Attending the Association of Rural and Small Libraries 2023 Annual Conference in Wichita, KS was a great experience! There were 4 days of sessions and each one was incredibly helpful. Beyond the sessions, it was fantastic to network with libraries that face similar challenges because they are also small and many are located in rural communities. We made connections with some great librarians.
Over the course of this conference, I was able to attend 12 sessions and 4 keynote events as well as explore resources for our libraries in the two exhibit halls. While the focus is on small and rural libraries, the conference itself is definitely not small! With that being said, I will be highlighting just a few pieces of the many different ideas and resources I took away from the conference.
The first session I attended focused on the topic of building a great work culture because it’s vital to have a great team and environment in the library so that we can do our best for the community. They provided great resources and strategies to help achieve that. These included the “20 Second Conversation” developed by Jamie LaRue that helps give staff feedback when they are doing something incorrectly with less stress. They also discussed using quizzes to figure out staff’s “language of appreciation” to ensure that you’re communicating that you appreciate their work in a way that means something to them as many people do not feel appreciated from a simple “job well done” type of phrase. They recommended multiple books including: “Radical Candor” and “Just Work” both by Kim Scott and “The Culture Code” and “The Culture Playbook” both by Daniel Coyle.
Another great session I attended focused on the importance of play for adults as well. They cited multiple articles that highlighted this, noting that the deprivation of play leads to a darkening of mood and even depression. Including play with adults is crucial for positive socialization and helps people get moving, express themselves, and connect with others. These can be simple things like bringing UNO cards and Mad Libs to a senior center. One book they cited extensively is “Play: How it Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul” by Stuart Brown.
Other sessions gave excellent ideas and resources on topics such as building programs for the homeschool community, surveying communities to make sure programming fits their needs, including STEM in programs, navigating programming for the upcoming eclipse, supporting vulnerable teens, defending materials against book bans, building literacy kits, active programs for families, and creating a summer program that is accessible to all. The presentations and shared resources will be amazing to have and reference for years to come.
And then there were the keynotes too! These had engaging speakers that covered topics like moving beyond the library building and being a part of the community, a town hall on Intellectual Freedom, an interview with author Adib Khorram, and learning about innovative and successful programs from award-winning members of ARSL.
