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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;line-height:normal"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"><span style="color:black">Brendan Lax is a </span><span style="color:rgb(41,40,41)">Collection Development Librarian</span><span style="color:black"> at the </span><span style="color:rgb(41,40,41)">Hillsboro
Public Library. Please download and read his latest article, “</span>What Are These Things
Doing in the Library? How a Library of Things Can Engage and Delight a
Community," here:<br>
<a href="http://journals3.library.oregonstate.edu/olaq/article/view/vol26_iss1_11" target="_blank" style="color:blue;text-decoration:underline">http://journals3.library.oregonstate.edu/olaq/article/view/vol26_iss1_11</a><span class="gmail-MsoHyperlink" style="color:blue;text-decoration:underline"><span style="color:black;text-decoration:none"><span></span></span></span></span></font></p><font size="2"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif">
</span></font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;line-height:normal"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif">Brendan
has worked at the Hillsboro Public Library since 2009,<span></span> where
he selects and maintains a number of collections, including the<span></span> graphic
novels, AV, board games, video games, and the Library of Things.<span></span> His
work life focuses on creating relevant and accessible collections for his<span></span> community,
and finding innovative ways to expand the reach of the library<span></span> and
promote its resources through digital engagement. Prior to working in<span></span> libraries,
Brendan was chief steward on an ocean-going tugboat.<span></span></span></font></p><font size="2"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif">
</span></font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;line-height:normal"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"><span> </span></span></font></p><font size="2"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif">
</span></font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"><span style="line-height:107%">From Brendan’s article: “</span><span style="line-height:107%">On the surface, the difference between a Library of Things
collection and any other collection in the library lies in the materials. We
see traditional library collections as books, periodicals, sound recordings,
video recordings, and the digital versions of these formats. A Library of
Things can be anything beyond this, from air fryers and board games to fishing
poles and Arduino kits. But if you look more closely, you begin to see that a
Library of Things engages a community in a fundamentally different way than
many of our traditional collections do. Through this unconventional engagement,
libraries with special collections find new ways to have a meaningful impact on
their communities. Good library collections do a number of things: they teach
and instruct; they are representative and inclusive; they provide equal and
open access to information; and they entertain. Special collections can
certainly do all this, but they also afford us a unique opportunity to interact
with our patrons through the materials we lend out. Certainly, some of the excitement
for starting a Library of Things comes from the freedom to experiment and try
out new models of lending, but there is the additional responsibility for us to
make sure these collections are in alignment with the needs of our communities.
When the Hillsboro Public Library was deciding on what to include in our
collection of Things, we carefully considered our library’s mission and
strategic goals, asked our patrons what they wanted to see in the collection,
and did our best to ensure that these items would be as accessible as possible.
Once the collection launched, we discovered that a Library of Things begins a
dialogue with patrons, as they share with us their feedback, experiences, and
ideas. We started hearing about the projects people were working on, what tools
they needed, and what items they had lying around their homes that they wanted
to donate to us for other people to use. While circulation numbers can tell
part of a collection’s story, what really informs the success of a Library of
Things and the impact it has on a community is how much the people we serve
embrace it and make it their own.<span></span></span></span></font></p><font size="2"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif">
</span></font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"><span style="line-height:107%">Please note that the articles in this issue were written
prior to March 2020, and the many changes that libraries have instituted since
March 2020 in response to the Covid-19 pandemic are therefore not reflected in
these articles. The OLA Quarterly coordinator takes full responsibility for the
late publication of this issue<span></span></span></span></font></p><font size="2"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif">
</span></font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"><span style="line-height:107%">UX Note: If you download the articles all the way to a PDF
reader, the links will be clickable.</span></span></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"><br></span></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif">Thank you,</span></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif">Charles Wood</span></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif">OLA Quarterly Coordinator</span></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><br></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:107%;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"><span></span></span></p>
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