Last week I had the privilege of attending the annual conference of the Association for Rural & Small Libraries in Wichita, Kansas. Now, Kansas may not seem like the most exciting location for a national conference. Especially, if like me, you assume that all of Kansas resembles the sepia-toned portions of The Wizard of Oz. Of course, Wichita is the capital city of Kansas, so logically I knew that it was not going to look like the Gale's neighborhood. However, I am from near Lansing, the capital of Michigan, and you can be in the middle of the city and see corn fields within a ten to fifteen minute drive.
All joking aside, I had a fantastic week in Wichita, Kansas. The conference had inspiring speakers, educational, beneficial break out sessions, and I got to network with other rural librarians from around the nation. I even managed to see some interesting things in the city such as the Wichita Advanced Learning Library which was pretty phenomenal (of course, librarians like to visit other libraries wherever they go).
The theme for ARSL 2023 was Unite & Ignite, which may sound hokey (but that is true of most slogans). Despite the cheese factor, I found the slogan to be particularly relevant to the present standing of small public libraries and how we attain future success in our communities.
Libraries, especially in rural areas, have long struggled with securing funding, justifying their presence, and raising awareness about their services. Even when people have not been regular users or supporters of their local libraries, though, they still have positive feelings about libraries as a whole. Sure, they may not be big readers or they prefer to buy books, or, maybe, they assume libraries are the stereotypical old buildings filled with dusty books and women in glasses who shush people. Whatever their reason for not being library patrons, they are also not actively against libraries. That has begun to change in recent years as libraries have suddenly found themselves at the center of controversy. Let's be honest, attempts to ban books have occurred since people invented writing, but there is no denying that there has been a significant increase in book banning since the American Library Association first began tracking censorship in libraries 20 years ago. Of course , many of these bans are focused on school libraries (which is a whole different can of worms) but in 2023 49% of challenges were focused on public libraries compared to only 16% in 2022.
Now, I am not going to go into the whole book banning issue in this post. I have written about it before, and, to be clear, I am against book banning and censorship and am a firm proponent of the ALA's stance on intellectual freedom. So, what does this have anything to do with ARSL or Unite & Ignite? Well, libraries are suddenly facing actual opposition rather than just indifference. In order to resist acrimonious campaigns against libraries we need to prove our worth and establish ourselves as a necessity. In other words we need to "unite" our communities and "ignite" people's enthusiasm and support for libraries.
One of the ways small libraries can do this is with our customer service, which can be even more important than a library's collection. Librarians in small communities are in a unique position because we can get to know the majority of people who come into our libraries. We know their names, their kids' names, what they like to read, what they are probably going to ask for help with, etc. Small and rural libraries may not have huge collections or massive buildings with tons of cool stuff, but we can be more personable, positive, and helpful. I know that having good customer service seems obvious and easy to do. Just smile and say thank you, right? There are definitely ways that the staff at my library (myself included) can improve on customer service, though, and we need to incorporate concrete policies, strategies, and expectations that help us to do this.
.png)
.png)
In addition to having more patron friendly service, small and rural libraries can build community relationships with our programs and community outreach. My library already has the regular story times, book clubs, arts and crafts, a summer reading program, etc. and we go to schools, local festivals, farmer's markets, and participate in parades. The ARSL conference gave me some new ideas for ways to connect with current patrons and hopefully gain some new ones.
All of our programming, outreach, and daily interactions with people in our community lead to personal relationships and wonderful stories that we can use to build trust and goodwill. Librarians need to share those stories, and we need to get our patrons and supporters to share them too. Who helps the senior citizen learn how to use their new iPhone, where do teens go after school, where can you get free winter hats from a crocheting club, who is hosting a parent play group at the park over the summer? That is how we will stay relevant and be part of the community not just a place.
Just as important as listening to speakers and attending break out sessions was the opportunity to connect with other librarians from around the nation. There were many other programs, books, events, etc. that I am now looking into adding or implementing at my library because of simple conversations I had over lunch. "Uniting" with fellow librarians "ignited" my passion for this career that I have chosen or chose me (honestly I am in my forties and have no idea). All I do know is that ARSL 2023 gave me a much needed boost and I feel excited and reinvigorated about moving my little library into 2024.
As you can see, I also managed to have a little bit of fun in Wichita with my fellow librarians!
And I got to meet Adib Khorram, the author behind Darius the Great is Not Okay, which was a huge honor! If you have not read the book you are missing out. And did I mention that the Khorram is a huge Star Trek nerd and his book's main character speaks Klingon? Swoon!
