I recently attended the WebJunction Webinar titled Smart Spaces Are Community Places. Here is a link to the recording of the webinar and my notes.
Title: Smart Spaces are Community Places
Presentors: Gail Bruce, Director, Laurel Public Library (DE) and Betha Gutsche, WebJunction Programs Manager, OCLC
Notes:
The Smart Space Program is a grant for small and rural libraries that has helped 30 small and/or rural libraries across the country reinvent library spaces to help meets the needs of the community
What have some of the transformations looked like?
Use spaces well- main goal is to reinvent spaces
Bright colors- Crisp color
How does it happen?
Traditional approach
If you build it, they will come- doesn't always work well
Goal is to make spaces essential to the community
Involve community- build what the community says they wany
Steps of the process
Discovery
Ask: who is you community? what do they value?
Experimentation
Imagine the world you want- don't limit
Keep experimenting to meet new needs
Center your changes on the community
Ask community for what they want/need
Deeply listen to what they say
Seek ways to impact the community
Meet needs of the community- not just need but what the community wants
Impact of the Pandemic on Smart Spaces cohort this year's cohort
Actually positive- most communities recognized what the library does and doing IN A PANDEMIC
Because of this process libraries were able to quickly adapt midstream and meet new needs
Key to Smart Spaces is to continue to reinvent and reimagine- pandemic is prime time to do
Key ways to hear what the community wants- FIRST STEP to process is communication
Don't get hung up on the ways you survey community- get information lots of ways and from places
Start the conversation- learn as you go
Listen to the community
Don't discard ideas and impossibile
Don't let your board say no before the say no
Peel back answers that seem impossible and see what is
Experimentation
Ideation
Slow way down- too easy to just jump in
Look at all the input
Tackle ideas furthest out of reach
Look at the ideas under these
What is the real meaning behind
(Example: Community asked for swimming pool-cannot build a pool-can provide outdoor activities or activities with water)
Prototyping
Once you get idea start trying
Make ideas tangible
Ask community for vision
Make models, take pictures----get input on these
Make these programs- let the community do the work and make it seem fun
Summary:
I am curious of the process Smart Spaces offers for the actual implementation of these projects, but I am sure that is just as quality and involved. Personally, and I think this is a problem for libraries, is closing the deal and actually getting rubber on the road. Even thought, it does seem if you work the steps well, you will almost have to final project done by the time you get ready for it. This is brilliant!
My biggest take away was the idea of going to the community and not stressing about how. So often this is a hang up with librarians. Everything has to be perfect with surveys and it is easy to bog down at this step. If you ask enough people in enough different ways, you will get the information. Soliciting information doesn't have to be hard.
Check out this article about the public needing spaces during Covid-19 that was included
The Knight Foundation- Need for public space during COVID-19
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