Saturday, March 29, 2014

iFought the iPads

I fully intended to write a blog to follow up my Kiddie Cafe, but I ended up writing an article for OCLC's WebJunction website. You can read it here: http://webjunction.org/news/webjunction/ifought-the-ipads-and-iwon.html or watch for it in their April newsletter the Crossroads. I will work on a follow up article that will share more personal tales of working with the children and parents as well as deciding apps.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. If I even help one person from the frustration I felt when trying to set up an iPad on display from out of the box, it was well worth it.

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Appy iPads: Kiddie Café

The project I manage for months began with a desire to replace a kinderloft. To replace a much beloved, but non practical, structure with something children would enjoy just as much. I volunteered for the project because I wanted to get rid of the kinderloft and I enjoyed working on the reference floor reconfiguration. Using some of my knowledge gained from my child development degree was a nice bonus.

Although it seemed like it would be an easy project it seemed to take on a life of its own. I ended up working with vendors and companies, several different library departments, and learning to roll with changes which included complications, timing for signs and staff, budgets, and more that was unpredictable.

It took me awhile to figure out what to do for the children's area and I asked staff for their opinions. I wanted to make sure I knew what the problems we already had for the youth services area and what improvements we could easily make. One practical solution was to set up a space that was a little bit bigger just for children. And another concern was that we wanted to include a Wii station for teens, but wondered where the best place to put it would be. I learned a lot from this project especially to be patient, to seek the advice of others to gain knowledge, but in the end hard decisions must be made with the best information possible.

Although I have worked with vendors and companies before, this is first time I was able to contact and get pricing for items as a staff member working for Rapid City Public Libraries. I enjoyed picking out individual pieces and figuring out what additions we could add to excite children. Our staff was very excited to see a change but at one point there was a thought to put in large steps. The step idea had staff wonder about concerns whether or not it would be too loud, how much it would cost, or if it was even practical at all. The steps were then surely scrapped and a better idea emerged- kiddie cafe.

An idea sprang about from a co-worker's recent visit to an urgent care clinic. There at the clinic were iPads for children to use while they waited. Once this idea came together I was able to work quickly with facilities and a contractor. It was amazing to see ideas I drew on paper come to life. The finished product was even better than I imagined. Children loved the wall desk even before we put in iPads.

The next phase after getting the iPads was setting them up. I'll continue my story soon with iFought the iPads and end with stands and displays.