Pre-Conference Sessions
Wednesday, August 1
Morning Sessions: 9:00-12:00
STEM in a Box Location: Ballroom B
Sarah Knox, Chad Roseburg, Heather Inczauskis – North Central Regional Library – Washington
The North Central Regional Library System in Washington created resources and programs that make STEM easy and cost effective for the staff, while providing engaging and fun programs for the patrons. The team is excited to share those with you! Come and experience hands-on STEM and leave with resources to expand your STEM practices.
Pre-Conference Double-Session: Mindfulness and Kindness Location: Glacier Room
Mindfulness in Librarianship (Page Brannon, Consortium Library – University of Alaska)
Mindfulness has great potential for librarians. This practical session will explore some of the history and contexts for mindfulness in librarianship. Participants will have an opportunity to discuss mindfulness and applications in the workplace and within their communities of library users.
Engage Your Customers With Kindness and Gratitude(David Seckman, Pierce County Library System – Washington)
Discover practical strategies from the fields of positive psychology to cultivate more positivity in yourself, in your relationships and in your teams. Learn about fun and easy programs for all ages you can do to engage your customers with kindness and gratitude. (packet for engaging customers with kindness and gratitude)
Instigating Interaction – Library Space Planning Location: Fireside
Kevin Kane – SHKS Architects – Seattle
Conventional spatial arrangements often separate library users and staff, discouraging communication and favoring isolation. Utilizing principles and techniques adapted from active learning pedagogies, participants will engage in a series of brief creative activities to explore ideas for new library spaces that remove barriers and help build community by supporting meaningful, human interaction. (Handouts: Instigating Interaction (15) (1))
PNLA Board Meeting 8:00-12:00 Location: Garden Wall
Lunch Break 12:00-1:00 Box lunches provided
Afternoon Sessions: 1:00-4:00
ImagineIf Libraries Tour (limit 20) Location: Flathead County Connie Behe – Assistant Director, ImagineIf Libraries – Kalispell, Montana
Please join us for a guided tour of ImagineIf Libraries. We will start in Kalispell, where you will get a birds-eye view of the interactive and budget-friendly Children’s Department and the Community Engagement spaces that encourage adults to playfully learn. We will take a shuttle to Columbia Falls where you will see an innovative approach to repurposing a wide open space. We will visit our “nano-library” in Bigfork next. Throughout the tour, you will be able to identify Customer Experience and Lean Library Management concepts that you can put to use in your library. Or, you can just sit back and enjoy the drive around the gorgeous Flathead Valley.
Project Management 101 Location: Ballroom B
Lisa Fraser – King County Library System – Washington
Preparing for the summer reading program, planning outreach activities for incoming freshmen, selecting and implementing new software, holding a library info session for new teachers – what do these things have in common? They are all library activities that go more smoothly with good project management. Lisa has 25 years of project management experience and recently co-created a three-day project management training for staff at King County Library System.
Pre-Conference Double Session: Design Thinking Location: Fireside
Bringing the User into the Process (Kris Johnson, Jacqueline Frank, Hannah McKelvey – Montana State University – Montana)
Imagine bringing the user directly into the process of designing library offerings. That’s Design Thinking! Learn how to flip the way staff approach projects and problem-solving using Design Thinking in order to build empathy and boost innovation.
Using Design thinking to Anchor Your Makerspace (Dana Carmichael – Whitefish Middle School – Montana)
When a makerspace becomes popular and the library staff shrinks, something needs to change. Using Design Thinking lends credibility to dedicating time and resources to STEAM in the library. It also helps drive students toward goals instead of half-finished cardboard projects. Come learn how giving students some structure can also bring sanity to a school makerspace.