Pivoting During the Pandemic: Ideas for Serving Your Community Anytime, Anywhere by Kathleen M. HughesMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is an interesting publication for many reasons including the short, snappy chapters and the speed of the production. The range of topics covered include online story times, readers's advisory at a distance, and how to help connect people with a range of (mostly) online services. It is timely that I am writing this during the lockdown which includes Sydney (where I am) as well as coastal local government areas to the north and south. It highlights that the relevance is not just for pandemic experiences overseas. Important ideas are covered early on, including be patient, be flexible, use a growth mindset as well as the importance of assessment and reflection.
The chapters are written by public library staff, and show the need for continued learning, being willing to change, and the importance of thinking through organisational policies for example: do they make things easier for staff but harder for the community? It highlights the importance of continuing professional development, and that includes moving some training online (as we have also done in NSW). I would suggest reading this book - and keep in mind, if you don't like one chapter, you can quickly flick ahead to the next one. This ideas in this book while relevant for the pandemic are also relevant to how you think about your general library services.
View all my reviews
No comments:
Post a Comment