Life Support’s monthly, free, community meals in the Presbyterian Church’s new kitchen and dining room. We served the Diver family’s clam chowder, potato and corn chowder, salad, dinner rolls (donated by Chrissy’s Cravings – thank you, Chrissy!), and homemade apple crisp (it was delicious, Angela!)
And we had an amazing turnout! Thanks to everyone who came. If you missed out this time, do not fear! Community Life support is serving free community meals on the second Saturday of every month at 165 Main Street, Schaghticoke.
The E.D. Locke Public library is proud to host a Farm-to-Table event on Thursday, September 22, 2022, as the opening event of the McFarland Community Festival.
Kyle Julius of Chef at Large Catering will prepare a mouth-watering meal using delicious local ingredients, served on beautiful handmade Rowe Pottery.
The evening begins with a 5:00 PM social hour. Mingle with friends and neighbors over drinks and snacks. Dinner is served at 6:00 PM. The keynote speaker of the evening is Larry Meiller of Wisconsin Public Radio. More details will be shared as they are confirmed.
Tickets are $75 per person and include beer, wine and mocktails, appetizers, dinner, dessert, and entertainment.
Tickets may be purchased at the library with cash, check, or credit card. If paying by credit card, you can order via phone by calling 608-838-9030 and pick up the tickets at your convenience.
Proceeds benefit the Friends of McFarland Library, who support literacy and education that awakens curiosity and explores connections for all ages, and the McFarland Community Festival, which brings our community together.
Fossils Rock!
Explore our ancient past at your library with UMontana paleontologist Kallie Moore! Kallie will present one lecture per month from January through June (plus one extra in March for kids!) on topics ranging from local geology to deep time and lots in between.
Field Guide to Montana Fossils
Basic Montana Geology, examples of life in the paleontological record, and the legal/ethical process of collecting fossils will be discussed. Learn how to be a conscientious collector…and avoid going to jail or getting fined!
A Guide to Ice Age Montana
Winter is here… but not like it was during the Pleistocene. Travel back over 10,000+ years, meet Ice Age animals roaming Montana, and learn about the environment they lived in. We’ll also dig into the geology of the Flathead Valley to find out how ice shaped the modern landscape.
Under the Sea 325 MYA: Montana’s Bear Gulch Limestone
The fossils found in the Bear Gulch Limestone are phenomenally well preserved. From coelacanths and sharks to worms and shrimp, plus a mysterious animal that is still unidentified – the Bear Gulch fauna provides an almost perfect snapshot of life in Montana roughly 325 million years ago.
How to Be a Paleontologist
Are you a Paleo Nerd? Want to grow up and be a paleontologist? Come find out about the many ways of being a paleontologist! This program is for kids ages 8-13. Kallie will also discuss her new book, Tales of the Prehistoric World.
4HistoryBuffs: Tour Through Time with Kallie Moore
A quick history of the evolution of life on earth. We’ll start with the first evidence of life around 4 billion years ago and work our way up to the most recent Ice Age that ended about 12,000 years ago. This program is a 4HistoryBuffs presentation as well as part of our Fossils Rock! Lecture Series.
Climate Change in Geologic History
Take a closer look at some of the dramatic changes in Earth’s climate during its 4.567-billion-year history, including our current climatic situation. Explore changes such as the oxygenation of the planet and the most recent ice age, as well as a preview into Earth’s possible future.
Jurassic Park: Fact of Fiction
Jun 21, 6-7:30PM in Cooper B
When the original Jurassic Park movie came out, it gave the most up to date look at dinosaurs and their behaviors. But we’ve learned a lot over the past 30 years. Join us to find out what still holds up, what doesn’t, and how close we are to using ancient DNA to create a real-life Jurassic Park.
Books Read
Now, let’s get to the part of every episode that is everyone’s favorite: sharing books! We will link to these books on our shownotes pages, and the link will take you to Amazon.
- Bliss Montage, by Ling Ma
What happens when fantasy tears the screen of the everyday to wake us up? Could that waking be our end?
In Bliss Montage, Ling Ma brings us eight wildly different tales of people making their way through the madness and reality of our collective delusions: love and loneliness, connection and possession, friendship, motherhood, the idea of home. A woman lives in a house with all her ex-boyfriends. A toxic friendship grows up around a drug that makes you invisible. An ancient ritual might heal you of anything—if you bury yourself alive.
These and other scenarios investigate the ways that the outlandish and the ordinary are shockingly, deceptively, heartbreakingly alike.
- Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun, by Elle Cosimano
Dating. Diapers. And dodging bullets. Who said single moms can’t have fun?
Finlay Donovan has been in messes before―after all, she’s an author and single mom who’s a pro at getting out bloodstains for rather unexpected reasons―but none quite like this. After she and her nanny/partner-in-crime Vero accidentally destroyed a luxury car that they may have “borrowed” in the process of saving the life of Finlay’s ex-husband, the Russian mob got her out of debt. But now Finlay owes them
Still running the show from behind bars, mob boss Feliks has a task for Finlay: find a contract killer before the cops do. Problem is, the killer might be an officer.
Luckily, hot cop Nick has started up a citizen’s police academy, and combined pressure from Finlay’s looming book deadline and Feliks is enough to convince Finlay and Vero to get involved. Through firearm training and forensic classes (and some hands-on research with the tempting detective), Finlay and Vero have the perfect cover-up to sleuth out the real criminal and free themselves from the mob’s clutches―all the while dodging spies, confronting Vero’s past, and juggling the daily trials of parenthood.
Conclusion
This was a quick overview of a few ideas that you might want to use in your library. Be sure to check out the show notes for links to everything discussed today. We are looking forward to chatting with you all season! We will have more ideas to help you keep your library running well, and strategies to help you serve your community.
This was our final show of the season! Thanks for being here for ten episodes, to talk about programming – and to develop a few new program ideas for your own library.
But of course, we aren’t leaving you! Next Tuesday, right here we will drop our short book recommendation series Browsing Books. We look at a different historic site across the state each week, and then suggest six books that reference the site.
And, we want you to be part of our book group! Subscribe to our other podcast: Reading With Libraries. Next Thursday, we will drop the first episode where we talk about books all on a theme, enjoy beverages around that theme, and just generally have a good time with books!
Thanks so much for being a part of this discussion about library work. You are making all of this worthwhile, and it’s great to be part of the library community. See you next week!