Virtual Book Discussion Books and Resources: The Invention of Nature

I have been asked by a few libraries to help them find good titles to use for their Zoom book discussion meetings. Not only are regular book discussion attendees eager to get back to their book clubs, but many new people are interested in joining. One library worker told me they had double the number of participants sign up in the first day when they announced the virtual discussion!

The obvious key right now is to pick books that are easy to procure digitally [text or audio] through our streaming services and find ways to add them for multiple views at one time through OverDrive or Hoopla. Looking for older, award winning, extremely popular titles [again from a few years ago] is a great bet.

But one other important consideration that many are forgetting is to also find titles that can be discussed without someone having finished it.

[insert awkward silence]

Ahem....Yes, I did just say to pick books that can still be discussed by patrons who haven't read them.

Why? Well, in our current situation not only will we have newbies signup-- patrons who meant to finish the book but bit off more than they can chew-- but we will also have people for whom the idea of a virtual, live discussion with new people is just what they need in their quarantine life. They may not even try to get a copy of the book.

But guess what, if you choose the right book, that is okay.

Today I have a suggestion that I have used with success in a nontraditional book discussion setting AND lead a discussion where some people did not read the book and yet, still contributed positively to the discussion because they had knowledge on the topic.

The book I am talking about is the nonfiction title, The Invention of Nature: Alexander Von Humboldt's New World by Andrea Wulf. You can click here to read a series of posts I did about this book and the discussion I led of it at the Chicago Botanic Garden. There is even a post with the questions I created for this discussion and a long recap post of what happened during the discussion.

I discussed this book with a non-traditional book discussion audience. These were regulars at the Chicago Botanic Garden and volunteers for their library. These were fans of Humboldt and/or nature, no regular book club attendees. Most read the book, all had opinions about nature. We had plenty to discuss both from the book and through topics which the book touched on,

[FYI, I also did Lab Girl by Hope Jehren with this group. Click here for those posts and details.]

Feel free to use this book, my questions, and even my summary of our discussion as a guide. Or pick your own title. At the very least, consider that the book club participants right now are not all going to be those who are even familiar with how a book discussion works these days. It will be different, and not just because you are on Zoom.

In general, choose older titles, both so you can get multiple e-copies and because some people might have read the book previously. In fact, if you have a potential participant who doesn't want to re-read, provide links to in-depth reviews, interviews with the authors, Goodreads entry, and more; places people can go to "jog" their memories.

Also, nonfiction and/or books based on real event will also work well in an environment where not everyone reads the book because participants can discuss the situation, they can look up details, or they might have a connection to the source material outside of the book you are reading [that is what happened at my Botanic Garden discussion of Wulf's book; we had a published Humboldt scholar show up who didn't even try to read this book].

If you need more help running a Zoom book discussion or you need crash course training for new book club leaders, contact me. In the meantime, you should also check out the ARRT Book Club Study [which I helped to reboot a few years ago] or my "book discussion books" tag where I have archived hundreds of summaries of book discussions I have moderated over the years.

Guest Post: Jez Layman Helps You Provide Virtual Presentations for Your Library

Last week, I mentioned that I was kicking off Reaching Forward Fridays. From their website:

Every Friday at 1:00 p.m.

The Reaching Forward Conference may have been canceled, but we're bringing its programming to you! 

All Reaching Forward Friday webinars are free and recordings will be available. Registration for the live webinars is limited to Illinois Libraries. Others may view the recordings when they are available. 

Thank you to the Reaching Forward Committee for making these webinars possible.

My webinar recording is now available on their homepage as well as the signup link for next week's program featuring today's guest poster-- Jez Layman.

Again only IL libraries can view live but everyone can watch the recordings:

20 New Programs for 20-30 Somethings 

Go beyond board game nights and book clubs to grow or reinvigorate your programming for 20-30-somethings. This presentation will detail twenty programs, covering a variety of social, creative, and educational topics, with ideas for all sizes of libraries and budgets. 

Friday, April 10, 20201:00 - 2:00 p.m. Online (Zoom)

Click here to register

But Jez is more than a presenter for CE training for library workers, she has also been working tirelessly to help other libraries transition to virtual presentations for their patrons.

She recently sent out an extremely informative newsletter to her subscribers which covered many of the questions she has been receiving from others who need help and a list iff the programs she can provide for your patrons right now!

With Jez's permission, I am sharing her newsletter with my larger audience. The following includes links to Jez's website for more information and the form to contact her. You can signup for Jez's newsletter yourself here.

Thanks to Jez for allowing me to share this vital information with a wider audience AND for being so willing to help other library workers navigate this new reality.

Here is Jez.....

Hey everyone. This issue of my newsletter is going to be a little different. All of us are adjusting to a new reality where librarians work from home and programs happen on a computer screen. I wasn’t originally going to send out a newsletter with my virtual programs because I didn’t want to take advantage of a bad situation, but in the last week, I’ve received a lot of emails from other librarians with questions about whether I do virtual programs (yes) and how I’m going about doing them. If you’ve been following me on Twitter, you’ll also know that I’ve offered to help any librarian with their questions regarding virtual programming. I thought I’d use this platform to respond to some of the more frequently asked questions.

If you just want to skip to the programs I can offer, scroll to the end or visit the Virtual Programs page on my website.

Want more information or to book a program? Reply to this email or use the form on my website.

Your Questions, Answered

What platforms are you using? I’m using a mix of YouTube and Zoom, primarily. I’d never even heard of Zoom until about two months ago, but now it’s all I hear about. The library got a Pro account ($15/mo) last week. If you’ve used Skype or webinar platforms, it’s pretty straight forward, but there are lots of interesting things to find once you start digging through all the possible settings. I am only using Zoom for programs that are interactive. Should I do all of my programs live? Or should I avoid live programs? This is dependent on what programs you want to offer. I’m using live programs for things that are interactive, like Great Decisions or a book club meeting. Everything else I’m asking staff or outside speakers to send me pre-recorded content I can edit and upload to the library’s YouTube channel. Why? The laws of time no longer exist. Or at least work and school schedules don’t. If the audience doesn’t need to be present, there’s no reason to tie it to a specific time. I want the content to be available to patrons whenever they have time to access it. Plus, that content will still exist after the library reopens. I already have plans to get some of our technology and makerspace video tutorials we’re making now onto library computers going forward. How are you handling registration? We’re only doing registration for live events and only doing them through Zoom. I’ve set a password for every program we do, to give some added security and prevent “zoombombing” during our programs. When patrons register for the program, they’re sent an email with the link and password to access the event, which feels safer than to post them publicly on our website or social media. If it’s not live, the video is available for anyone to watch at any time, no passwords or logins necessary. How do I let patrons know what we’re doing? Create a page on your website specific to your virtual programs and make that page easy to find. Share the videos on social media. Make a schedule and advertise a week’s worth of programs in your eNews (same as you would if the library were open). Email patrons directly, when possible. If you are moving an existing program online, contact anyone who was registered for the original event. Explicitly ask your followers to share on their own pages or invite people who may be interested. **Just a note not to overload your patrons. I follow a library that has sent out an eNews every. single. day. I have stopped opening their emails because it’s just too much, too often. Have a question I didn’t answer? Read my tips below and if you still need help, please reply to this email or contact me through my website. I want to help as much as I can! Tips for Moving Your Programs Online  Before I get too TL;DR with these answers, I want to start with the most important thing I’ve learned—something I will continue using after the library reopens. My department (Marketing) head helped me come up with a litmus test of sorts to determine which programs we should do and which we shouldn’t. 1. What value does this have for our patrons? (For the record, socializing is very valuable) 2. Why should the library be the one to do this? This is the important one. There are so many other organizations and businesses out there pushing similar content. So think about what you’re doing. Is it something someone else is already doing? What is it the library can offer that others can’t? Something I said no to was a Netflix Party, because people are already doing that; they don’t need the library to coordinate it for them. But book/movie/tv recommendations? Libraries do that better than anyone. Set Some Boundaries Keep in mind that virtual programming—especially right now—is not the same as the programs we do in the library. It may feel like anyone can do anything because we’re not tied to a specific location or time. You’ll avoid having two Zoom meetings at the same time, but time and space aren’t your deciding factors here: Marketing is. You can’t rely on your newsletter, in-library signage, or speaking directly to patrons right now. Everything will need to go through social media and your website, but the library needs to promote more than just programs right now. And, contrary to popular belief, we can’t create an infinite number of posts every day. The more you post, the less your patrons will see. Did you know Facebook actually stops pushing your updates to someone’s feed if you post a lot in one day? Not to mention the library isn’t the only one ramping up their online presence. Your patrons have digital fatigue. Let’s do what we can to cut down on that. Be Kind to Your Marketer As I mentioned above, everything goes through marketing right now. Anyone who has access to your library’s social media or website is completely overloaded right now. Every staff member has sent them at least one (or a dozen) emails making suggestions on things to share or promote online.  Make a Schedule My goal is to have one program a day, Monday-Saturday, and no more than two programs a day. There are already days where we will have more than that, unfortunately. My best advice is to put one person in charge of making the schedule—for all departments. That way you don’t have four different staff members move forward with their plans and then you can’t facilitate or market all of them. Something my library has done that I really like is we’re making a mini schedule to post each week. We’re also keeping all of our programs and other efforts in a single place. To do this, especially with the weekly schedule, we need to have the week planned in advance. This is not easy when the rules are changing every hour, but do your best.  Make Recurring Events or Theme Days For me, I’m (unofficially) making Tuesdays DIY and crafts and I have two (official) series: What We’re Enjoying Wednesday and New Skill Saturday. Other libraries are doing “Fun Fridays” or something similar. Having a specific idea for each day (Mondays are catch-all but mostly Technology, Thursdays is youth) has really helped me plan things out and space out similarly themed programs so we get a good variety on our feeds. Involve Staff from Other Departments Libraries have a bad habit of making departments into silos, but staff is the library’s greatest resource right now (and always). When I started this new program initiative, I put out a call to any library worker to send me a short clip about what media they’re enjoying while we’re closed, show off a skill they have, or send me a program idea—and not holding them to actually doing that idea themselves, if they didn’t want to. I wasn’t sure I’d get any responses, but everyone has been very supportive and right now especially, people want to do something to help, in whatever way they can. And honestly, the best content I received was from a part-time circulation clerk I’m not sure I’ve ever even met. Delegate Whenever possible, pass something on to someone else. If you’re handling a lot of programs with very little prep time, there will be quite a bit of your to-do list that can’t be done. It’s okay to ask for help. All of our jobs were affected differently and the workload is likely to be a bit unbalanced, which means some of your coworkers don’t feel like they’re doing enough or are being asked by management to “fill their hours.” Are there some items you can put on someone else’s plate? I’m someone who likes to be involved and have a lot of control, so I’ve worked for a long time to learn that when someone offers help, it’s okay to take it. In the last week, some of the things I’ve let others handle (at least in part) are: canceling programs on the online calendar, troubleshooting a video issue, hosting our Great Decisions group on Zoom, and contacting local businesses to see if there is interest in partnering with us for a future video. All of those things have saved me time that I can dedicate to video editing and coordinating with speakers and other staff. That last one is something I’ll need to take over soon, but I didn’t have to spend time getting the ball rolling and playing phone tag with businesses. I can start at the point when I’m needed, and not before. Programs I Can Do Virtually  Astrology 101 In this introduction to astrology, I cover sun, moon, and rising signs, planets, and houses and teach you how to read your natal chart so you can avoid future problems, learn your strengths, and embrace your best self. Beginning Cross-Stitch Cross-stitching isn't just for grannies anymore! Learn how to get started with cross-stitching and make a cute design to hang in your home or give as a gift. Fingerknitting Make a fashionable scarf with nothing but your fingers! No needles or experience necessary here—anyone can learn. Patrons can complete a full infinity scarf in a single sitting and you'll get to watch their faces light up with pride as they show off their impressive creations. How to Do Your Laundry without Ruining Your Wardrobe Perfect for college students or adults living on their own for the first time, I'll explain how to read care tags, the difference between the settings on your washer, the best way to care for different types of clothing, and at the end, you'll even know how to fold a fitted sheet like a pro. Shopping, Saving, & Storing: Making the Most of Your Food and Funds Great for college students and older adults alike, this class covers how to buy the best produce, how to store your food properly, how to lower your grocery bills, and where to find help if you need it. You'll never have to throw out a new container of strawberries again! Job Hunting Programs: Cover Letters Made Simple In this class, your patrons will learn how to write a standout cover letter employers will want to read. Cover letters are the part of the job hunting process that causes the most amount of confusion for job hunters and can be what determines whether a candidate gets an interview. Students will learn how to craft a cover letter unique to them that complements the resume and makes an elevator pitch, but doesn't come off as either too proud or too weak.  Interviews: Ace Your In-Person Interview Learn how to wow an employer at your interview. This class covers the before, during, and after of the most crucial part of the job hunting process. Your students will learn how to prepare, research a company, dress the part, answer questions with ease, learn how to sell themselves better, and how to follow-up afterwards. Interviews: No Stress Skype and Phone Interviews Skype and phone interviews can be just as stressful as an in-person interview, but involve more difficult circumstances that can help or hurt your case to move on in the job hunting process. In this class, I help students learn the differences between types of interviews and how to prepare for them, as well as tips on best presenting yourself when you're not actually in the room. Resume Workshop My step-by-step resume guide has been shared over 15,000 times online. In this 90-minute class, I break down the essential parts of the resume and help students create a document that is unique to their skills, experience, and goals. I'll cover how to determine which format is right for you; making your work experience strong, yet succinct; highlighting your skills; avoiding common mistakes; and how to overcome issues like work gaps or age discrimination. This program is suited for all ages of adults, but I also offer a version specific to high school and college students. Copyright © 2020 Jez Layman, All rights reserved.

Instagram in Libraries?

This week I have been putting the finishing touches on my brand new Bridging the Physical Virtual Divide talk.

It used to be a 45-60 minute training, but I have turned it into a 2+ hour Keynote talk.  I will be debuting it at the Southeast Pennsylvania Library Association Annual Conference/Meeting in King of Prussia, PA on Tuesday 11/12. That’s right, I’m taking my show on the road.

Interestingly, I have been doing many more webinars or Skype talks [from home] due to my busy schedule and to help libraries save money, but this was an opportunity I could not turn down since it coincides with my grandmother’s 93rd birthday and she lives only 20 minutes away from the meeting site.

I was a bit nervous about turning this shorter talk into a longer address, but over the last month as I have been putting the final touches on the talk, I have to say, it’s been a long time since I have been this excited about a new talk.  It is really coming together well and it has forced me to sit down and think about the choices I have made in my professional career as I branched out to provide virtual RA here on the blog.

Some of you may have noticed that I was getting a bit nostalgic back in August when I had this post.  But no, it was not nostalgia for nostalgia’s sake, rather it was research for this talk. I normally to not sit back and look at my own success, but I have to say, it was extremely useful that I had to do it for this presentation.

So thanks to SEPLA for forcing me to spend the last couple of months looking inside myself so that I could better serve all of you out there.

One of the areas of virtual RA I looked at was how and if Instagram could be used efficiently and effectively as an RA tool.  Instagram began as just a way to share pictures, but has become a popular social media tool.

I will have a slide talking about Instagram, but just in case that is the only current virtual RA trend you are interested in, rather than make you wade through the entire presentation next week, here are 2 very interesting articles I found on the topic of Instagram in Libraries:

• 10 ways to use Instagram for your library
• The (un)uses of Instagram in public libraries

If you are already using Instagram at your library, let me know.  I would love to include you in my presentation. There are so few libraries doing it this right now, that highlighting those using Instagram will help us all.

I will have the slides for the entire Bridging the Physical Virtual Divide program up on RA for ALL by Monday night for everyone to see.

BPLs Virtual Presence

When I was working on my presentation for the WAPL Conference on April 29th, I was surprised by how the BPL's virtual presence has been actively growing as of late. Check out what we have to offer our patrons online:

• Here is the link to the RA homepage. 
• Of course, there is the fabulous Browser's Corner
• Here is the link to the BPL Shelfari Groups
• Here is our Facebook page.
• Follow us on Twitter 

This doesn't even include all of the services card holders can access from the catalog or the offerings from all of the other BPL departments.

I think this list is a nice sampling of how you can serve your patrons from locations other than the physical library building. While it is important to give your virtual patrons as much attention as those who walk through your doors, it is also easy to get in over your head.

However, before you go crazy creating new web sites, signing up for more social media, or setting up Twitter accounts for the library, make sure you can staff and support these pages. An active and frequently updated virtual presence is helpful to you and your patrons, but an unsupported, empty shell of a presence, only makes you look bad.

Virtual Public Library

I was at the Goombay Bash last night, an annual cancer benefit for the H Foundation, and was chatting with one of the foundation's board members, who also happens to be an elected official from a neighboring municipality. This town does not have a public library. The residents of this community must go to other municipalities and purchase a library card. The prices of these cards are usually based on the average amount in tax dollars that the members of the town with a library pay each year. For example, my town charges around $300 for nonresident cards. This one card serves an entire household, no matter the size This non-library-having community does reimburse its citizens 50% of their out-of-pocket costs.

However, the community make-up is changing rapidly. What was once a business first city with very little residential citizens, is quickly becoming a city of young families who want library service.

At this event, I asked the official (a friend of mine) when this city would get a library. He said that it was not in any long term plans. Instead he offered up the idea of a virtual library service. He suggested hiring a few librarians to set up a
website where resources could be accessed and questions could be posed. These libraries would work from an office out of the City Hall, for example, and answer questions. They would be accessible in person to answer questions for those who did not have a computer.

I reminded him that a library is more than just a place where you get information. What about the parents who want to go to story times and the children who want to come look at books to check out? What about the adult leisure or those who want a place to congregate? I went on politely for a few more minutes about everything the library is and can be as a physical site that a computer alone cannot provide. I will not recount all of my arguments here, but check out this site for first hand accounts of why people love their library.

By the end his wife was agreeing with me. Hopefully she will put a bug in his ear too. I will be in contact with him a few more times in the next few months and will try to continue this conversation. But the important point here is that although you may be able to answer your current query with Google or Wikipedia, the library as a building and as a municipal institution is integral to American life.