@claireburke I have never been to a human library, but it is now on my bucket list to find one that I can attend. The concept is just so cool. It is one thing to read about a culture, it is a whole other thing to actually meet someone that is a part of that culture and hear first-hand stories and experiences.

@claireburke I agree that VR field trips by no means replace physically going on a field trip, but I do feel like they are supplemental. Maybe it wouldn’t replace field trips, but it could be “mini field trips” in between. It would allow users to go to places far away, that they probably wouldn’t be able to experience otherwise. I would have absolutely loved something like this when I was younger!

@claireburke I so agree with you about the plus and the minus of the VR field trip. I would hope that we will find a balance eventually between connecting via VR to some very far away place that it would be impossible to get to for a field trip and having that experience of going to a place with all of its sensory inputs.

@claireburke I agree with what’s been said so far by others, and with what you yourself said about VR fieldtrips! I remember reading about the senses and memory retention when I was studying for the MCAT (when I needed those memory skills the most, RIP). I like the idea of using VR to reach places that would otherwise be out of budget, but to still keep those physcial trips in place where possible. Even going somewhere local as a kid was exciting, so I think a balance could definitely be struck. Great reflection!

Hi Claire,

Thank you for sharing, this such a great and well-thought out idea. We get various adult special needs groups come in throughout the week at my local library and this would be a wonderful resource for them (and also the library system overall).

@claireburke I actually didn’t know about sensory rooms and kits in more detail, until recently. I actually went into a sensory room, and I instantly felt relief. My anxiety has been out of this world lately, and I started to feel burnt out, and the sensory room honestly gave me life again. It allowed me to reboot and “work again”. I think this idea is so beneficial and thoughtful, and would get great use!

@claireburke Sensory rooms and kits are a great idea. This reminds me of an art installation I once saw in NYC: LaMonte Young’s Dreamhouse, which is a continuous sound environment with sine wave drones that never stop playing! It’s a highly controlled environment that changes sensory perception and even invites a kind of meditative experience. I’m not saying that it’s exactly right for a library, but it is an interesting conceptual art piece that promotes the exploration of controlled sensory environments and the perceptual effect of continuous sound. You say that the sensory room would contain a speaker. I wonder what kinds of sounds people are interested in exploring! Cheers! — Arthur

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dream_House_(installation)

@claireburke this is a great project! Also, it’s a great cause that I wish we could actually launch at my library. I did a WebJunction “Helping librarians to be autism-ready” toolkit this summer in preparation for working with ASD children at my library. I can see the thought and research you put into your plan: everything you included aligned with what was in the toolkit!

@claireburke Right on target with your ideas and thoughts related to the book banning module. I know there are concerted efforts for folks to put in book challenges for the Bible as a way to point out the hypocrisy of what the very organized book ban groups are doing across the US. Home of the free is right – it needs to stay that way!

@claireburke Wow, you make such an awesome point about the those who are challenging books and the hypocrisy behind it all. I love it!

Hi Claire,

Great blog posts and love the GIF choices! Thank you for sharing that quote, it’s quite moving really. While perhaps being invited to the dance could a good start, it really shouldn’t be the end of creating a welcoming environment within a library setting. Everyone should be able to get up and dance whenever they choose to!

@claireburke So appreciate this reflection on belonging and getting up to dance. It resonates.

I will date myself by saying I recall Leo Sayer making the rounds on TV shows when his songs were super popular!

Hi Claire,

Great post! I agree with a lot of what you’ve written here. The library I work in has gone through many phases of late fee practices. We generally don’t charge late fees for our own books, but because we’re an academic library we have high interlibrary loan use. That’s usually when we get into sticky territory, because other libraries will charge us for late or lost books. We used to eat the cost, but it became a big strain on our budget. It’s tough to navigate!

With some libraries in our consortium, we’ve reach an agreement that if users are willing to replace a book they’ve lost, then there is no fee charged. It’s not perfect, but we’ve found many users are happy with the alternative. It’s often cheaper to simply replace a book than pay fees (which can really add up!).

Thanks again for posting! I really enjoyed reading what you shared, and the fun follow-along photos.

Claire, great topic to post about (and some great thoughts!) Like Diamond’s consortium, the public library cooperative I work in has gotten rid of all fees, except for damaged and lost items. In your conclusion, you mention incentives and rewards, instead of fines, for those who turn materials on time. What do you think that would look like? I was thinking maybe a sort of automated punch card system at book returns. You get a card punch for each trip that you return materials on time and, after so many pumches, you get a prize. Maybe a coupon(s) to local businesses?

@claireburke I love this post! I also love the idea of giving rewards for returning books early or on time, instead of punishing for being late. There should also be rewards for those who may not have returned the book, but rechecked it out in the proper way and in timely fashion – because not everyone reads at the same speed. I love many of the e-book library apps, as they automatically return for you and also give you several warnings when it’s about to be returned.

Hi @claireburke,

I came for the meme and stayed for the writing. ; )

I just wanted to say that Coelho’s point about how fines essentially only punish the people who really *need* the library is so spot on. I remember collecting a fine once, when I was working at a library in a very well-off town, and this woman wrote a check for her one-hundred-dollar-plus fine with “donation” in the field where you’re supposed to write what the check is for. She was using it as a tax write-off! So gross.

And this: “Why can’t libraries incorporate rewards and reinforcement for people that do return books in a timely manner?” – is an interesting idea. I’d never thought of that!

@terribeth Thanks for your reply! I love cat memes, so immediately was like, “How do I include this in my blog?” That’s CRAZY about the woman who used her “donation” as a tax write-off…very depressing to think about, indeed. My local library still fines patrons for late fees, but for the month of September they are doing away with it…hopefully it just sticks. The more I delved into the literature surrounding the issue of fines, the more I thought how ridiculous it is that libraries still continue to do it and punish the community they serve…