For me, 2021 has felt in many ways a continuation of 2020. Cycles of are we open, are we closed? Are patrons allowed to come in? If they come in, should we enforce masks? As a programming librarian, what do I fill my time with when most programs are off the table? And of course, planning programs only to cancel them due to a local rise in Covid 19 cases.
Such difficulties were only worsened by our library’s community, where many are dismissive towards the dangers. It was further complicated by staff members who enforced any rules in place only as they saw fit. Unsurprisingly, it is nigh impossible to enforce order when some staff don’t follow rules, let alone ask patrons to.
Overall, I’m tired. Honestly, teens are the brightest part of my job right now. While we can’t provide the same level of programming as before, and as Discord’s use has fallen into infrequency, my core group of teens has still stuck with me. In fact, it’s even grown a little, which I’m beyond grateful for. Building a connection—listening, encouraging, talking, and just having fun with them—is such an important part of working with teens, and it pays back so richly in dividends. At this point, my main challenge taking the teens that are on the way to adulthood and building up my currently nonexistent New Adult programs.
Speaking of, I listened to the Collaborative Summer Learning Program Symposium recently, and something was said that struck me. They talked about outreach and marketing, and there was a question about time management. It amounted to, “It’s better to have fewer, quality programs than a lot of filler.” This was in part to say it’s better to go out more into your community than focusing on programs, but it also seems relevant on a more immediate scale. There are programs I wanted to do before Covid started that I didn’t have the time for, but how much of my time was taken up by programs that weren’t really needed? When you work at a small library, you’ve got to use your time and energy effectively, and I think I’m going to use what time I can scrape together to reassess which programs I want to bring back (or not) in 2022. We don’t have any going on at the moment beyond take-homes, as our only event space can double as a human sardine can. Not fun normally, less fun during a pandemic.
Which programs have merit? What are patrons lacking that we aren’t providing? How do we address the losses that being closed to foot traffic had on our numbers? Even before, our New Adult (18-30) programs were lacking, in part because it’s been difficult to reach patrons we don’t currently have. That is why I feel pre-teen and teen services are so vitally important to the longevity of libraries. As they transition to adults, their experiences at the library during this critical time are going to shape how they use (or don’t) libraries in the future. It’s easy (comparatively) to get kids to the libraries. Parents love free entertainment and enrichment. But as kids become pre-teens and teens, story hours and finger painting don’t cut it anymore. If you don’t keep them invested now, getting them back when they’re adults is difficult.
This has been something of a stream of consciousness article as I reflect on the question of what 2021 has meant for me and where I’m headed in 2022. Before, as the only programming librarian for all age groups and the person nominally in charge of marketing to boot, the thought of having time to reflect was laughable. When I got this job, I received little training or guidance, and I’ve had to make things up as I go relying on sources like Teen Services Underground when I had questions. If nothing else can be said for the past almost two (?!) years, I’ve definitely had time to notice things that slipped by me before and to consider what I want from the future. Things are definitely not going to be the same even as we (hopefully) start to come out of the worst of the pandemic, but maybe some of those changes will be good.
Teen Services Underground 