Watch Someone Else Talk About Books and Reading

Look we all need inspiration some days. 

Matching books with readers is rewarding and fun on its best days. On others the patron is difficult, every title you suggest is out or missing. Some days the patrons are compliant and patient; other days well... you don't need to tell me about the rude behavior that happens over leisure books  at the library.

Being dulled down by the daily grind, with or without a pandemic, is a fact of life, but understanding this and then always keeping inspiration at arm's length is imperative.

One of my favorite ways to take a step back and see the power of a good book in action is to watch others, especially those not in our industry, share their stories.

Click here to run a search for all TED Talks that discuss "books" or  you can click here for "reading."

I like running both searches because they do bring up different results. Now both playlists include "library" driven talks. Try to avoid those. The point here is to be inspired by the story of how a book or the act of reading or even just words inspired someone to get on a stage and talk about it, to the world.

Spend some time watching a few. Play them in he background while you work. Some of the speakers have books of their own. See what you have so you can make a display. Create a playlist of some of the better ones on your website for patrons to encounter.

If it really catches on, see if staff or patrons want to create their own similar videos sharing a story about the power of books or reading in their lives. Nothing fancy, they can use their phones. But then you can put them up on your YouTube channel. Those locally created videos [even if  you just do staff] will be even more inspiring despite the fancy "TED Talk" polish.

I search out these videos at least once a month for myself. There is always one I haven't seen that grabs my attention. All are a reminder of the true power behind the work we do, and from a completely different perspective than the day to day grind.