Conference Details
Join us as we explore the world of Libraries of Things (LoT). We begin with an information session on how to launch and expand an LoT. We continue with a session on how an LoT can be used to provide greater accessibility for your community members, especially those with limited resources to purchase items. We also provide sessions on how LoTs can help your library meet sustainability goals and foster community connections so your community knows that their library is books and so much more. We end the afternoon with a session on how lending sensory items can expand your outreach to marginalized communities.
12:30 Welcome and Housekeeping
12:40 – 1:20 Launching a Library of Things
Dania Souid, Assistant Director and Young Adult Services Librarian, Baldwinsville Public Library
1:20 – 2:00 Partnerships and Sustainability
Laura Burrows, Director, Caldwell-Lake George Library
Laura will tell the story of how Caldwell-Lake George Library partnered with the Southern Adirondack Audubon Society (SAAS) to create a unique, hands-on lending experience that gets their community outside and engaged with the natural world. She’ll walk through how the partnership came together, how they collaborated with SAAS to design and build the backpack contents, and what the lending experience has looked like in practice. If you’re looking for a low-barrier, community-driven way to grow your Library of Things, this session will give you practical insights and inspiration to take back to your own library.
Ruth Owens, Associate Librarian, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry
The Moon Seed Library was recently started to further SUNY ESF’s sustainability efforts and the library’s goal of being a resiliency hub on campus. Ruth will explain how the seed library has not only provided seeds for free to ESF’s community, but also inspired exciting opportunities for collaboration with student clubs, campus organizations and experts, and community partners through programs on seed saving and starting, native plants, pollinators, and ecosystems. This presentation will talk more about resiliency and how it relates to the seed library, these collaborations, and related sustainability efforts at ESF.
2:00 – 2:40 Behind the Scenes
Casey Hobbie, ILS Specialist, Southern Tier Library System
Learn about the Southern Tier Library System and the work they’ve been doing to make their shared Library of Things collections more accessible for their patrons. Casey will talk about his experiences developing a LoT in the consortium, the cataloging work and planning that’s gone into it, and how STLS is working towards increasing the visibility of their collection.
2:40 – 3:20 LoT Show & Tell
Amy Bader, Circulation Supervisor, and Chantal Rothermel, Marketing & Outreach Coordinator, Onondaga Free Library
Amy and Chantal will provide a show-and-tell of Onondaga Free Library’s LoT, which includes a kit system that allows patrons to experience a wide variety of activities. Examples include birdwatching, ghost hunting, hiking, jewelry making, and knitting.
Maggie Young, Genealogy & Local History Librarian, Chemung County Library District
The Chemung County Library District has been steadily building its Library of Things collection over the past several years. Maggie will go over their collections, from cake pans to ukuleles, and review what she’s learned about their different collections.
3:20 – 4:00 Accessibility
Lauretta Jean Dolch, Public Services Assistant III, and Emily Rose Meyers, Access Services Assistant, Cornell University Library
Lauretta and Emily will present about how the Cornell University Library Access Services Accessibility Steering Committee has been collaborating with Neurodiversity@Cornell
