by Ryan Huffman
Though many of the season’s traditional gift givers in your life may have come and gone with Christmas on the 25th, Kwanzaa wrapping up on the 1st, and Hanukkah closing out the holidays on the 2nd, we here at the library don’t like to limit our giving to just a few select days of the year. We try to give back to the community in as many ways as we can all year round, which means our wishlists are getting reviewed all year long. Although my annual budget gets submitted a few months before the end of the year, January 1st is the first day I can say I’m done with one year and ready to look on to the next. With that in mind, I’ve been asked to cover the Library System tech needs holiday list.
Throughout the year, I’ve noticed an increase in the need for technology in the branches to support STEM/STEAM and other technology-based programming. From fostering interest in tech for kids & teens with beginner programming activities to offering one-on-one or group guidance for users who might find themselves overwhelmed by the ubiquity of modern technology, the library system utilizes a lot more technology on a day-to-day basis than readers might realize. For no immediately apparent reason, I love seeing an increase in this kind of programming and want to make sure the system has enough hardware to support the variety of programming our Public Services staff plan to help increase technological literacy. Having additional iPads and laptops that can move around the county in support of this kind of programming would be a big help towards achieving that. It makes sense to ask people to bring their own devices (BYOD) when seeking assistance with using personal tech but for library-hosted programming, it can be a barrier for those without the means to obtain the devices required to get started. The library is far more interested in getting rid of as many barriers as we can than holding them up.
One other wishlist item that hasn’t really been discussed much around here but I think could have a pretty big impact would be equipment to live stream in-person library programs more efficiently. The pandemic had a lasting effect on events in that many organizations have found ways to hybridize the old in-person ways and the new virtual ones. For the library, that means a lot of programs have resumed in-person, but some have remained strictly online–not exactly a hybrid, but a nice mix of the two. Some programs are held as webinars, which allows ACLS to welcome presenters and attendees from all over the country and potentially the world without worrying about travel logistics, but some presenters are locally based or able to travel and present in front of a live audience. I think few would argue that there’s just something engaging about being in a room watching a presentation in person. The biggest potential drawback to in-person is the inability to share that presentation with a remote audience. Only once in my few years with the library have I been asked to help livestream a presentation, and there were definitely some hiccups, but the presentation went well with what we had available, and as far as I know, it was well received. (The livestream, not the presentation. The presentation was great!) If ACLS had a hardware kit readily available for live-streaming in-person presentations, it could open the doors to sharing more of our amazing, educational programming with those around the county and beyond who cannot attend in person for any reason.
Ryan Huffman is Computer Systems Director for the Adams County Library System.