By Shauna Swantek, Head of Public Services, Marshall District Library
From the Library of Michigan Dispatch Newsletter

The new year brings with it a natural time for reflection. Why not apply this to programming at the library as well?  Consider answering the following on your own or with your team. You may need to break the questions down for various demographics you serve.  These are not meant to be yes or no questions; when possible, follow your response with a why explanation.  Be curious as you reflect on the work your library programming staff does.

Evaluation

• What was the best attended program last year?
• What program created the most buzz online?  Around town?
• What program was really unique?  Why?
• How did we evaluate a “successful” program in the last year:  attendance, feedback, other?
• What do we do solidly for a core group of people but never seem to see new faces there?
• Is there a program that needs to be discontinued?  Re-imagined?  Re-scheduled for a different time?  Re-staffed?
• When was the last time we surveyed our patrons/community to help inform our programming?

New or expanding programming

• What do we sometimes/often forget about when creating a program?
• Have we invited local people/organizations in to program with us lately?
• How are we taking library programming out of our building?
• Did some programs help us serve people we do not usually see? 
• What programs did we offer that were multi-generational?
• What are we/should we be intentional about when creating a program?
• How might a new program create a community of learners/makers/doers?

Making the most of staff, resources, & programs

• Who is gifted with a particular program/audience?  Why does this work so well?
• What programs am I personally most enjoying preparing for/leading? 
• Are there programs I need to let go or pass on to someone else?
• How do we tell the story of successful programs to those who aren’t able to attend?

You probably ended up creating some of your own reflection questions and/or notes along the way. The real work is considering how you can apply the answers/information to planning efforts. Look for opportunities and low hanging fruit; start there. Most of all, be honest. If it doesn’t light you up, you may not the right person to lead that program. Try to work with other staff as part of a team so everyone is working from a place of true investment and shining their light on your community.

By Randy Riley, State Librarian, Library of Michigan (LM)
From the Library of Michigan Dispatch Newsletter

With the new year comes the opportunity to look at our personal and professional lives and assess how we are doing. We are surrounded by advice and tips on how to lose weight, get organized or how to become the best “you” possible. Each January presents us with an opportunity to make positive changes, try new things and hit the restart button looking at the future. The new year is a great time to look at what your library is doing and consider how it can be strengthened.

Through programs like the Harwood Institute the LM is committed to helping create more community centered libraries and librarians across the state. Consider these library resolutions focused on helping to make sure that your library remains an essential and irreplaceable community institution.

1. Worry more about the needs of your community and less about trends.

It is important to be aware of current trends impacting libraries, but not every new trend is the best fit for your library or unique community. We should not feel compelled to chase every new trend discussed in library journals and at conferences. Every community will benefit from librarians who take the time to get to know their community and find creative ways to serve patrons.

2. Get out into the community more in 2019.

Surveys are a great tool for gathering feedback, but they do not replace community conversations. Responses to surveys are often limited and questions do not allow patrons to provide broader answers to complicated questions. Combine surveys with an increased level of visibility in the community. Join organizations, serve on committees, host town meetings and talk to people wherever and whenever possible. Librarians embedded in their communities almost always have a better understanding of the needs of their patrons.

3. Make programming a job requirement for all staff.

Community centered libraries offer opportunities for people to learn together. Making one person responsible for this duty will not work.

4. Learn something new.

Learn something new that will help make your library a better place.

5. Claim your seat at the table.

Advocate for your library at every opportunity. Request to be on the agenda of local meetings of the city council, chamber of commerce, etc. and strive to keep the community more aware of who you are and what you do. Make sure that you have something to say and be willing to say it.

6. Send library “believers” out into community.

Librarians already love libraries. Create opportunities to send your supporters into the community to spread the “good word” about libraries. Their positive message often has a greater impact on community members and funders.

All the best in 2019.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has released Progress and Potential: A profile of women inventors on U.S. patents, a report on the trends and characteristics of U.S. women inventors named on U.S. patents granted from 1976 through 2016. The report issued by the USPTO’s Office of the Chief Economist shows that women still comprise a small minority of patented inventors and highlights an untapped potential of women to spur innovation in the United States.

The report delivers several important findings, including:

• The share of patents that include at least one woman as an inventor increased from about 7 percent in the 1980s to 21 percent by 2016.
• Even with this increase in patent counts, women inventors made up only 12 percent of all inventors on patents granted in 2016.
• Gains in female participation in science and engineering occupations and entrepreneurship are not leading to broad increases in female inventors earning a patent.
• Technology-intensive states, as well as those where women comprise a large percentage of the state’s overall workforce, show higher rates of women inventors.
• Women inventors are increasingly concentrated in specific technologies, suggesting that women are specializing in areas where female predecessors have traditionally patented rather than entering into male-dominated fields.
• Women are increasingly likely to patent on large, gender-mixed inventor teams, and are less likely than men to be an individual inventor on a granted patent.

Wyoming’s women inventors have contributed greatly to progress and economic development through their innovations. Here are tidbits on two of them from our Wyoming Inventors Database. For a more complete list from the Equality State, download Wyoming Women Inventors 1890-2018 (MS Word document).

• The first Wyoming woman to receive a patent was Myrtle M. Wallin of Rock Springs. She received patent number 664,597 for a Work-Holder on December 25, 1900.
• According to a U. S. Patent and Trademark Office report Buttons to Biotech: U.S. Patenting by Women, 1977 to 1996, Joan D. Sheridan of Cheyenne was the 19th most prolific woman inventor during 1992-1996. She received 20 patents.

The Wyoming State Library offers helpful information for inventors. Visit our Patent & Trademark Resource Center to learn more.